A secondary school struggling to get pupils to class has been hit with a poor Ofsted rating for the fourth time running.

Attendance issues at Astor in Dover have largely been blamed for yet another ‘requires improvement’ grading by the education watchdog – the second lowest possible.

The most recent figures show a worrying 48% of its 795 pupils were persistently absent in 2021/22 – against a national average of 28%.

Astor head teacher Lee Kane has written to parents since the release of the latest Ofsted report, expressing his frustration at its findings.

“The inspectors noted that the poor attendance of some pupils limits the intended impact of the curriculum and overall achievement,” he wrote.

“While the school has been tirelessly working to address attendance challenges, the impact on our overall data resulted in a frustrating downgrading of the Behaviour and Attitudes judgement at the re-inspection.

“We contested this decision as the school has been actively addressing attendance challenges.

“Unfortunately, our appeal to the Inspector's statement about our efforts to improve attendance did not lead to a change in judgement.”

Following Ofsted’s routine visit this autumn, inspectors said despite the dedicated efforts of teachers, poor attendance among children is having a detrimental effect on learning.

“In every lesson, there are pupils who have missed important prior learning and so need help to understand that before they can build further knowledge,” they say.

“When they do attend, they know that staff will welcome them and offer them extra help to catch up on the gaps in their learning but for too many this is too late and not sustained.

“As a result, many pupils achieve very poorly in GCSE examinations.”

The school was graded ‘requires improvement’ in both the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes categories, and ‘good’ for personal development, sixth-form provision and leadership and management.

Official government figures show overall absence was 14.3% from 2021 to 2022, while persistent cases were as high as 48.3%.

“In every lesson, there are pupils who have missed important prior learning and so need help...”

Persistent absence is the percentage of pupils missing 10% or more classes.

The issue has been a serious problem in Kent schools since Covid lockdowns, with KentOnline reporting some of the most severe cases earlier this year.

Latest figures show 25.4% of pupils in the county were persistently absent in the academic year of 2022-23 - almost double the pre-pandemic rate of 11.8%.

Astor’s individual rates for the same period are yet to be officially released.

But recent data shows GCSE pupils at the Astor Avenue school this year underperformed significantly compared with the county average.

Government figures show 9% of GCSE pupils achieved a grade five or above in English and maths during the most recent academic year.

It compares to a Kent-wide average of 47%, and 45% nationally, according to the gov.uk website.

And Astor’s Progress 8 score, which marks children’s development in the lead-up to their GCSE years, has also been deemed “well below average”.

But in Ofsted’s report published on December 15, inspectors say there is an “ambitious and well-considered curriculum” for all who turn up.

“Staff are endlessly patient, adapting and supporting pupils, even offering time during weekends and after school," they write.

“This has some success but is not sustainable, not least for the wellbeing of staff who care deeply.

“The picture is very different in the sixth-form. Here, students make the most of the exciting and wide variety of courses on offer. They show dedication and achieve well, gaining the grades and support to move on to their post-16 choices.”

“In lessons, pupils try hard and respond well to the warm and productive relationships that staff establish. There is a sense of respect running through the whole school community.

“In a few subjects the curriculum is not sufficiently coherent or sequenced. In these subjects, pupils do not build their knowledge over time as securely as they could.

“The school should ensure that the curriculum across all subjects is as precisely planned as in the strongest, including for pupils with Special Educational Needs.”

Astor – run by the Samphire Star Education Trust – has had four full Ofsted inspections since converting to an academy in 2012.

On rating the school ‘requires improvement’ after the first visit in 2015, inspectors said persistent absence was higher than average “but falling”.

In 2017 the watchdog said children being away from school impacted “negatively on pupils’ progress”.

But before the pandemic hit in 2020, inspectors applauded the strong relationship parents fostered with the school.

“Pupils’ attendance is rising and is now much closer to the national average,” they reported.