Thousands of Falkirk district pupils missing a day of school every fortnight

A freedom of information request to Falkirk Council by the Scottish Conservatives revealed that 5362 children in primary and secondary school were absent for at least one day every fortnight in 2023/24.

The data shows that 1883 local pupils missed a day of school each week, meaning they were absent for at least 20 per cent of school last year.

And 247 missed more than half of the school year.

Across Scotland, nearly 200,000 pupils missed a day of school each fortnight according to the figures.

Responses from a series of freedom of information requests to councils revealed that 184,845 primary and secondary school pupils were absent from school for at least a day in each two-week period. Although the figure is likely to be even higher as three council areas did not respond to the information requests.

At least 70,0000 pupils missed a day of school each week according to the figures.

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs has described the figures as “deeply alarming” and said they pointed to “a growing trend of many children simply not turning up for school”.

He said: “SNP ministers have been asleep at the wheel while this crisis has escalated. We know that the best place for pupils to learn is in the classroom but soaring numbers are now absent for at least a day every fortnight.

"That will be having a hugely detrimental impact on their progress and their wellbeing.

"The true figures are likely to be even higher as not all of Scotland’s councils provided figures. SNP ministers have failed to act as violence has spiralled out of control in our schools, meaning many pupils feel unsafe in the classroom.

"These shocking figures must be an urgent wake-up call for SNP ministers to do everything they can to encourage pupils back into the classroom in the year ahead.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Scotland’s schools, like those across the UK, are continuing to respond to a variety of challenges, post-pandemic – and we know that Covid lockdowns have affected school attendance.

“It was welcome to see some positive improvement in attendance and persistent absence levels in the most recent statistics published.

“School attendance is the responsibility of local authorities, who carry the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education in Scotland.

“To support them, the Education Secretary last year commissioned further advice from Education Scotland, who have published a range of good practice support materials for schools.

“Furthermore, as part of the £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge, every local authority in Scotland has school attendance as a stretch aim – and every council in the country has identified action they are taking at school level.

“We know that many headteachers, for example, are using the Scottish Government-backed Pupil Equity Fund, which is helping to employ additional staff to help with school attendance post-pandemic.

“Finally, the Scottish Government has announced that there will be a national marketing campaign to help support improving attendance and reducing absence in the new year.”