Claim: Last year, 140,000 children were classed as 'severely absent' from the classroom, a rise of 134% on the year before.
Fact-check: Severe absence among school pupils in England increased by 26% last year, not 134% - Full Fact
Verdict: this isn't quite right. while in england almost 140,000 pupils were classed as severely absent during the autumn/spring terms in 2022/23, this is only a 26% increase on the same period in 2021/22.
Organisation: Full Fact
Author: Hannah Smith
Date published: 2024-01-15T00:00:00