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Parents must help tackle schoolchildren's bad behaviour, education secretary says, as figures show 'entrenched class divide'
The Department for Education is launching 21 attendance and behaviour hubs to support 800 schools and 600,000 pupils, aiming to reduce absenteeism and improve classroom environments.
On Sunday, the Department for Education unveiled a package of support for schools, launching an initial wave of 21 schools as attendance and behaviour hubs.
Earlier this month Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson warned the state has failed white working-class pupils, noting one in 10 white pupils who receive free school meals were suspended last year and only 19% achieved strong GCSE passes.
DfE data show seven of every 30 classroom minutes are lost to disruption and pupils severely absent increased from 142,000 in autumn 2023/24 to 148,000 in autumn 2024/25.
Around 800 schools attended by around 600,000 pupils will benefit from RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, as the programme aims to support 5,000 schools total, with 500 receiving intensive support.
The government says its Plan for Change has delivered five million more days in school this year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent last year; the DfE schools white paper will set out further plans.