Parents will be told to stop the Covid-era practice of keeping children off school with sore throats and runny noses.
It comes as part of a government push to tackle rising levels of absenteeism.
The number of secondary school children persistently absent in England has doubled in the last decade, from 567,000 in 2010 to 894,444 in 2021.
Meanwhile, a nationwide marketing campaign is being launched today aimed at convincing parents to ensure their children go to all classes, under the strapline "moments matter, attendance counts."
Covid-rule madness sees children with sore throats and runny noses staying off school
PA
Both the Government and the Labour Party are announcing this week their plans on how to bring down absenteeism as school.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "The benefits of our success in raising education standards can only be when all children are in school.
"Tackling attendance is my number-one priority. We want all our children to have the best start in life because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment, as well as impact future career success."
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson on Sunday urged parents not to take children out of school for holiday trips and will give a speech on Tuesday outlining her plans.
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan
PA
Phillipson told the BBC: "I think those parents that choose to take their children out of school for holidays or for trips or where it’s not necessary should reflect seriously.
"Because that damages children’s life chances, they only get one chance at school, they only get one childhood.
"For those parents who are facing additional challenges, and for children that are facing additional challenges, an incoming Labour government will make sure that we put in place the support that’s needed to tackle that."
According to Labour analysis of Department of Education data, around 28 per cent of secondary school pupils in England were classed as “persistently absent”, meaning they missed at least a tenth of school sessions.
The figure is much higher in other areas, such as, in Knowsley in the North West, where the portion of secondary pupils persistently absent was 41 per cent.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson
PA
According to new polling for the Centre for Social Justice one in four parents agree that the pandemic has shown it is not essential for children to attend school every day.
A head teacher called Samantha Reed also recently highlighted the problem in a blog on the Department of Education’s website.
She wrote: "We’ve also struggled with attitudes towards attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic.
"People were being told to stay off with a sore throat, and we’re now working hard to explain that this is no longer acceptable."
