- By Marthe de Ferrer and Branwen Jeffreys
- BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
More than one out of every five children in England are persistently absent from school
Better mental health support for pupils would be part of Labour’s plans to improve school attendance in England.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson set out the proposed measures, including free breakfast clubs for primary schools, at an event at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) on Tuesday.
The plans also include increased funding for early speech and language interventions.
This week, the government promised to extend the existing attendance-hub scheme to support a thousand more schools in England.
“Every day our children are in school is so incredibly important,” said Phillipson. “It damages their life chances when they aren’t there.
“So it’s about that partnership we need to see between parents and schools, but also between schools and government, because governments have responsibilities as well.”
Among Labour’s plans to tackle persistent absence is…
