Solutions for school attendance roundtable unites sector leaders

Place2Be hosted a cross-sector roundtable to discuss the impact of persistent absence and identify practical solutions to better support children and young people in attending school. 

The session brought together leading figures from the education, health, and voluntary sectors to focus on solutions to tackling persistent absence across the country. Hosted in collaboration with Centre for Mental Health and the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, the roundtable was chaired by Place2Be's Chief Executive, Catherine Roche. 

School can provide significant benefits to young people. However for many children - often those with additional needs or experience of disadvantage - their school experience does not reflect this. 

During the roundtable, speakers highlighted systemic barriers affecting children and young people contributing to poor attendance. Factors included:

• growing rates of childhood poverty
• rising mental health issues among children 
• a lack of access to specialist provision.  

Centre for Mental Health and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, co-hosts of the roundtable, recently published their 2024 report ‘Not in School’ which also looked at complex reasons behind the attendance crisis. 

Roundtable participants explored what schools can do to support pupils to return to school. The group also discussed:

• the importance of rebuilding trust and belonging with children and families
• putting systems in place to create a supportive environment for every child
• the connection between poor mental health and school absence. 

Findings from the University of Cambridge, using Place2Be counselling data, shows that poor mental health over time is associated with higher levels of persistent absence. This data was gathered from 7,405 pupils who were supported with one-to-one counselling. Of those, nearly one quarter were persistently absent.

Practical solutions identified by the group to tackle the school attendance crisis

Boosting school attendance by reforming school culture 

We need to make school a place where pupils want to be, prioritising inclusion and ensuring policies promote positive mental health. To do this, school staff should be trained in mental health to lead the delivery of a whole school approach. Ofsted should shift its focus to judging schools on how they impact positive wellbeing, and the Department for Education needs to allocate more funding to programs that bring enrichment in school settings. 

Early identification and working with families before absence becomes persistent 

School teams need the data on mental health in absences, and the tools to engage with families in a whole family approach. Alongside cross-sector collaboration on a local level, this will enable schools to identify and support pupils who are absent earlier.

Addressing and removing the drivers of persistent absence 

Unmet mental health difficulties, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and neurodivergence can contribute to withdrawal from school. And currently, services supporting young people in these areas are not meeting the high demand. To address this, we need expert, evidence-based mental health services in every school across the country, and the Government should invest in local authorities to enable them to meet demand for SEND support. We need more funding into children and young people’s mental health services, ensuring a timely response.

Changing the system and tackling the risk factors that drive severe absence 

Schools need systemic change and Government support to successfully improve attendance. Addressing root causes like poverty and experience of social deprivation requires more investment in healthcare, children's services, and community-led programmes working directly with groups at risk of severe absence.

The group unanimously agreed that a holistic approach is needed to improve persistent absence, involving a shift in school culture, early support, and systemic change. Collaborating across schools, health, local authorities, the voluntary sector, and Government enables us to address root causes of poor attendance and build an education system where every child can thrive.

Read a detailed summary of the roundtable and its outcomes