Labour is aiming to force a vote on the creation of a list of children out of school, as it seeks to shine a spotlight on the number of youngsters missing lessons under the current government.

Announcing their plans, the opposition party highlights that absences have reached “historic” levels since the Conservatives took power in 2010 – increasing by 40% since then.

The phenomenon has also become known as “ghost children”.

Severe absences – missing more than 50% of school days – have tripled since the same date.

Analysis by the party claims that one in three children sitting their GCSEs this year have missed nearly three months of secondary school since the pandemic.

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Labour says it wants council-maintained lists of children not on school rolls.

The party is planning on using an opposition day on Tuesday – when they get to choose the topic debated in the Commons – to propose the legislation be heard on Wednesday 7 February.

Opposition days tend to be political and can be easily defeated by the government if it needs to utilise its majority – although the debates can prove sticky if centred on a controversial topic, as seen by the fracking vote which precipitated the collapse of Liz Truss’s premiership.

Labour has highlighted the backing of ministers and Tory MPs previously leant to creating such registers or lists.

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The illusive ‘ghost children’ register

Nick Martin

People and politics correspondent

@NickMartinSKY

Creating a register of children not in school has been talked about a lot, not just by political parties, but by local councils and schools whose job it is to make sure children attend class.

But to date, no such register exists. Proposals to legislate for a new national register were once part of the Government’s now-scrapped Schools Bill.

In December 2022, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told MPs on the Education Select Committee that a register for children not in school would remain a priority for the Government, but legislation to create a register has yet to be put forward.

Last summer, in an interview with Sky News, I asked Ms Keegan when the Government would re-introduce the idea.

She said: “I don’t have the exact answer because it’s a parliamentary process that we have to go through, but we do intend to put it on a statutory footing and we will do that as soon as as the parliamentary time allows.”

And since then there has been no progress on introducing one. The Department for Education has announced an additional 18 “attendance hubs” in England, which are run by schools with strong attendance records who share their expertise with schools that need help.

And a national communications campaign on the importance of attendance has also been launched to target parents and carers.

But Labour’s intervention on the issue could be significant and popular amongst those who have campaigned for registers.

And with an estimated 1.8 million children now persistently absent from school, missing more than 10 per cent of lessons, the problem is an urgent one.

The government had promised to introduce a register within the Schools Bill, which was announced under the then education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, in May 2022 when Boris Johnson was still prime minister.

However, the bill was scrapped in December of that year by Gillian Keegan, appointed to the schools brief by Rishi Sunak.

Mrs Keegan did tell the Commons’ Education Select Committee at the time that the concept of a register was “definitely a priority”.

Nick Gibb, who was schools minister at the time, told the same committee in July 2023 that the “register of children not in school is important, and we consulted on it”.

He added: “Again, we do not have a legislative vehicle to introduce it, but we are still committed to doing so.”

A similar bill was introduced by Conservative MP Flick Drummond last year, and was backed by nine other Conservatives, including former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson.

The attempt by Ms Drummond did not even progress past a first reading in the Commons, with no vote taking place.

She has made a second attempt with her The Children Not in School (Registers, Support and Orders) Bill, which is set for a second reading and vote on 15 March.

A report from the children’s commissioner found children who were persistently absent for years 10 and 11 were half as likely to get five GCSEs when compared to students more often in attendance.

It is understood that the government is still working with councils on non-statutory registers.

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Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “Conservative MPs, including the current schools minister and two former schools ministers, claim to support the register of children not in school but yet again have failed to deliver.

“The secretary of state has said it is her priority to legislate on a register ‘in the very short term’: that is why Labour is giving her and her Conservative colleagues an opportunity to make good on her pledge.

“There is no time to waste if we are to tackle the biggest challenge currently facing our schools – that is why Labour’s motion is so essential, and represents the first step of our long-term plan to get to grips with persistent absence.

“Only Labour is demonstrating the kind of leadership on education which will break down the barriers to opportunity and deliver better life chances for our children.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to a suitable education.

“We remain committed to legislating to take forward the Children Not in School measures, and will progress these when the legislative timetable allows.”