Labour urged to ditch 'punitive' fines to tackle school attendance crisis gripping Yorkshire

“We should be extremely concerned that 150,000 children are absent from school for half or more of the academic year,” she said. 

“This is bad for their life chances and bad for our economy and society.”

Ms Longfield’s Centre for Young Lives and the Child of the North project produced the report, which found there has been a 57 per cent surge in school absence since 2015.

Unauthorised absence rates are 34 per cent higher in the North compared with the South, and this is worse for children with special education needs and those on free school meals.

It’s a particular issue in Yorkshire and the Humber, which has the second highest persistent absence rate in England after the South West.

The report found Covid lockdowns went on for longer for children in the North, and the absence rate is exacerbated by higher levels of poverty and reduced education funding.

A Yorkshire Post investigation into the crisis found that a draconian approach to tackling school attendance is forcing children to often be taught at home, in what could be considered unsuitable environments.

Parents from across the region have said they felt forced to home educate as their children with autism were not given enough support, and ended up lashing out and getting excluded.

One told this paper their son “doesn't fit the system”. She added: “He has been failed in his first years."

Ilkley-based Ms Longfield has recommended the government focuses on inclusion and early intervention over fines.

She said: “The reasons why children miss school are often complex and there is no silver bullet. 

“However, the one-size-fits-all and often punitive approach that previous Governments have taken to tackle absence needs to be consigned to the past. 

“Simply, threatening parents with fines is not working for many families and not reducing severe absence rates.

“The crucial message this report puts forward is the need to intervene early and to build a sense of belonging and inclusion in schools. 

“Investing early in supporting children at risk of disengagement from education is the best way of preventing problems further down the line and no child should ever think that school isn't for them.”

In Bradford, a trial known as the SAFE Taskforce improved attendance amongst 43 per cent of its pupils with direct engagement with the children.

Prof Mark Mon-Williams of the University of Leeds, Child of The North report series editor, said: "The crisis in school attendance goes beyond numbers – it represents the life chances of thousands of children. 

“When children are not in school, they are not just missing lessons; they are at risk of potential danger, and they are losing opportunities for healthy development. 

“We urgently need to create an education system that identifies and supports children at risk of disengagement before they fall behind, so every child has the chance to succeed, no matter their background.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has pledged to “turn around” the “baked in massive inequality into the education system, including regional disparities and differences between outcomes for children at state and private schools”.