Written questions

Pupils: Absenteeism

Commons · Question 9476 · Tabled 12 Jun 2026 · Department for Education · Official record

Answered 23 Jun 2026

Question

Asked by James McMurdock

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department for Education's press release entitled Birthday bunk-offs fuelling avoidable school absence, published on 10 June 2026, what estimate she has made of the cost to the education s

Answer

Answered by Olivia Bailey, 23 Jun 2026

Each day of lost learning can do serious harm. Days missed add up quickly, even if it takes just 1 minute to catch up on each day of school that pupils miss, this still equates to resource equivalent of 1,000 full time teachers working purely on missed le...