Help for city schools to boost attendance rates

NOTTINGHAM ONE OF WORST AREAS IN COUNTRY FOR ABSENCES

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

NOTTINGHAM parents should take some responsibility for the city's school absence rates said a Government minister, who slammed the "dangerous" idea of school being optional.

The city was chosen as one of 10 areas that will get dedicated government support from next month to improve school absence rates.

Nottingham had one of the worst school absence rates in the country when the government project was announced in October 2024, with a rate of 7.3% compared to a national average of 6.7%.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has also reported that Nottingham's school exclusion rate is now nearly double the national average.

Stephen Morgan, the Minister for Early Education, attended a conference of over 100 East Midlands school leaders at Eastwood Hall on Thursday to discuss how school absence should be tackled.