Is cost of living causing children to miss school in Wales?

There are calls for an urgent government investigation into children missing school due to the cost of living crisis.

One in five pupils from poorer backgrounds were persistently absent last year, official figures show.

A Senedd report says there needs to be more understanding of the problems facing families, such as travel, uniform, and school trip costs.

The Welsh government said improving attendance is a "national priority".

Persistent absence is when a pupil misses more than 20% of classes over the school year.

The report, following an inquiry by the Children, Young People and Education Committee, said it had received evidence that school closures during the pandemic led to a "more accepting attitude to lower school attendance", and suggested a public campaign is needed to help reverse the trend.

Figures for October this year highlight a difference for pupils eligible for free school meals.

Attendance for those who can get free meals is at 86.9%, while those who do not qualify have a better attendance at 93.1%.

Children's commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes told the inquiry attendance figures were also "significantly lower" for children in year groups not entitled to free travel and that tackling child poverty should be a "key driver in reducing absence".

Jayne Bryant, the committee's Labour chairwoman, said sending children to school was an "expensive business".

"Parents have to find money for uniforms, books, technology, stationery, school bags, school trips, after school clubs," she said.

"The lack of free transport is also an issue for many - in a cost of living crisis with rising inflation, this is getting even harder every day.

"Today, we're calling on the Welsh government to get to the bottom of how rising costs are impacting pupil attendance and to start campaigns nationwide and locally reinforcing the importance of school attendance."

As Covid hit education, ministers discouraged councils from fining parents for not ensuring children go to school.

But in May, amid worries about attendances, councils were asked to go back to pre-pandemic guidance.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles emphasised fines should be a "last-resort" and would only be used in the most extreme cases.

Responding to the report, Mr Miles said several steps had been taken to support families and schools, including £4m for family engagement officers to work with families and pupils.

"This year we also provided £24m which was focused on learners in exam years, including dedicated funding for an attendance officer in each local authority to support learners," he added.