The percentage of Catholic school students attending school 90 per cent of the time fell from 80 per cent 10 years ago to 63.8 per cent last year. Private schools also declined,with 81 per cent of students going to class most of the time in 2015 compared with 67.8 per cent last year.

A NSW Department of Education analysis of attendance data last year found 9,729,900 days were missed by public school students. Three million of those days were unjustified absences.

Attendance is not just an issue in NSW. Last year,the UK’s education minister blamed work-from-home parents for letting students stay home. The Victorian Department of Education appears to have invoked public health scare campaigns by telling parents:“There is no safe number of days for missing school.”

Professor Kay Carroll from Western Sydney University’s school of education said even though parents might work from home since the pandemic,it was vital that students were in class.

“Obviously,it is of concern because the correlation between attendance and learning outcomes and social skills and how they relate to others is very strong,” she said.

Mathematical Association of NSW president Dr Katherin Cartwright warned that missing just one day a fortnight meant students struggled to ever catch up.

“That is going to be huge because maths is a very sequential subject,where things build on each other,” she said.

A NSW Department of Education spokeswoman said it was disappointing attendance had not improved in 2024 after strong gains in 2023 as it was vital for students to achieve their best.

“We are reviewing which of our initiatives and interventions have been most successful to inform our 2025 strategy as we continue to campaign to lift attendance,” she said.

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