A crisis of disengagement: listening to, and learning from, teachers on school attendance, published today by Impetus and Public First, finds that school staff see the attendance crisis as a problem of disengagement, not behaviour, driven mostly by pressures they perceive as outside their control. Three findings stand out:
- Classroom teachers don't see attendance as a priority - many see it as an administrative burden that gets in the way of teaching, not part of the job.
- Classroom teachers don't believe every day in school matters - echoing the scepticism parents and pupils have already voiced about holiday fines and 'every day matters' messaging.
- Real progress means rebuilding the relationships, belonging and trust that make school feel worth showing up for - not just stronger enforcement.
Across the nine focus groups, several other findings emerged which uncover the true nature of the crisis:
- Attendance work is 'relentless': staff say chasing it eats time and energy that should go into teaching, with one leader saying schools now act as ‘doctors, psychologists… lawyers… chefs’.
- Not all absences are equal: the absences worry staff most are from pupils caught in a spiral of lost routines, friendships and trust, not those missing the odd day or even the odd week.
- The causes sit beyond the school gates: staff link poor attendance to CAMHS waits, unmet SEND needs and vanishing local services, with schools seen as 'the one stop shop for everything'.
- Pupils are losing faith that school pays off: staff link declining attendance to intergenerational disadvantage and a fading belief that school leads to a worthwhile future.
- Mental health needs are adding complexity: staff report a real rise in anxiety and emotionally-based avoidance, but say they lack the training and capacity to judge where genuine need ends and avoidance begins.
- Fixes that work don't scale easily: interventions built on relationships, such as trusted adults, mentoring and home visits are seen as most impactful, but are the hardest to sustain under current pressures.
- Teachers and leaders disagree around responsibility: many teachers see attendance as an excessive administrative burden; leaders see it as everyone's job.
- Holidays and minor absence are far less worrying than sustained disengagement: teachers echo scepticism already heard from parents and pupils over holiday fines and 'every day matters' messaging.
The findings follow an announcement in August by DfE Minister Paul Waugh MP, who confirmed that progress on attendance has slowed, with overall absence rising to 6.93% in 2025/26. While pointing to factors like flu and extreme heat, Mr Waugh also acknowledged 'bigger factors beyond the school gate' driving the problem.
The report is the third in a three-part research programme, following a 2023 study with parents and a 2025 study with pupils. It is based on nine focus groups with 62 secondary school staff in schools where more than a quarter of pupils are eligible for free school meals. Hearing from parents, pupils and school staff in turn has captured the full extent of the evolving challenge facing schools and families in improving attendance.
Severe absence continues to rise nationally – from 2.30% to 2.39% year-on-year – and FSM-eligible pupils are over three-and-a-half times as likely to be severely absent as their non-FSM eligible peers, with early signs the gap is widening rather than closing.
The report makes three recommendations to reverse the crisis, including:
- Build on the government's new pupil-level data tools and school targets to catch attendance problems before they become entrenched, tracking movement across bands and benchmarking against similar schools so improvement is recognised and effective practice shared, not just decline.
- Back the government's enrichment trials with sustained investment in belonging, including mentoring, trusted adults and transition support, not just one-off Friday clubs.
- Connect the government's technical education and employment reforms directly to attendance, starting well before Key Stage 4, so that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds see a clearer link between showing up and securing a future worth having.
Susannah Hardyman MBE, CEO of Impetus, said:
“Teachers are on the frontline of the attendance crisis, but they cannot solve it alone. We now know that not only are pupils, families and teachers unconvinced that every day in school matters, but what we are facing is a wider crisis of disengagement driven by pressures often outside the control of school staff.
Too many young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are losing significant amounts of learning. Persistent absence is more than two and a half times more common among disadvantaged pupils, and, if nothing is done, our analysis shows that last year’s rates of persistent and severe absence alone will translate into more than 600,000 missed GCSEs. The consequences go far beyond attainment: for many young people, school provides belonging, friendship, trusted relationships and a vital source of safety and support.
Attendance matters and there is no silver bullet solution, so it must matter to everyone – classroom teachers, parents, young people and the government. If we are serious about turning this around, we need to look inside as well as beyond the school gates. Schools need the tools and capacity to identify problems early, but they also need a wider system around them that tackles the barriers that are preventing young people from going to school. Above all, we need to make school a place where young people feel they belong, are engaged in their learning and can see how their education will help them succeed in life.”
Susannah Hardyman, CEO, Impetus
Katie Carr, Director at Public First, said:
“Teachers are telling us what the government has now confirmed: attendance progress has stalled, and one-day fixes won't turn it around. We're encouraged by the government's wider shift on data, school targets, mental health support and technical education. Real progress means going beyond symptoms to tackle the systemic root causes - rebuilding relationships, belonging and trust, not just stronger enforcement.”
Katie Carr, Director, Public First
