On 23rd December, I again reiterated the great work taking place both locally and nationally to improve Ipswich’s school attendance figures.
The Labour government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for children in Ipswich and across Suffolk, and school attendance is an essential precondition to that.
In October, I welcomed the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to Ipswich to hear first-hand from staff and students the fantastic work that Chantry Academy has been doing to improve school attendance. I once again welcome that work as the gold standard in our town for tackling this issue.
The Education Secretary also announced on that visit significant new funding for Ipswich to get to grips with the challenge of school attendance. The Government and I know that, despite this progress, the number of absences is still far too high, and we will continue to work on this issue.
I am particularly concerned about absences for SEND students, especially those absences- both temporary and more long-term- that are hidden behind these headline figures. I hope to work with the Government to tackle this issue in the coming months and years, as part of a wider reform of SEND education.
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