Tens of thousands of children absent from England’s schools, children’s commissioner says

Tens of thousands of children in England are persistently absent from schools, according to a new report from the Children’s Commissioner, including some who haven’t returned after the pandemic lockdowns.

Dame Rachel de Souza found that local authorities don’t even know how many children there are in England – let alone how many should be in education.

The government says it’s working to improve both the data and the support for children.

In this report, we hear from some of those children who have struggled to access face-to-face education.