A coalition of education charities has come together to commission Public First to carry out an investigation into the root causes of the crisis in attendance in England’s schools.

Impetus, School-Home Support and Khulisa have tasked Public First with carrying out a major focus group exercise, talking to parents across the country and across socio-economic groups to find out why so many children are now regularly absent from the classroom.

Attendance is a key indicator of performance at school. Recent data suggests that it is children from the most deprived communities who are most likely to be both absent from school and therefore see their results suffer.

Overall absence rates have significantly worsened over recent years. During the Autumn term 2022/23 (the most recent official stats) absence was 7.5%, compared to 4.3% for Autumn term 2018/2019.

FSM and geography would appear to have significant impact on attendance levels. In many regions, the attendance of pupils eligible for Free School Meal is significantly lower than their peers. In both the South East and South West there is a 5.1 percentage point difference between the attendance of pupils on Free School Meals and their peers (academic year 2021/2022), and absence rates for Free School Meal pupils are over 10% for all regions outside of London. We will explore these differences.

In addition to the focus groups, Public First researchers will carry out ethnographic research, talking to parent and young people who are in danger of permanently disengaging from the classroom.

The work will culminate in the publication of a report in the Autumn that will set out the conclusions from the work – and a series of recommendations for what the government and the school system could do to reverse this growing crisis.

Steve Haines, Director of Public Affairs at Impetus, said: “All the data shows us that persistent absence affects young people from disadvantaged backgrounds more than others – children who receive Free School Meals are persistently absent at around double the rate of those not eligible. This is pushing young people who already have worse outcomes even further behind, which is not only a disaster for young people now but is storing up a huge problem for the future. 

“So, we are working with Public First, School-Home Support and our charity partner Khulisa to find out what lies behind the attendance crisis and what needs to be done about it.”

Jaine Stannard, CEO, School-Home Support, said: “The fallout of the pandemic and the financial crisis has hit hard; the challenges are complex and the barriers stopping children accessing their education are greater than ever. With the number of children missing school increasing, it is vital that parents’ voices are heard.

“There are no quick fixes when it comes to tackling absence and a one size fits all approach won’t work. Blaming parents is counterproductive. If the bridge between home and school is crumbling, we need to strengthen it. This is a ticking time bomb. If we don’t act now we will lose more children and families from education for good.”

Jodie Wickers, Chief Executive of Khulisa, said: “Since the pandemic, we’ve seen the wellbeing challenges young people face rise rapidly. We’ve also seen an increase in both the number and the level of need of young people referred to Khulisa because they are struggling with their mental health. The vast majority are also struggling with school attendance as a result.

“From our work, we’ve found that when you invest in young people’s wellbeing; their attendance increases. This research is pivotal in helping us better understand the support needs of young people and their families, from their perspective, so that we can collectively act to mitigate the impact of this crisis.”

Public First partner Ed Dorrell said: “We have been watching the growing crisis in attendance with alarm. It is now affecting hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of young people. Their learning will is being undermined, possibly permanently.

“As such, we are excited to have been asked to carry out this important work. Hopefully we can shed a light on exactly what is going on.”