Absence - EdCentral

Have schools been put into an attendance trap?

New guidance on communicating with parents about absence leaves schools with the ‘all but impossible’ task of improving attendance without being able to hold families to account, warn leaders.

As a teacher, I saw first-hand how education can lift children out of incredibly difficult circumstances.

We use Key Stage 2 data for 2025 from the National Pupil Database (NPD). We include all 653,000 pupils at state-funded mainstream and special schools.

Schools across the country continue to grapple with stubbornly high absence rates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many of the biggest challenges facing the education system – including absence, disengagement and SEND – are complex, interrelated and are shaped by socioeconomic circumstance.

Every morning, millions of children are expected to attend school. Yet many face barriers that prevent regular attendance.

Children are up to 55% more likely to miss school on their birthday – one of a string of ‘just one day off’ habits that new government analysis shows could be quietly costing children weeks of learning.

DfE highlights Taylor Swift gig in crackdown on ‘one-off’ absences

Government publishes the research behind its plans to curb one-day absences, alongside a new parental communications guide for schools to help keep messaging ‘useful’.

Pupils up to 55% more likely to miss school on their birthday

Pupils are up to 55 per cent more likely to miss school on their birthdays, according to new government absence analysis.

Let birthday pupils skip lunch queue to cut absence, schools told

Schools will be provided with new tools highlighting absence patterns over the year, and new communications guides to improve engagement with families.

England's 'just one day off' culture adding up to weeks of lost learning as 'birthday bunk offs' become the norm

England's 'just one day off' culture is adding up to weeks of lost learning for pupils, as officials warn 'birthday bunk offs' are becoming the norm.

School absence: Study urges focus on wider wellbeing factors

Lower life-satisfaction is associated with decreased school attendance suggesting a need to place wider wellbeing measures at the heart of efforts to address persistent absence.

Life satisfaction levels closely linked to school absence rates, study shows

Pupils that miss school, including those that are persistently absent, are more likely to experience low levels of satisfaction with their life, research shows.

New NFER research shows that lower life satisfaction among pupils in England is associated with higher school absences, with stronger links seen among girls and persistently absent pupils*.

Boost girls’ wellbeing to cut absence, ministers told

Improving life satisfaction is ‘likely to yield the greatest benefits’ for school attendance, NFER researchers find.

Report finds ‘significant link’ between school absence and life satisfaction

A new report has revealed a “significant” link between school absence and pupils’ sense of life satisfaction, particularly among girls.

Have schools been put into an attendance trap?

Persistently disadvantaged pupils are too often invisible – the government must act

Key Stage 2 attainment, lifetime absence and context

School Belonging and Attendance: How much difference can it make?

Growing apart: the evolution of the disadvantage gap

Every day counts: Understanding, preventing and responding to school attendance problems

Birthday bunk-offs fuelling avoidable school absence

DfE highlights Taylor Swift gig in crackdown on ‘one-off’ absences

Pupils up to 55% more likely to miss school on their birthday

Let birthday pupils skip lunch queue to cut absence, schools told

England's 'just one day off' culture adding up to weeks of lost learning as 'birthday bunk offs' become the norm

School absence: Study urges focus on wider wellbeing factors

Life satisfaction levels closely linked to school absence rates, study shows

Low life satisfaction more strongly associated with school absence for girls than boys

Boost girls’ wellbeing to cut absence, ministers told

Report finds ‘significant link’ between school absence and life satisfaction