Attendance

The latest news and professional advice on school attendance, including analysis of attendance data and shared practice on tackling pupil absence and internal truancy

Thursday

29th May 2025

Early intervention has helped us to improve attendance
A school leader explains how setting a higher target for attendance and focusing on family support has proved successful in reducing absence
improve attendance Children in school
Students miss school because they can’t afford transport and meals
One in six secondary students has missed school at least once because they did not have something they needed, polling shows
Students are missing school because they can't afford uniforms or meals, research shows

Thursday

22nd May 2025

How to create a truly inclusive education system
The executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives explains its new roadmap to help the government deliver a more inclusive school system – and why inclusion is so important
inclusive education illustration of different heads

Wednesday

21st May 2025

Mental health and attendance: 5 insights for school leaders
New DfE research offers insightful analysis of the relationship between mental ill-health and school absence, including some findings that challenge conventional wisdom, writes Luke Ramsden
Wellbeing absence child sitting on bench

Saturday

17th May 2025

Tom Bennett to apply to be DfE’s new behaviour ambassador
The former government behaviour adviser and lead of the behaviour hubs programme is set to reapply for the renamed behaviour hub ‘ambassador’ position
Tom Bennett Behaviour Hubs
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Friday

16th May 2025

DfE sets out mental health, behaviour and attendance plans
Expansion of mental health support in schools announced alongside the launch of 90 attendance and behaviour hubs
Mental health hand on shoulder

Wednesday

30th Apr 2025

Starmer should look to last Labour government to fix school absence
Under Tony Blair, absence rates in English schools fell. The current government would do well to emulate this preventative approach, says Moira Wallace
Starmer should look to last Labour government to fix school absence

Friday

4th Apr 2025

Third of teenage girls ‘no longer feel safe in school’
Secondary students in England enjoy school less than their peers in other countries, UCL research shows
A third of teenage girls no longer feel safe in school, research shows

Thursday

27th Mar 2025

Schools need more targeted funding to improve attendance
Research report highlights need for more pastoral and mental health support to improve attendance
A new research report has explored the approaches schools are using to improve attendance.

Thursday

20th Mar 2025

Severe absence reaches record high
Overall absence continues to fall, but figures for the most severely absent pupils have reached highest numbers since data collection began
The number of pupils who were severely absent has reached a record high, new DfE data shows.
More focus and fight: what Labour needs to do on education
Labour has allowed itself to get distracted by unnecessary squabbles – but the plan for a SEND White Paper could lay the foundation for important work on poverty and attendance, says Sam Freedman
More focus and fight: What Labour needs to do next

Wednesday

19th Mar 2025

Why Labour’s breakfast club policy is concerning
In principle, it’s a laudable idea. But placing a duty on all primary schools isn’t the right approach, writes this chief education officer
Why Labour's breakfast club policy is concerning