'My take on attendance and absence is, I don't really care anymore': Report finds parents question need for school everyday after Covid

Parents no longer believe their children must attend school every day since the pandemic, a report suggests, with one Manchester mum saying: "I'm not gonna lie to you, my take on attendance and absence now is like I don't really care anymore."

Covid-19 lockdowns have caused a 'seismic shift' in parental attitudes to full-time school attendance that will take a 'monumental' effort to change, according to a study by consultancy Public First. A significant proportion of parents are taking their children on holiday during term time and these breaks are seen as 'socially acceptable', the report says.

The study – which highlights findings from focus groups with parents – comes amid mounting concerns about the rise in children missing school in England.

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The report concludes: "Pre-Covid, ensuring your child’s daily attendance at school was seen as a fundamental element of good parenting.

"Post-Covid, parents no longer felt that to be the case, and instead view attending school as one of several – often competing – options or demands on their child on a daily basis, against a backdrop of a more holistic approach to daily life.”

The study highlights a number of different factors which are contributing to higher pupil absences – including the rise in mental health problems among young people and the cost-of-living crisis.

But it did not find any evidence to suggest that the rise in parents working from home since Covid-19 has encouraged more children to stay off school.

It comes after Dame Rachel de Souza, the