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Rewards or sanctions? What works when addressing secondary school absence?

Attendance Pastoral issues Parental engagement Senior leadership Whole-school issues
As official figures show slow but steady progress on school absence, a research study has sought to identify ‘what works’ in re-engaging and supporting absent students. Pete Henshaw takes a look
One in five: Latest absence figures show that 20% of students were persistently absent in 2023/24, an improvement from 21.2% the previous academic year. At secondary level, this rises to 25.6% in secondaries (down from 26.5% the year previously) - Adobe Stock

Secondary schools should prioritise “individualised approaches” including pastoral support, one-to-one check-ins, and lesson catch-up when addressing student absence – but should still recognise that sanctions have a role to play.

A research study based on the work of nine secondary schools with good attendance records has sought to identify “work works”.

It comes after the latest Department for Education data showed that levels of school absence are slowly improving, but that key vulnerable groups continue to struggle to attend – including young carers, disadvantaged students, and those with SEND.

However, the data also shows that while persistent absence (missing 10% of school) is slowly improving, severe absence (missing 50%) is getting worse.

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