Pupil absence rates put Highland Council in the top five worst performing local authorities in Scotland with more than 54 per cent of kids missed 10-20 per cent of the school year
Highland Council is in the top five worst performing local authorities in Scotland when it comes to frequent pupil absences from primary and secondary schools, new data has revealed.
A Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives showed 184,845 primary and secondary school pupils were absent from school for at least a day in each two-week period last year.
Highland Council blamed the legacy of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and “broader effects on pupils’ health and wellbeing” which is “reflected in a drop in school attendance”.
It also argued that because of its large pupil population “levels of pupil absence are naturally higher when compared to other Scottish local authorities which are smaller than us, but this should be considered proportionally”.
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Glasgow headed the list with a school population of more than 71,000 kids - almost 27,000 were missing 10 per cent of the school year and almost 11,000 were missing 20 per cent of the year.
Next came Fife with over 49,000 pupils - just over 17,100 missed 10 per cent of the year and a touch over 7000 missed 20 per cent. Of North Lanarkshire 48,700 pupils, just under 17,600 missing one in 10 school days, and 6571 missing one in five.
And the Highlands, the first rural council on the list, was in fourth place of the local authorities with the most absences among its more than 30,000 pupils – 11,596 missed 10 per cent of the year while 5080 missed 20 per cent of the year.
That was ahead of the capital city Edinburgh with 8381 pupils missing 10 per cent of school days a year and a further 3610 missing 20 per cent from a total population of 53,000 pupils.
Considering those numbers proportionally, the Highlands also stood out for having far more absences than other neighbouring rural councils Moray, Argyll and Bute, and Perth and Kinross all tallied less combined.
Those three councils saw 13,800 pupils miss 10-20 per cent of school days against a school population of more than 40,000 which is 34.5 per cent - the Highland’s 16,676 with a headcount of more than 30,000 was more than 54 per cent.
Shadow education secretary Miles Briggs said: “These figures are deeply alarming and point to a growing trend of many children simply not turning up for school.
“SNP ministers have been asleep at the wheel while this crisis has escalated. We know that the best place for pupils to learn is in the classroom but soaring numbers are now absent for at least a day every fortnight.
“That will be having a hugely detrimental impact on their progress and their wellbeing.”
Highland Council and the Scottish Government were asked for comment and both reached for similar explanations chiefly the pandemic while the government said attendance was the responsibility of local authorities.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of interruption to learning, factors such as the cost-of-living crisis and broader effects on pupils’ health and wellbeing is reflected in a drop in school attendance.
“Improving attendance is one of our key priorities and we are already seeing positive improvement through the implementation of a number of targeted pilots.
“Additionally, there are plans outlined to address the issues around improving pupil attendance and engaging through the GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child) agenda with those who need support for significant health and wellbeing issues.
“There are also plans to update Highland’s Raising Attainment Strategy to align key strategies and approaches to raise attainment and close the poverty-related attainment gap”.
The council continued: “It is important to note that the figures obtained through the FOI process should be considered in the context of the size of the organisation, our total number of pupils and our geography.
“Highland Council is the seventh-largest education authority in Scotland in terms of pupil numbers [and is second-largest by pupil numbers as a rural authority].
“With a pupil population of almost 30,000 in the 2024 academic year, by volume, levels of pupil absence are naturally higher when compared to other Scottish local authorities which are smaller than us, but this should be considered proportionally”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scotland's schools, like those across the UK, are continuing to respond to a variety of challenges post-pandemic and we know that Covid lockdowns have affected school attendance.
“School attendance is the responsibility of local authorities, who carry the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education in Scotland.
“To support them, the education secretary last year commissioned further advice from Education Scotland, who have published a range of good practice support materials for schools.”
