A record number of children in England are missing out on their education. Recently, the Guardian revealed that 170,000 children missed at least half their school lessons last year, marking the highest recorded level of pupil absences. The percentage of pupils classified as “severely absent” increased from 2.0% in 2022-23 to 2.3% in 2023-24, highlighting a growing problem.

But who is missing school, and what can we do to ensure more children attend, engage, and thrive in their education?

Research shows a link between school absence and a child’s socioeconomic background. Research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) also found that it is vulnerable groups, such as pupils who have SEND needs or who receive free school meals, whose absence rates have increased since the pandemic. For example, pupils who receive free school meals experience more unauthorised absences. Various reasons cause these absences, including illness, family emergencies, housing instability, and more. Some students also face challenges in school that make the environment unsafe to them, such as bullying, mental health issues and health conditions, making them not want to attend.

Unauthorised absences tend to have a greater impact on academic performance (as opposed to authorised absences), and authorities can even fine parents when their children repeatedly miss school. Repeated unauthorised absences can also widen the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. The Department for Education (DfE) released a paper showing that missing just 13 days of school can cause almost a whole grade decrease in GCSE results. However, with regular school attendance, the attainment gap at the age of 11 would be 10% smaller, and at 16 it would be 20% smaller.

They also explained that missing school can have a harmful effect on pupils’ future job prospects. Data shows that pupils who are persistently absent (missing over 10% of school days) are 60% less likely to be in sustained employment for 12 months. Similarly, those who are severely absent (missing over 50% of school days) are 75% less likely to secure long-term work. Considering the pupils who are more likely to be absent in education, it’s crucial that we make concerted efforts to raise attendance in schools to close the attainment gap and ensure that pupils can lead the lives they wish, regardless of their background.

The DfE’s guidance emphasises raising school attendance by creating a welcoming school environment and promoting high expectations for pupil attendance. Pupils are more likely to attend school if they are entering an environment where they feel safe and valued.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) states that being inclusive by design and creating a positive environment can highlight and praise pupils’ positive contributions to learning and the wider school community. They also advise that schools should promote positive relationships and interactions between pupils and teachers.

This is similar to advice given by the DfE, who state that improving attendance is everyone’s responsibility, meaning schools, parents, and pupils should work together to improve attendance. To achieve this, parents and schools must build strong relationships to remove any barriers to pupils’ attendance.

By drawing on strong relationships, the school can then notice patterns in attendance and work with the family when interventions are needed. The family can also provide information on how to make the school as welcoming as possible on an individual basis. However, how far can strong relationships with parents take us when attempting to raise the attendance of over 170,000 students? And is this too high an expectation to put on schools?

With cuts to services such as social work, more pressure is being put on schools to act as replacements for these services. Teachers and other staff are taking on additional responsibilities that they sometimes cannot sustain. Schools cannot tackle raising attendance by themselves without additional support and funding in place. For example, providing a mental health professional for school support, where students in need of mental health services could be directed, or building up family outreach to be more inclusive of families in the school community.

Raising attendance in schools also requires a holistic approach rather than a punitive one. The current guidance, where families are fined for unauthorised absences and could even face criminal records, does not incentivise pupils to attend school for the right reasons, and can even leave them disengaged with the education system. It can also punish those who are most vulnerable, such as SEND students who have health complications, meaning they cannot attend school each day, and medical diagnoses, which can take years to get, to prove their absence was necessary.

In conclusion, the challenge in raising poor school attendance is not just a school issue. As the DfE itself states, it is everyone’s responsibility. The rise in school absences is widening educational inequality and harming children’s long-term prospects. To truly address this challenge, we need a collaborative approach that recognises the complex barriers to attendance and provides children with the support they need to succeed.