When the Department for Education published its latest attendance statistics, one figure stood out immediately.
18.14% of pupils in England were classed as persistently absent during the 2024/25 academic year. In real terms, that represents approximately 1.34 million pupil enrolments missing 10% or more of their education.
That means almost one in every five children is now persistently absent from school.
At first glance, the statistic is alarming. Yet perhaps the more important question isn't how many children are absent. Perhaps it's why.
Because attendance data can tell us whether a child was physically present in school. It cannot tell us whether they felt safe there. It cannot tell us whether they were overwhelmed by anxiety, struggling with unmet SEND needs, recovering from trauma, experiencing bullying, managing chronic illness or simply trying to cope with an environment that no longer felt accessible.
The statistic tells us they weren't there.
It doesn't tell us their story.
For many years, attendance difficulties were often viewed as something affecting a relatively small number of families. The latest figures challenge that assumption.
The Department for Education's own data shows that although persistent absence has improved slightly compared with the previous academic year, it remains dramatically higher than before the pandemic. In 2018/19, the persistent absence rate was 10.86%. Today, it stands at 18.14%.
That's not a small increase.
That's a fundamental shift in how children are engaging with education.
When one in five children are persistently absent, we have moved beyond individual cases and into something much bigger. This is no longer a conversation about a handful of families. It is a national conversation about children's wellbeing, educational engagement and whether our current systems are meeting the needs of the children within them.
What's particularly interesting is that attendance figures appear to be improving.
Overall absence has reduced compared with the previous academic year. Persistent absence has also fallen slightly. On paper, things seem to be moving in the right direction.
Yet at the same time, severe absence continues to rise.
The latest Department for Education figures show that 2.39% of pupils are now severely absent, meaning they miss at least half of their education. Before the pandemic, that figure stood at just 0.85%.
In other words, while some attendance measures are improving, a significant group of children are becoming increasingly disconnected from education altogether.
That should make all of us stop and think.
One of the challenges in attendance discussions is that attendance itself is often treated as the problem.
In reality, attendance is usually the outcome.
When children feel safe, understood and supported, attendance often follows. When they don't, attendance can become increasingly difficult.
This doesn't mean attendance isn't important. Of course it is. Education matters. Relationships matter. Belonging matters.
But if we focus solely on attendance percentages without understanding the reasons behind them, we risk addressing symptoms rather than causes.
Many families describe attendance difficulties as the point at which a much longer story finally becomes visible. Long before attendance becomes a concern, there may have been signs of anxiety, sensory overwhelm, school-based trauma, unmet SEND needs, communication difficulties or a growing sense that school simply doesn't feel manageable anymore.
The attendance figure is often the final chapter, not the first.
At Sunshine Support, we've spent years supporting families and professionals navigating school avoidance, attendance difficulties and educational disengagement.
One thing has become increasingly clear.
- The most meaningful conversations don't start with attendance percentages.
- They start with children.
- They start with understanding what school feels like from a child's perspective. They start with asking what barriers exist, what support is missing and what changes could help educational engagement become possible again.
Because behind every statistic is a child trying to navigate their world.
And that child deserves more than being reduced to a number on a spreadsheet.
This year's School Avoidance Awareness Week is built around a simple but important message:
Children are more than attendance data.
From 21st-25th September 2026, we'll be bringing together parents, carers, teachers, SENDCos, school leaders and professionals to explore what sits behind the attendance statistics and what practical steps can support meaningful educational engagement.
We'll be discussing school climate, neurodivergence, anxiety, trauma, legal rights, Section 19, alternative provision, recovery-focused approaches and much more.
If you've ever looked at attendance figures and felt they don't tell the whole story, we'd love you to join us.
