Much has been written about the school attendance crisis since we emerged from two years of national lockdowns.
The prevailing cause, according to the higher-ups in policy or practice, is shifting attitudes and the prevalence of working from home.
It’s a deceptively simple and convincing narrative but one which lacks understanding, context or qualitative input from families (and indeed children) themselves.
So, what is going on and why?
The fire was already burning
Firstly, context. The fire was already burning pre-pandemic. Three-quarters of a million children were persistently absent - missing at least 10 per cent of school - in the autumn of 2018, which rose by an eye-watering 20 per cent persistently absent by autumn 2019 to more than 900,000 children experiencing school attendance difficulties.
Covid-19 catalysed a nuclear reaction of need and added complexity to the difficulties schools, allied services, children and their families were experiencing, and which hit the most underserved, multiply disadvantaged and marginalised communities the hardest.
The pandemic also created new cohorts of need, with children previously without difficulties now finding themselves struggling to adjust to the reset.
Illness (unsurprisingly) looms large in attendance data. Seasonal bugs always make the start of an academic year’s reporting look alarmingly stark.
Factor in dwindling mental health, long Covid, norovirus and influenza, and whole classes suddenly look very depleted indeed.
We’ve witnessed the largest increase in traumatic bereavement for a generation, and even where family members survived, the long shadow of acquired disability and mental ill health prevails with the added burden of employment or housing insecurity factoring highly in families’ lives.
And all this is within the cost of living impacting everyone.
Collapse and burnout
We know children with additional needs particularly struggle at school, especially those with hidden disabilities such as chronic illness, neurodiversity, communication difficulties either through English as a second language, mental ill health or developmental delays.
For these children, the demands of school lead to overwhelm and chronic fatigue, with Fridays often being a day of complete collapse and burnout. It is never an “easy” option to not complete a full week of school - the consequences ripple.
Few realise the lack of parity of available healthcare between children’s and adult services. If you have a child with complex conditions, it is not unusual for there to be no local care pathway, requiring families to travel out of the area or even wait until their child is over 18 to receive treatment and support.
The impact of poverty on childhood health is also well evidenced. If children aren’t well, healthy and able to access appropriate medical care, attendance at school inevitably falters, alongside attainment, progress and “normal” development.
These children are also the first to receive the message that missing one day of school means their life chances are ruined. And we wonder why there is an engagement crisis.
Consider new explanations
Yes, the social contract has been broken. Yes, families’ perceptions, attitudes and trust in systems and services have changed. But let’s be brave and consider how children and families are perceived by systems and services instead.
Are we reporting accurately and authentically? Are our conclusions correct? And isn’t it time we faced up to the sheer futility of stick-wielding and nudge theory as being effective solutions to improve outcomes?
There is always another way. And in 2025, we need to involve and understand in order to evolve and thrive together.
Ellie Costello is the executive director of Square Peg
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