Eight Months On, SNP Still Has No Real Plan as School Absence Rates Soar.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Roz McCall, has warned that the SNP Government’s “shameful inaction” means Scotland’s school absence crisis is only deepening, with no new strategy, no taskforce progress, and no meaningful interventions since official figures were last published in March 2025.
The most recent attendance data (2023–24), released eight months ago, showed an alarming collapse across local schools:
- 41.8% of secondary pupils in Fife were persistently absent - above the average rate.
- 27.8% of Fife primary pupils were persistently absent - far higher than the average.
- 43.1% of secondary pupils in Perth & Kinross were persistently absent - one of the highest levels anywhere in Scotland.
- 21.3% of Perth & Kinross primary pupils were persistently absent.
Persistent absence is defined as pupils missing 10% or more of the school year.
Despite the scale of the crisis, no new national attendance data has been published since March, and the Scottish Government has delivered no substantive action. Roz McCall says the SNP has “completely failed to get a grip,” warning the true figures are likely to be even higher this year.
McCall criticised the Scottish Government for responding to the crisis with nothing more than a media campaign, while the promised attendance taskforce hasn’t made meaningful progress, and schools are left with no national strategy, no targeted interventions, and no consequences for persistent non-attendance.
Roz McCall MSP said:
“When these shocking figures came out in March, parents and teachers expected real action. Instead, the SNP has done next to nothing.
“Since March, all the Scottish Government has managed is a glossy media campaign. The taskforce they promised has failed to deliver anything. There are no serious repercussions for persistent absence, and there is still no national plan to turn this around.
“If more than 40% of secondary pupils in Fife and Perth & Kinross were persistently absent last year, what on earth will the numbers look like now? The SNP’s refusal to act risks letting an entire generation slip through the cracks.
“They claim education is a priority, yet when faced with the biggest attendance crisis in modern Scottish history, Ministers have simply looked the other way.
This is not a problem you solve with slogans. We need real leadership, real accountability and a real strategy - but the SNP has offered none of it. I will continue pressing for urgent action to give schools and families the support they desperately need.”
