Schools need properly funded attendance support to avoid having to “starve classrooms” to pay for it, the government has been warned.

Rachael Fidler, school and college trust leader at Dixons Academies Trust, was speaking on a panel about school absence at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today.

She set out how schools were trying to fill a gap left by the “erosion” of public services, such as housing, mental health and social care, and called on policymakers to “fund the support, not just the sanctions” to tackle the absence crisis.

“We are the last line of defence and are just picking up the pieces without new funding,” she said.

Her comments come after education secretary Bridget Phillipson told school leaders over the summer that they have a “responsibility” to improve attendance.

The government has also increased fines for the first time since 2012, with parents now being charged £160 (up from £120) for unauthorised absence if the fine is paid within 28 days.

‘Fund the support, not just the sanctions’

While fines “may work for a small number”, Ms Fidler said that “for the most vulnerable, it’s counterproductive”.

She added: “So what can policymakers do differently? Fund the support, not just the sanctions, because the current approach brings a high burden on schools to reallocate existing funds from teaching to welfare.

“And the ask is, how can we fund the attendance teams without starving our classroom? And that needs dedicated investment.”

Severe absence has reached the highest level ever recorded, although overall absence is showing signs of a downward trend after peaking post-Covid.

Also at today’s session was Labour MP and former drama teacher Steve Witherden, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on education, who emphasised the importance of redesigning the curriculum to be engaging, inclusive and relevant to students.

Caroline Bond, professor of educational psychology at the University of Manchester, highlighted the importance of enrichment activities in tackling the mental health struggles that can affect school attendance.

Activities such as sport played “a really important part” in improving mental health - “perhaps more so than restricting mobile phone use”, she added.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.

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