Truancy from school is a fifth higher on Fridays than Mondays, according to the latest figures.

And the education secretary is blaming parents working from home and changes in post-Covid expectations around school attendance, as reported by The Times.

With absenteeism consistently higher than before the pandemic, Gillian Keegan said boosting school attendance is a top priority.

Ms Keegan said 50,000 more pupils were absent on Fridays compared to Mondays. She said that parents are taking children out of class for long weekends and holidays, with unauthorised holidays 25% higher than pre-Covid.

The latest figures show a record 157,000 pupils are missing more than 50% of their lessons and 1.7 million have missed 10% of lessons - double the pre-Covid levels.

Absence was 4.7% in 2019 and peaked at 7.6% in 2021. Absence levels remain at 7%, but with overall absence of 6.6% on Wednesdays and 7.8% on Fridays.

The education secretary added that lockdowns had weakened expectations that children should be in school every day. She told parents that taking children out of school for no reason is unacceptable.

She also wants to see a return to children attending school with minor ailments or mild anxiety.

Ms Keegan said support has been offered to schools and parents to help increase school attendance. She warned that, if this doesn't work, fines for parents have increased from a minimum of £20 to £80.