The rate of pupils who regularly miss school in England has not returned to pre-Covid levels official statistics.
A quarter (25.1%) of students were consistently absent in their final semester, compared with 13.1% in Fall 2019.
The government said the absentee rate was due to illness, with high levels of flu and other viruses circulating.
It offers “specific help” for children who are regularly out of school, it said.
Education Select Committee MPs have launched an inquiry into the issue.
Students are considered persistent absenteeism if they miss 10% or more of class hours, which would be seven days in the fall semester.
The proportion of constantly absent students remained at around 11% in the fall semesters 2016 to 2018 and reached 13.1% in 2019.
The following year, the persistently absent children were joined by those who tested positive for Covid.
The government also began registering children who were “not going to school” due to public health guidelines, which included pupils who were out of school while awaiting the results of a Covid test.
In fall 2020, the first year of the pandemic, 44.6% of students missed 10% or more of class. Of these, 13% were marked as absent and 31.6% as not showing up due to policy.
In the same period the following year, that total dropped to 32.2%. However, the breakdown turned around, with 23.5% of attendees marked absent and 8.7% marked as absent due to policies.
The government abolished the absentee category this school year and 25.1% of students were marked absent in the fall of 2022.
As a result, the sustained absenteeism rate is higher than in 2021 (23.5% then), but there have been more children in school.
The Department of Education said it is working with schools, councils and governing bodies to “identify students who are at risk of becoming, or who are permanently absent, and work together to support that child’s return to a regular and consistent education.” “.
The Education Select Committee recently said Covid has “probably had a deleterious impact on school attendance”.
Pupils experienced disruptions to their education as schools closed during the Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
At the end of last year, flu, scarlet fever, strep A and Covid numbers were high.
The committee also considered why disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are more likely to be absent from school than their peers.
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