Socioeconomic Disparities in School Absenteeism after the First Wave of COVID-19 School Closures in Scotland — University of Strathclyde  

The report also compares school absenteeism rates pre and post COVID, using biennial yearly attendance rates from 2006/07 – 2018/19. Attendance rates categorised by SIMD are only available from 2012/13.   

In addition, the report strives to determine if socioeconomic inequalities exist in both COVID-19 related and non-COVID related school absenteeism, and if so, to what extent. Socioeconomic information was measured using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). It is important to note that this analysis includes data for both primary and secondary pupils, as SIMD information is only available for primary and secondary combined. Therefore, the report is unable to present findings that demonstrate socioeconomic disparities in school attendance separately for primary and secondary.   

In comparison to absence rates from previous years, the study indicates that overall absence was 2.7% higher. This increase was mainly due to COVID-19 related absences, with non-COVID 19 absence rates similar to that of previous years. However, findings show a rise in socioeconomic inequality in non-covid related absenteeism, with data showing higher absence rates among pupils from the most deprive backgrounds and lower absence rates among pupils from the least deprived backgrounds. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the health (Lone et al., 2020), wellbeing and learning (Andrew et al. 2020) during lockdown for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is acknowledged by the report for the rise in socioeconomic inequality, and this extends to the inequality in attendance rates after the first school closures.   

Based on previous research, the report takes the stance that school absenteeism has a detrimental effect on academic achievement (e.g. Gottfried, 2010). After analysing the absenteeism data to identify trends, the report goes on to conclude that the education of children from more deprived socioeconomic backgrounds did not only suffer during the first bout of school closures, but it was also adversely affected through more frequent school closures after the lockdown. Therefore, the report advises that addressing the disproportionate short-term and long-term impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable children needs to be made paramount and placed at the forefront of the educational policy agenda, in order to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 on achievement gaps.  

How can we delve deeper into the socioeconomic factors which negatively affect attendance?  

How can schools best address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the health, wellbeing and learning on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds?  

Klein, M., Goodfellow, C., Dare, S., & Sosu, E. (2020). Socioeconomic Inequalities in School Attendance in Scotland: Research Brief. University of Strathclyde.