Overview
- Ofsted’s annual report highlights around 166,000 pupils who are severely absent and a 19% year‑on‑year rise in children missing education entirely.
- Permanent exclusions in 2023–24 were the highest on record and suspensions rose by a fifth, with six in 10 suspensions in autumn 2024/25 due to persistent disruptive behaviour.
- The chief inspector says social media and smartphones erode attention spans and encourage disrespectful behaviour, backing classroom phone bans while leaving decisions to headteachers.
- Ofsted reports teachers increasingly cite behaviour as a reason for leaving and will use a new framework, including an 'exceptional' grade, to identify and share effective practice.
- Vulnerable pupils are disproportionately affected, with children with SEND and those known to social care over‑represented among the severely absent.