One in five Sunderland pupils regularly miss school

Projections show that 31 per cent of pupils could be regularly absent by 2025 if changes are not made.

To be classed as persistently missing from school a child has to miss 10 per cent of lessons and across a year they will lose four weeks of teaching.

Labour attribute the poor attendance to the declining mental health of children failing to get treatment from the NHS.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, said: "Children in the North East deserve a quality education.

"Every day of education matters to the life chances of children - that’s why tackling persistent absence would be mission critical for Labour in government.  

"The Conservatives have no plans to get to grips with the epidemic of persistent absence and the stakes couldn’t be higher - we could see a lost generation of school children without firm action.

"Tackling that epidemic starts with Labour mending the broken relationship between schools, families and government."

Sharon Hodgson, Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West, made it clear that the situation was not due to lack of effort on behalf of teachers.

She said: "These are really concerning statistics. Education is one of the key equalisers in society, so it is imperative that the increasing rates of persistent absences are reduced.

"Teachers are working incredibly hard to deliver for our children, very often going above and beyond.

"However, the Government must support schools and teachers by helping to address the lack of trust families have, which has resulted in part due to the Conservative underfunding of schools, their inability to tackle the RAAC crisis effectively and the lack of funding of mental health services.

"It is clear that we need a change of government. It will be Labour, not the Conservatives, who deliver on getting Britain’s future back."

A Department of Education spokesperson said: "Though the vast majority of children are in school and learning, we are taking action to tackle absence in school because we know the damage it can have on a child’s education, wellbeing and future life chances.

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"We are providing vital support for around 400,000 pupils through our attendance hubs, and our Attendance Action Alliance is supporting delivery of practical support to schools to further raise school attendance.

"We also published new guidance that places an expectation on schools to use data to identify and support at-risk pupils.

"This is on top of our direct work with persistently and severely absent children and their families, where trained mentors are providing tailored support to overcome barriers and support these children back into school."