Experts urge the Government to prioritise mental health for better school attendance

09 September 2024

In a joint letter to Rt Hon. Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Education (DfE), sector leaders call on the Government to tackle the attendance crisis.

A close up image of two students sitting next to each other, both with their hands placed on their laps. The students are wearing black and grey school uniforms.

Place2Be and the letter’s co-signatories offer solutions to improve children's life chances and increase school attendance by prioritising inclusion, enrichment, mental health, and special educational needs support.

Research and findings about school attendance

Research shows that children who struggle with their mental health are more likely to persistently miss school. But new data from the University of Cambridge and Place2Be shows that one-to-one counselling may improve school attendance among persistently absent pupils, particularly at younger ages.

The paper, published in the Archive of Diseases in Childhood, analyses data from 7,400 pupils supported by Place2Be with one-to-one counselling.

They found that school-based one-to-one counselling has the potential to reduce the likelihood of persistent absence by 18.5%. The data also shows it could be most effective for primary school-aged pupils and children of parents or carers with no educational qualifications.

Importantly, children with better mental health after counselling also had stronger engagement and enjoyment of school at a follow up in the study.

The joint letter

In this joint letter, 44 experts from the education, mental health, community and children’s sectors call on the new Secretary of State to prioritise tackling persistent and severe school absence by working through a mental health lens.

Read the full letter and list of signatories below.

Dear Secretary of State,

This month, millions of pupils across England will go through the school gates to start the new school year. But with one in five children persistently missing school, around 1.6 million children won’t be joining their peers.

School absences have risen in tandem with stretched services, and disproportionately affect marginalised groups of children. Children who persistently miss school are more likely to experience mental health difficulties, more likely to have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and are at higher risk of exploitation.

We all know the long-term effects of persistent and severe school absence. These young people are less likely to achieve the expected standard of maths, reading and writing; are less likely to achieve higher grades in their GCSE exams, and lose out on social connection and community.

As leading voices in the attendance sphere, we urge your government to work with us to tackle persistent absence and improve young people’s mental health. Together, as part of a new report “School for All: Solutions for School Attendance” we have set out the measures needed to give every child access to the education they deserve.

Place2Be, alongside other leading education and voluntary organisations who produced this briefing, works directly with young people, families, schools and communities to provide targeted and multi-disciplinary programmes. Our organisations deliver services that have proven to be effective, and our support-first approach has helped many children return to school. In the report, we make several evidence-based recommendations to improve the chances for these children and families. These include:

Embedding a whole school approach to wellbeing to make school cultures inclusive, with a focus on mental health, enrichment and belonging, extending to families

Working in positive partnership with schools and families, giving schools the tools to identify the causes of absence and provide support earlier, such as through the implementation of more detailed codes to record absences due to mental health difficulties or bullying

Expanding access to SEND support and expert children’s mental health provision in schools and in the community

Investing in the services needed to support families, especially single parents, through welfare provision, youth services, family hubs, community support and prevention, and supporting the collaboration between schools and these services.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill has committed to driving school reform – but to truly break down barriers to opportunity this new school term, we must make sure that every child can go through those gates feeling happy, supported and ready to thrive.

We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about this briefing and how we can make the first day back to school last.

Signed

Catherine Roche, Chief Executive - Place2Be

Louisa Mitchell, CEO - AllChild

Kathy Roberts, Chief Executive - Association of Mental Health Providers

Diana Gerald, CEO - BookTrust

Dr Lisa Morrison Coulthard, Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research - British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Gavin Evans, Chief Executive - Barking and Dagenham Youth Zone & Croydon Youth Zone

Sarb Bajwa, CEO - The British Psychological Society

Róisín Killick & Terry Boyce, Co-CEOs - The Centre for Education and Youth (CFeY)

Peter Leonard, Chief Executive - The Centre for Emotional Health

Andy Bell, Chief Executive - Centre for Mental Health