Beth Prescott News Today

Data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows there were 263,904 suspensions in the spring term of 2022/23, compared to 201,090 during the spring term of 2021/22 - a rise of 31%.

Experts warn that students will struggle to succeed academically as school absence rates continue to be more than double pre-Covid levels.

Nearly 120,000 youngsters were classed as Children Missing Education in the 2022/23 academic year, while 94,900 were in this category in 2021/22.

Almost 120,000 schoolchildren were recorded as missing education in England at some point in the 2022/23 academic year, with authorities having no idea where they were.

The impact of the pandemic on students who have just received exam results must be urgently investigated by the Covid inquiry, a leading Conservative MP has demanded.

Regional inequalities have widened as England returns to pre-pandemic grading for GCSEs, while the share of students failing has reached its highest level since 2007.

The pandemic is over. Persistent absence is the new epidemic

Beth Prescott's article on the children missing from the UK school system sparked a lively discussion among readers

The pandemic is over. Persistent absence is the new epidemic | Britain