Committees

Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils

Inquiry

The Education Committee has launched an inquiry into persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils.

This inquiry will focus on the issue of persistent and severe absence in schools, with a focus on supporting disadvantaged pupils. The inquiry aims to examine the issue of persistent and severe absence and the factors causing it and to assess the likely impact and effectiveness of the Department’s proposed reforms on attendance. The inquiry will also assess the impact of interventions such as breakfast clubs, free school meals, holiday clubs, and after school clubs on improving attendance for disadvantaged pupils, and will develop recommendations as to how attendance can be improved, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Read the call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry. 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 9 February 2023.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 27 June 2023
10:00am Public
Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils - Oral evidence 27 June 2023
10:00am
  • Rt Hon Nick Gibb (Minister of State for Schools at Department for Education)
  • Graham Archer (Interim Director General for Families Group at Department for Education)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 6 June 2023
10:00am Public
Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils - Oral evidence 6 June 2023
10:00am
  • David Holmes (CEO at Family Action)
  • Leigh Middleton (CEO at National Youth Agency)
  • Declan Barker (HAF Manager at Nottingham City Council)
11:00am
  • Nathan Persaud (Programmes Director for England at School of Hard Knocks (SoHK))
  • Jonathan Pauley (11+ Education Manager at City Inspires)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 16 May 2023
10:00am Public
Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils - Oral evidence 16 May 2023
10:00am
  • Ellie Costello (Director at Square Peg)
  • Vicki Nash (Associate Director of External Relations at Mind)
  • Dr Daniel Stavrou (Policy Vice Chair at Special Education Consortium)
11:00am
  • Pauline Anderson OBE (Chair of Trustees at Traveller Movement)
  • Dr Claudia Sumner (London Advocacy Manager at Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG))
  • Diana Sutton (Director at Bell Foundation)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 7 March 2023
10:00am Public
Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils - Oral evidence 7 March 2023
10:00am
  • Dame Rachel de Souza (Children’s Commissioner for England at Office of the Children's Commissioner for England)
  • Mr Rob Williams (Senior Policy Adviser at National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT))
  • Cllr Lucy Nethsingha (Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People’s Board at Local Government Association, and Councillor for Cambridgeshire County Council at Cambridgeshire County Council)
  • Alice Wilcock (Head of Education at Centre for Social Justice)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.