The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 60
What else is absence
trying to tell us?
By Dr Sharon Smith
Across the UK, for many schools,
attendance continues to dominate the
education debate. However, despite
this attention, many pupils are still
absent, with rates remaining above the
pre-pandemic levels. Improving school
attendance and tackling persistent
absence is a continued priority, as evident
in the changes proposed throughout
the recent Schools White Paper and the
revised Ofsted framework.
But what else is ‘absence’ trying
to tell us?
With attendance being one of the earliest
visible indicators that a young person may
be at risk of longer-term disengagement.
Patterns of absence, if left unexplored, can
become the first visible step on a pathway
towards becoming not in education,
employment or training (NEET).
In schools, particularly within SEND
and inclusion teams, this presents both
a challenge and an opportunity.
The challenge is that, too often, the
education system is structured to react
to poor attendance rather than prevent it.
If we act earlier, we have the
opportunity to shift towards a more
preventative approach, identifying and
supporting children and young people at
risk of disengagement before they go
missing from teaching data and are
eventually classed as NEET.
We know that attendance data is generally
monitored retrospectively to review trends
or start an intervention process. Although
these monitoring points do matter, they
often take place only after repeated or
long periods of absence. But persistent
absence is rarely caused by one singular or
easily identifiable factor. More often, we
can look at what is impacting on absence
and there’s a range of underlying needs,
including:
• Contextual barriers linked to a young
person’s environment, daily routine or
relationships.
• Low confidence and prior negative
experiences of education.
• SEND, which may well be undiagnosed or
not yet supported
• social, emotional, mental health needs.
When we look at it from a wider context,
attendance data should act as a prompt
for earlier conversations about need. For
SENCos and education improvement
teams, this means seeing attendance as a
diagnostic tool to help us act more timely,
not simply as a performance indicator.
By sharing information more effectively,
local systems can quickly develop a clearer
understanding of the relationship between
attendance, engagement and NEET risk.
For many young people who become
NEET, disengagement from education
does not happen overnight. Reduced
attendance is often part of a wider pattern
characterised by decreasing engagement
and increasing disconnection from the
support systems that work within schools
to provide help.
By acting earlier, we have an opportunity to prevent disconnection if we work
differently. Flexibility is key. A common
theme in work on NEET prevention is
the importance of flexible pathways for
young people who have disengaged from
education.
For some, traditional learning environments can become a barrier, but not an
insurmountable one. If we start to identify
risk sooner, we can prioritise some practical local systems, such as:
• using attendance data alongside
engagement, safeguarding, SEND and
wellbeing information to develop a
holistic understanding of need.
• creating points of conversation before
issues escalate with young people and
families.
• ensuring access to flexible provision,
including online and blended learning
where appropriate.
• enabling access to remote accreditation
where traditional exam access is a barrier.
• strengthening the partnership between
schools, local authorities, alternative
provision, SEND teams, youth services and
employability teams.
• developing a wider strategy to
strengthen the range of education
provision available locally.
• empowering SENDCOs and inclusion
leads to ensuring local offers are flexible
enough to meet young people’s needs.
If we start conversations between schools,
services, and family contexts working
together to tackle attendance and NEET,
we can work with local authorities to
commission the teams needed ahead of
time, such as SEND services, education
providers, alternative provision, youth
services, and employability teams.
Being absent from school is not a ‘choice’
for many young people; it is a sign that
the system is not yet meeting their needs.
Treating attendance as an early warning
indicator gives us a real opportunity to
change it, and by working together, we can
respond earlier.
Dr Sharon Smith is the Assistant Head
of Teaching & Learning (Quality) at Tute
Education and a Research Associate and
convenor within BERA’s Alternative
Education Special Interest Group.
About Dr Sharon Smith EdD, HEA, MA, PGCE, BA Hons, MCCT
Dr Sharon Smith is an education researcher-practitioner specialising in alternative and inclusive online provision and system
reform, leading evidence-informed innovation across school and local authority partnerships.
As Assistant Head of Teaching & Learning (Quality) at Tute Education and a Research Associate and convenor within BERA’s
Alternative Education Special Interest Group, Sharon’s work focuses on ensuring that every young person has a meaningful
pathway and a supported destination.
