About The Authors

Education

Thirty-two million days of learning were lost in 2022/23, compared to less than 20 million 5 years ago, the last complete year before the pandemic: According to recent research by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), 32 million days of learning were lost in 2022/23, compared to only 19 million, before the pandemic in 2018/19. The number of days lost to suspensions has also increased by a significant amount to almost 1.6 million in 22/23, compared to less than 1 million (900,000) in 18/19.

The report was put together by the IPPR, an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society. Their professionals and experts analysed figures released by the government and conducted additional analysis on a sample of live attendance data collected by FFT Education Datalab. The report was co-produced by the education charity The Difference.

The number of suspensions and exclusions also increased, rising by a combined 20% this year. This contributed to the rise in days lost this year too. A record 787,000 suspensions were recorded in 2022/23, which is equivalent to nearly 1 in 10 pupils being sent home temporarily. Additionally, there were 9,400 exclusions, representing a 44% increase since 2021/22.

The IPPR also added a new category onto their ‘exclusions continuum’, called ‘severe absence’ - referring to when a child has missed 50% or more of the school year. In 22/23 over 150,000 children lost learning to severe absence, with research from Burtonshaw and Dorrell (2023) suggesting that mental ill health, special education needs, and poverty are the key reasons for the absence.

Another concerning statistic highlighted in the report was that 95% of secondary schools are concerned about internal truancy (children arriving at school but not attending lessons). Half of the teachers surveyed believed this to be a bigger challenge than absence from school, again contributing to the loss of learning.

When looking at which groups of children were most likely to suffer from learning loss, it was found that those eligible for free school meals were nearly five times more likely to be excluded than their non-eligible peers in 2022/23. Children in need and children on child protection plans were five times more likely to be suspended and up to eight times more likely to be to be permanently excluded.

Kiran Gill, CEO of The Difference, said: “The past four years, post-pandemic, have seen an alarming rise in children losing learning. We should all be worried about the social injustice that the most marginalised children – who already have the biggest barriers to opportunity outside of school – are those most likely to be not in classrooms through absence, suspension and exclusion.”

Other Education Research Findings

Other Latest Market Research Insights