All schools in England to get pupil attendance targets, government says

The government of England has announced that all mainstream state schools will now receive individual targets to improve pupil attendance rates. This follows official data showing that school absence rates in the country remain above pre-pandemic levels, with nearly one in five pupils missing at least ten percent of school time in the 2025/26 academic year.

Education Minister Paul Waugh explained that the new targets would consider each school's unique challenges, but emphasized that every school plays a role in improving attendance.

Prior to the Covid pandemic, attendance rates at English mainstream schools typically exceeded 95%. However, since the pandemic, schools have struggled to return to these levels. The most recent figures from Thursday showed an overall attendance rate of 93% for the 2025/26 academic year, a slight decline from the previous year. This figure includes both authorized absences (such as illness) and unauthorized absences (where pupils miss school without permission or a valid reason).

The rate of persistent absence (missing at least 10% of school sessions) has doubled since the pandemic. In 2018/19, persistent absence rates were around 10%, but the latest data indicates a rate of 19% in 2025/26.

Certain groups, such as pupils on free school meals and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), continue to have higher absence rates than their peers. While many schools in England received attendance targets in a trial last year, the Department for Education (DfE) now confirms that every school will have its own target, which will be monitored for the first time.

For now, there will be no immediate penalties for schools missing their attendance targets, but the DfE will contact schools that are falling behind to ensure they take action. Schools could then receive guidance or be connected with local behavior and attendance hubs.

Ofsted, the regulator, already factors overall attendance rates into their inspections. In an opinion piece in The Independent, newly-appointed Education Minister Paul Waugh noted that progress in improving attendance has slowed over the past year, and called for a broader, smarter, and more ambitious response from the government.

Schools will receive additional data tools to help them analyze individual pupils' attendance records, allowing for earlier identification of concerns and more timely interventions. Waugh highlighted that Fridays have become a particular weak point for attendance and plans to investigate the reasons behind higher illness absences at the end of the week.

He encouraged schools to offer engaging clubs and enrichment activities on Fridays to keep students engaged throughout the week.

NAHT, the general secretary of schools leaders' union, acknowledged the difficulty in returning absence rates to pre-pandemic levels. Schools have already gone above and beyond to encourage attendance, but noted that it's not a problem that schools or government targets alone can solve. The issue often stems from factors outside the classroom, including illness, mental health challenges, poverty, and unmet special educational needs.

Waugh emphasized the importance of the government's upcoming reforms to the SEND system in England. The data also revealed that nearly 12% of pupils missed school on the week beginning Monday, June 22nd, during an exceptional heatwave affecting parts of England, resulting in the highest absence rate of the year.