By Marc Menendez-Roche • Updated: 13 Sep 2024 • 17:32 • 2 minutes read
Children leaving school in London. Credit: Shutterstock, Yau Ming Low
A new study from the University of Bath shows that 20% more children miss school on Friday than any other day of the week, especially in lower-income areas.
Forget about Netflix binges or gaming marathons, apparently, pupils are skipping school on Fridays because parents want to dodge bank holiday traffic or squeeze in longer holidays. They’re calling it the “Friday effect.“
Former Education Secretary Gillian Keegan suggested that the rise in absences could be linked to parents working from home, but the University of Bath study found no evidence supporting this.
The economists who conducted the study noted that these patterns of absences might contribute to the overall increase in children missing school, which Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has described as an “absence epidemic.” Other countries like Sweden are also seeing more children skip school, particularly since the pandemic.
There could be other factors making it more acceptable to take Fridays off, possibly linked to financial pressures from the cost-of-living crisis and expensive holidays. Researchers believe addressing absences could reduce their impact by one-third to half.
Co-author of the study Joanna Clifton-Sprigg recommends simple interventions, such as newsletters or reminders to parents about the negative impact of absences on academic performance. Schools could also make Fridays more engaging with activities like award ceremonies to encourage attendance.
Education officials emphasise the importance of consistent attendance, stressing that every school day, including Fridays, is crucial for learning.
School leaders are urging parents to avoid taking children out of school without good reason, highlighting that even one missed day can affect educational outcomes.
Education officials are pushing the idea that every school day counts, even Fridays. The government is cracking down, with fines for unauthorised absences starting at £80 (€94) and rising to £160 (€187). Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called all these missed days an “absence epidemic.”
However, school staff are being encouraged to approach cases involving pupils with special needs, disabilities, mental health conditions, or serious long-term illnesses with sensitivity, as attending class might be more difficult for them at times.
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Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast with a passion for making complex topics simple and accessible. With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing. Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community. When he's not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
I always wonder, when it says ‘fines’ for children missing school, where the money goes. To the school oŕ the government coffers. And, what if the parents don’t have enough money. Who decides how much the fine will be? Are the non paying parents taken to court? Do they get sent to prison? I read that some prisons are letting really bad people out due to lack of space…there never seems to be a balance. Crimes relating to finance seem to have graver sentences than those of crime, rape, assault, robbery etc even murder. Even non payment if a TV license can result in a hard punishment. Many of the pensioners in the UK don’t appear to have much to look forward to in the latter years if their lives, despite paying into the system for more than 50 years. It’s just so sad and seems very wrong to me.
Schools have become institutions for the societal and even political indoctrination of children. They have stopped making learning a fun or enjoyable experience. No wonder children don’t want to attend. Perhaps the real solution is to get back to teaching the basics like reading, writing, math, the sciences, and even introduce trade school options for age appropriate students?
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