Persistent absence from school has become a more frequent and much debated occurrence over recent years. It has been associated with exclusion from school and mental health difficulties. There are several competing accounts of causes and consequences in circulation. We have invited 4 speakers who are located in the field to articulate their understandings of this worrying phenomena and a Psychiatrist to make a response.

Each presenter will suggest their own preferred policy imperative at the end of the event.
Ellie Costello, Director Square Peg: Persistent Absence From The Grassroots – understanding impact of policy and practice on children, young people and their families.
Ellie Costello joined Square Peg CIC as a Director to develop her interest in shifting paradigms to effect cultural and systemic change on behalf of all children, young people and families who experience barriers to school attendance. Ellie advocates social model-thinking, placing trauma-informed practice and relationships at the centre of positive, meaningful, sustainable outcomes.

Jo Hutchinson Education Policy Institute: Links between persistent absence, access to SEND support, and unexplained school mobility
Jo Hutchinson is Director for Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Learners at the Education Policy Institute. Her research interests include SEND and additional needs, unexplained pupil mobility and the role of school accountability in exclusion.

Ruth Moyse Director and Associate at AT-Autism: Pathways to persistent absence: lessons along the way
Ruth Moyse is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Southampton, where she works with the ACoRNS team led by Prof Sarah Parsons and Dr Hanna Kovshoff. She is also a Director and Associate at AT-Autism, where she is involved in training, mentoring and the evaluation of programmes from an autistic perspective.

David Stephenson, Mind: Not Making the Grade: Mind’s inquiry into secondary schools and mental health
David Stephenson is a Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer at Mind, the mental health charity. This year he led Mind’s inquiry into secondary schools and mental health, which highlighted the impact of mental health problems on the ability of young people to attend and take part in school.

Respondent Mina Fazel, Associate Professor in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Consultant in Children’s Psychological Medicine