ATTENDANCE rates at schools in Neath Port Talbot have seen a slight increase this year according to figures released by the local authority.
A report given to council members at a monthly meeting showed that school attendance in the 2023-24 academic year had bucked a three-year trend of decline, where figures had been consistently falling at both primary and secondary level.
The annual report showed how the overall primary attendance rate for the 2023-24 academic year was 90.97%, with an overall secondary attendance rate of 87.61%.
This represents an an improvement of 1.17% in the primary sector and 1.63% in the secondary sector when compared to the previous year, however it was noted that this was still behind when compared to pre-pandemic figures.
Officers at the meeting said school attendance was now a top priority for the local council, adding that while the situation was improving it was still not where they would like it to be.
When discussing the absence figures the report said: “It has been widely reported that some pupils have struggled to reconnect with school and return full-time since the pandemic, whilst others have detached from education altogether and are presenting as school refusers.
“There is no single reason for an increase in pupil absence rather a range of reasons including complex and multiple causes, anxiety, mental health and wellbeing issues. Some learners established a pattern of not attending school during the pandemic that they and their families have found difficult to revert from.
“Many of these challenges existed before the pandemic, but some have deepened since, and as a result some families have become harder to reach and engage.”
A separate report on school exclusion figures in the borough was also discussed at the meeting, with a total of 717 children given fixed exclusion throughout the year, along with 37 permanent ones. The main cause of these were said to be from “persistent disruptive behaviour” as well as from verbal and threatening behaviour towards an adult.
