Attendance figures for the spring term 2025 show that absence in secondary schools stands at 8.7% – of which 3.3% was unauthorised absence.
Persistent absence, meanwhile – students who miss at least 10% of school – is running at 24.5%.
While the figures continue to be notably above pre-pandemic levels, progress is being made year-on-year.
The figures compare to the spring term 2024 when absence stood at 9.2% (of which 3.6% was unauthorised). Persistent absence a year ago stood at 26.5%.
It comes after the annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) heard calls for attendance accountability to be spread fairly between schools, families, and local authorities.
A motion passed unamimously by delegates at the event in Harrogate called on the NAHT to “campaign for fairer attendance accountability measures, ensuring that attendance policies reflect the shared responsibility of schools, families, and local authorities”.
The union has also been instructed to “advocate for increased resources and funding for attendance-related support, including early intervention programmes, family engagement services, and mental health provisions”.
Overall attendance across primary, secondary and special schools is running at 93% – up from 92.7% a year ago.
Overall, 1 in 5 children and young people (20.3%) continue to be persistently absent across primary, secondary and special schools – down from 21.9% a year ago.
As ever, the figures are much worse for children and young people on free school meals and for those with SEND.
Absence for disadvantaged pupils across all types of school stands at 10.8% (vs 5.5% for non-FSM pupils); persistent absence stands at 33.3% (vs 15.3%).
For SEND students with an Education, Health, and Care Plan, absence stands at 13.9% and persistent absence at 35.8%. This compares to 10.8% and 30.3% for those on SEN Support, and 6.1% and 18.1% for those without a known SEND.
The rates for FSM and SEND students are all an improvement on spring term 2024, with the exception of the absence rate for EHCP students, which is marginally worse.
In Harrogate, the NAHT motion stated: “Conference notes with concern the growing accountability placed on school leaders for pupil attendance, despite the many external factors affecting school attendance, including the impact of the pandemic, mental health challenges, SEND provision gaps, and the cost-of-living crisis.
“Conference believes that tackling attendance requires a multi-agency approach that includes families, local authorities, and wider social services rather than making school leaders solely responsible for attendance rates. The increasing pressure on leaders to manage attendance without sufficient resources risks undermining their ability to focus on teaching and learning.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “It is encouraging that for the second term running, attendance figures have moved in the right direction year-on-year. Schools are continuing to work incredibly hard to increase attendance, including by tackling unauthorised absence – however there is much more to do.
“Many of the root causes of absence are beyond schools’ control and that is reflected in (the motion). The motion calls for a truly multi-agency approach to tackling issues including the impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, mental health challenges, and gaps in provision for pupils with SEN.
“Vital services which support families and schools, like social care and mental health, and key roles like education welfare officer, faced huge cuts under the previous government. To make bigger strides in improving school attendance, we need fresh investment in this kind of help, something reflected in our conference motion – as well as tangible action to address the causes of child poverty.”
- DfE: Pupil attendance in schools, May 2025: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools/2025-week-15