Warning in Harrogate about the 'rising tide of school absences and lost learning' across North Yorkshire
A meeting in Harrogate has been warned about the ‘rising tide’ of school absences across North Yorkshire as the public purse string tightens.
More than 150 people attended the “Education Matters” event at the Pavilions in Harrogate to discuss how to get more children to successfully remain in school, in the context of a SEND system deemed “not fit for purpose”.
School leaders, councillors and representatives from North Yorkshire Council’s children and young people’s service set out to come up with potential solutions after the latest alarming figures.
In 2023/24 there were 10,076 suspensions – 122 of them permanent – in all schools in North Yorkshire, with a total of 19,600 days of lost learning.
The figures also reveal that more than half of the pupils excluded had a special educational need (SEN).
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Coun Annabel Wilkinson, said: "I really appreciate the efforts schools are making to improve our schools and to make them more inclusive.
“But the challenges following the pandemic continue.
"Some of our young people are struggling with their mental health, we have more children not attending school, more children with education and health care plans, more children in care and we’re in the most challenging place financially.”
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for children and young people’s services, Stuart Carlton, said: “We, like other local authorities, have financial challenges with funding SEND provision, combined with a SEND system that isn’t fit for purpose.
“At the same time, we’re in a climate of children not attending school and missing out on their learning.
"This lost learning has a negative impact on their future with poor exam results and poor job outlooks.”
At the moment, the council receives about £644 of SEND funding per pupil, while the top funded local authority nationally gets £1,154 per pupil.
Among the possible steps forward discussed at the meeting in Harrogate were working together to holistically support children to stay in school, to work with other agencies to help young people feel like part of the school community and to share best practice.