- Severe absence reached a Spring term record in 2025 at 160,497 pupils – a 167 per cent increase on the pre-pandemic norm
- Persistent absence fell by 7.2 per cent compared to Spring 2024 but progress is slow with 1,437,243 children still persistently absent in Spring 2025 – 56 per cent higher than Autumn 2019
- Children on FSM are 3.5 times more likely to be severely absent than their peers, while those with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan are 5.6 times more likely
- Landmark enquiry into absence crisis finds 180,000 extra school leavers at risk of long-term worklessness, with a lifetime cost of £14 billion
- Half of all parents polled said it is “reasonable” to miss one in every 10 days of school despite £10,000 income loss by age 28
Pupils missing more than half of classes hit a termly record high in Spring 2025, according to new figures from the Department for Education.
An analysis published today by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that while ministers have made “positive strides” tackling persistent absence (pupils missing over 10 per cent of classes), severe absence (pupils missing over 50 per cent) remains on an alarming upwards trajectory.
Over 160,000 pupils were severely absent in Spring 2025, up by 167 per cent since 2019.
By contrast, persistent absence fell by 7.2 per cent compared to Spring 2024. However, with 1.4 million pupils – that is, one in five – missing more than one in ten days of school, absenteeism remains 56 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic norm, with devastating consequences for life chances and the economy.
The analysis comes as last month the CSJ published a landmark enquiry into the root causes of the school absence crisis. It found that failing to reverse school absence risks an additional 180,000 school leavers not in work, education or training – at a lifetime cost of £14 billion.
Researchers found that many parents no longer value school for their children, while others who are desperate to return an absent child to the classroom feel they are “on their own”.
Half of parents of school-age children said it was “reasonable” to miss one in every ten days of school, despite studies showing persistently absent pupil being £10,000 worse off by aged 28.
The think tank’s plan to end the crisis for good called for extra ‘mentors’ to help struggling parents as well as tougher penalties for families of repeatedly truanting pupils.
Recommendations included:
- A new mandatory Attendance Awareness course for families of truanting pupils, highlighting the damage done to life prospects by absence and modelled on classes for speeding motorists, with fines of up to £200 for parents who refuse to attend sessions
- The national rollout of ‘attendance mentors’ to help parents with severely absent pupils with complex needs or SEND, drawing from the most effective local models
- An additional five hours a week of extracurricular activities and enrichment, provided by local community groups, including a Right to Sport – two hours per week of physical activity
- Expanding the roll out of Family Hubs and new teacher training on parental engagement
A new drive to expand work experience opportunities for young people, reconnecting the link between classrooms and the workplace - The proposals are under consideration by ministers ahead of the forthcoming Schools White Paper, according to the reports in the Sunday Times.
Emily Wells, Senior Researcher at the CSJ, said:
“School attendance changes lives and so teachers, parents and ministers all deserve credit for pushing persistent absence down. But the data also tells a darker story, which is that a new record in severe absence has been smashed.
“To rescue the young people on the margins of the education system and repair broken Britain, ministers must adopt our plan to end the absence crisis once and for all.”
