How to Improve School Attendance
01 Apr, 20251-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Why good school attendance is important.
- Common reasons for poor attendance.
- How to improve school attendance.
- Discover more about our education recruitment services.
Consistent school attendance is one of the strongest predictors of academic success; however, many schools struggle with chronic absenteeism. Whether it’s due to illness, disengagement, family challenges, or mental health concerns, missed days add up quickly and can have a lasting impact on a student’s learning, confidence, and future opportunities.
The latest gov.uk figures for 2023/24 indicate that the overall absence rate was 7.1% which is a reduction from 7.4% in 2022/23. However, it is still much higher than pre-pandemic rates of 4.7% from 2018/19.
Improving attendance isn’t just about enforcing rules or sending reminders. It’s about creating a school environment where students feel safe, supported, and motivated to show up every day.
Throughout this blog, we’ll explore practical, proven strategies to boost attendance - from building strong relationships with families to making school a place where every student feels they belong.
Why is good school attendance important?
Good school attendance is important as it can directly impact student achievement, allowing them to stay on top of the curriculum. Research by the Government found that pupils who performed better both at the end of primary and secondary school missed fewer days than those who didn’t perform as well.
Students need to be in school to develop cognitive, social, communication, emotional and basic life skills, because school provides structured opportunities for learning, interaction and personal growth.
Poor school attendance can be detrimental to a school as it can negatively impact an Ofsted rating and lead to academic underachievement which is no good for a student or the school.
Common reasons for poor attendance
Common reasons for poor attendance include:
- General illnesses: One of the most common reasons for students missing school is due to general illnesses such as sickness, a cold, the flu, chickenpox or fevers.
- Mental health: Students with anxiety, depression or any other mental health challenges may be absent from school frequently because they may find attending school challenging or unbearable.
- Bullying: Children who are being bullied at school may be frequently absent if they feel unsafe or are scared.
- Chronic illnesses: Chronic illnesses such as asthma, epilepsy or diabetes may keep children off school due to frequent medical appointments, treatments and flare-ups.
- Behavioural issues: Students with behavioural issues can have poor attendance due to suspensions or exclusions.
- Family circumstances: Family circumstances such as caring for a family member or unexpected crises within the family can lead to students being absent.
How to improve school attendance
Tips to improve school attendance include:
- Create a positive and welcoming school environment.
- Address attendance barriers.
- Focus on student wellbeing.
- Create strong relationships with parents and guardians.
- Celebrate attendance achievements.
- Create a clear attendance policy.
- Accurately track attendance.
Create a positive and welcoming school environment
A positive and welcoming school environment can reduce absenteeism because when students feel safe and supported, they are less likely to feel anxious or stressed which can be a huge contributing factor to poor attendance.
As well as this, a positive school environment allows students to feel comfortable talking to Teachers about any challenges they may be facing. This way, schools can identify potential attendance barriers such as bullying or poor mental health and address it early on to help improve attendance.
Address attendance barriers
Schools should address attendance barriers such as transport issues, health problems and behavioural issues to improve school attendance. This is because regular attendance is important for social development, academic success and a students overall wellbeing.
If schools address attendance barriers, they can provide necessary support to help students overcome issues and actively attend school.
Focus on student wellbeing
Poor mental health such as anxiety and depression are common reasons why schools have poor attendance.
A proactive school could provide students with mental health resources, activities to improve mental health, access to counselling and provide safe spaces where students can comfortably speak to teaching staff about any challenges they are facing.
Making school a supportive environment where students know they have access to help if they need it, can significantly improve school attendance.
Create strong relationships with parents and guardians
When schools have strong relationships with parents and guardians, they can gain a better understanding as to why students are absent and if there is anything at school that is stopping students from wanting to attend.
Strong relationships also create opportunities for schools and families to work together and create a plan to improve a students attendance, address any challenges they are facing and provide targeted support.
Celebrate attendance achievements
Celebrating attendance achievements through awards or assemblies can help students feel valued, as recognition can go a long way to help boost a person’s self-esteem.
It is also a great way to motivate students and reinforce the importance of consistent attendance.
Acknowledging and celebrating a student's hard work not only encourages them to continuously attend school but also sets a positive example for other students.
Create a clear attendance policy
Creating a clear attendance policy can help to improve school attendance by showing students exactly what is expected from them. The attendance policy could outline procedures for reporting absences, the consequences of poor school attendance and where parents and guardians can seek support regarding attendance if they need it.
Schools should regularly review attendance policies to make sure they are up to date and relevant.
Accurately track attendance
Accurately tracking attendance allows schools to identify students who are regularly absent and see if there are any patterns in their absences, such as specific days of the week. Tracking attendance also allows schools to identify students who may be starting to fall behind. This then enables a school to provide targeted support.
When parents and guardians know that their child’s absence is being tracked, they are more likely to ensure their child attends schools to avoid the risk of fines or being called into school.
Recruit teaching staff
As a specialist education recruitment agency, we support mainstream and SEND schools with their temporary, permanent and temp-perm staffing needs.
We currently work with hundreds of schools and have exclusive access to some of the best Teachers and Teaching Assistants in the North West.
If you’re struggling to fill a teaching vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- Primary schools - Jimmy Callagher
- Secondary schools - Liam Jones
- SEND schools - Jamie Heath
Teaching jobs
If you’re searching for your next teaching job, why not take a look at the latest teaching vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Meet Jamie Heath
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re an award winning and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West. Our reputation is built on trust, expertise and an unwavering commitment to exceed expectations.
In 2024, we were named Recruitment Agency of the Year at the prestigious Recruiter Awards, an accolade we are extremely proud of.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
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