[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-583087-105":59,"doc-detail-583087-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","pupil-absence-and-the-pandemic","Pupil absence and the pandemic","","This paper investigates lost education time during the COVID-19 pandemic in England by examining factors that shaped pupil absence across different stages and the downstream effects of policy guidance. Findings show pupil absence was strongly tied to socioeconomic conditions, with students in more economically disadvantaged areas missing school the most. The study further evaluates phased reopening guidance in June 2020 and local Tier restrictions in autumn 2020, finding lower attendance when local authorities did not align with central guidance and higher absence under more restrictive tiers.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/pupil-absence-and-the-pandemic/583087/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/pupil-absence-and-the-pandemic/583087.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"\tJames","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What were the main factors linked to higher pupil absence during the pandemic?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The paper shows absence rates were strongly associated with socioeconomic factors, with pupils in more economically disadvantaged areas missing the most.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did guidance during the phased re-opening in June 2020 affect attendance?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Pupils in local authorities that did not advise schools to comply with central government re-opening guidance had lower school attendance.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What impact did the autumn 2020 Tier system have on pupil absence?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The study finds pupil absence was higher under more restrictive tiers, particularly the most restrictive, even when accounting for local pandemic severity metrics.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583087,1792189108,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466412,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Pupil absence and the pandemic  \nStephen Gibbons, Sandra McNally and Piero Montebruno  \nSeptember 2024  \nAbstract  \nThis paper investigates lost education time during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. We look at the general factors affecting rates of absence during different stages ofthe pandemic and the consequences of specific policy guidance. Our evidence shows that pupil absence was strongly linked to socioeconomic factors, with pupils in schools in more economically disadvantaged areas missing out the most. We look at the influence of the guidance given by Local Authorities during a phased reopening of schools at the end of the first wave of the pandemic in June 2020. We find that pupils in Local Authorities that did not advise schools to comply with central government guidance on re-opening lost out through lower school attendance. We also look at the influence of the local Tier system that was implemented in England in the Autumn of 2020 to enforce social and business restrictions of differing degrees of severity. Although schools could all open whatever the Tier status of their area, attendance was sometimes restricted to priority children in the higher Tiers. We find the pupil absence was indeed higher under more restrictive Tiers, particularly the most restrictive, even conditional on local metrics of pandemic severity. Families from poorer backgrounds were more sensitive to the restrictions, suggesting another reason for their vulnerability to education loss from the pandemic.  \nKeywords: schools, COVID-19, Coronavirus, pupil absence  \nJEL: H12; I2  \nThis work was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, grant number FR-000022949. We thank the project advisory board for helpful feedback.  \nStephen Gibbons, London School of Economics and Centre for Economic Performance at London School of Economics. Sandra McNally, University of Surrey and Centre for Economic Performance at London School of Economics. Piero Montebruno, Centre for Economic Performance at London School of Economics.  \nPublished by  \nCentre for Economic Performance  \nLondon School of Economic and Political Science Houghton Street  \nLondon WC2A 2AE  \nAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher nor be issued to the public or circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.  \nRequests for permission to reproduce any article or part of the Report should be sent to the editor at the above address.  \n􀂔 S. Gibbons, S. McNally and P. Montebruno, submitted 2024.  \n1. Introduction  \nThe global COVID-19 pandemic led to extensive disruption to schooling across the world. In England, schools experienced periods of closure throughout 2020 and 2021. Even when schools were allowed to open, they experienced high and persistent levels of pupil absence, well in excess of what could be explained by sickness, and attendance rates have not yet recovered to their pre-pandemic level. Missing school has obvious potential ramifications for students in terms of lost education time, lost time in contact with other students and, ultimately, subsequent achievement and life chances. Understanding the factors leading to these high levels of absence is therefore important for understanding and addressing potential disparities in accumulated education time over the pandemic. Our research contributes to this understanding. Coronavirus-related policy guidance potentially played a role, alongside demographic and socioeconomic factors, by influencing families’ perceptions of the risks involved in attending school. We look explicitly at two policy events that potentially affected families in this way.  \nOur study investigates the role of school and local area characteristics, and the influence of COVID- 19 policy guidance on pupil absence. We do this for two periods during the pandemic in England when schools were ostensibly allowe","cbCaihpWt9cFDgBv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihpWt9cFDgBv","pdf",2084120,48,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Disruption to schooling and persistence of absence\n## Phased re-opening guidance (June 2020)\n## Local Tier restrictions and attendance limits","[{\"question\":\"What were the main factors linked to higher pupil absence during the pandemic?\",\"answer\":\"The paper shows absence rates were strongly associated with socioeconomic factors, with pupils in more economically disadvantaged areas missing the most.\"},{\"question\":\"How did guidance during the phased re-opening in June 2020 affect attendance?\",\"answer\":\"Pupils in local authorities that did not advise schools to comply with central government re-opening guidance had lower school attendance.\"},{\"question\":\"What impact did the autumn 2020 Tier system have on pupil absence?\",\"answer\":\"The study finds pupil absence was higher under more restrictive tiers, particularly the most restrictive, even when accounting for local pandemic severity metrics.\"}]","Pupil absence and the pandemic | PDF",1792045692,121]