Gillian Keegan said levels of absence in schools was now "a crisis" with recent figures revealing that 125,000 pupils spent more time out of class than in.

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In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News, Gillian Keegan said she would "pick them up myself" when asked how best to engage with missing pupils.

The comments mark a radical change in direction for the government, which says it is keen to move away from prosecuting and fining parents for not ensuring their children are in school to a more "support-first" approach.

Asked if it was a good use of a headteachers' time to pick a pupil up from home, Mrs Keegan said: "They [headteachers] do have a duty. We all have to play our part. Sometimes you have to go [to the home] or sometimes you have to text the parent in the morning. Sometimes you just have to do whatever is possible.

"That's not what we want headteachers doing all of their days. But to be honest, right now, if that works to get somebody in school, it's worth it.

"I'd go pick them up myself if I could."

Last year, local authorities identified an estimated 94,900 children missing education altogether, that is not registered at school or receiving suitable education, at some point during the 2021/22 academic year.

Councils are encouraged to keep a register of missing children, but there is no legal obligation and most records are kept voluntarily.

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Asked if the government should make a register of missing pupils mandatory, Mrs Keegan said: "It's something that my fellow MPs are very concerned about. I don't have the exact date because there is a parliamentary process we have to go through, but we do intend to put it on a statutory footing and we will do that as soon as the parliamentary time allows."

The government says it is tackling poor attendance in the worst-affected areas, rolling out a pilot programme of attendance hubs and mentors to work with families.

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Mrs Keegan said there would be a big push at the start of the new term to try to get absent children engaged in school.

"We know statistically that if children start school in September, they are more likely to stay in school.

"So we've got a window of opportunity where we're really trying to bring together mentors, attendance hubs, local authorities, schools, and families to work to get children back into school and to reduce the barriers."