Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:09 pm on 28 September 2016.
Minister, whilst the situation is gradually improving, absenteeism is still a concern in nearly a third of our secondary schools. Those who are eligible for free school meals are twice as likely to be absent as those who are not on free school meals, and just under a fifth of those on free school meals are persistently absent, with dire effects on their educational attainment. Yet less than half of schools have carried out a good enough analysis of why pupils do not attend school—that’s according to Estyn. Would you, however, commend best practice in the sector, such as Cathays High School, which has 37 per cent of their children eligible for free school meals, yet is making good progress in increasing attendance rates?