SEND support rises but secondary attendance falls, Barnsley report reveals

Find out how Merseyside’s secondary schools performed in The Telegraph's league table based on the latest academic year data.

placeholder image — Find out how Merseyside’s secondary schools performed in The Telegraph's league table based on the latest academic year data.

More Barnsley pupils are receiving specialist help in school, but attendance among older students has fallen, according to the borough’s latest safeguarding report.

The SEND Improvement Service says 13 per cent of pupils now receive special educational needs support, up from 10.2 per cent in 2022. Increased investment in social, emotional and mental health teaching has helped 64 per cent of at-risk pupils move off exclusion watchlists, while 59 per cent had no suspensions during the spring term.

Barnsley’s work to improve neurodiversity support was also recognised nationally, with its PINS project, running in nine schools, showcased as an example of good practice.

However, the report highlights a continued drop in attendance at secondary level, even as primary and early years attendance remains strong at over 96 per cent. A new multi-agency attendance workshop has been set up to target persistent absence on a case-by-case basis.

A separate borough-wide bullying survey, involving more than 1,300 pupils, found that 55 per cent of secondary students reported being bullied at some point, with more than 100 saying the experience had affected their mental health.

Despite that, progress has been made in prevention: 93 per cent of schools have now signed up to Barnsley’s anti-bullying commitments, compared with 78 per cent the previous year.

The findings form part of the Barnsley Safeguarding Children Partnership’s annual report for 2024/25.