Opinion: The burgeoning challenge of school attendance requires a national response

Released: 27.03.25

There’s no doubt that school attendance is a national challenge as shown in the media, and Plymouth schools are no exception, experiencing a higher rate of absenteeism. In 2023/24, Plymouth's overall school absence rate was 8.3%, compared to the national average of 7.1%, and the regional average of 7.6%. 

As part of my ongoing research, funded by Plymouth County Council, I am exploring factors contributing to school absenteeism and school attendance, drawing insights from both parents/carers and students from Year 6 to Year 11 in Plymouth. Although the research is still in its data collection phase, early data suggests a number of contributing factors to a child being absent, including: 

• physical and mental health challenges 

• holiday costs 

• school opening hours/more flexible approaches to learning 

• school friendships 

• further support for children with special educational needs 

• the curriculum, school behaviour rules 

• the pressure felt by students to achieve “good results”  

• teacher-student-parent/carer relationships.  

"It’s a multifaceted issue, requiring a thoughtful, strategic, and coordinated national response."

So, it’s clear that this is a multifaceted issue, requiring a thoughtful, strategic, and coordinated national response, with government, local authorities, schools, parents/carers, and children working together in a constructive manner. And it seems to me that such a collaboration will be required to make some bold decisions and follow through on them.  

As a parent, I’ve found that our daughter was classed as a ‘persistent absentee’ a couple of years ago. In truth, I suspect this may happen again throughout her educational experience if things don’t change. Our daughter’s ‘absenteeism’ includes some of the reasons identified above, but, in this piece, I’d like to focus on one factor that is less personal to her and a challenge to arguably most parents; the cost of holidays during school breaks. 

"Are we ‘bad’ parents for even considering taking our daughter out of school?"

As for many families, the cost of a holiday during school breaks is a challenge for our family, and, I’ll admit, we have taken a few days off school to reduce the overall cost of our trips. Last year, we took even more days off as we were fortunate enough to take a trip to Kenya, with, thankfully, the holiday being approved by the school as an authorised absence. However, until that point, there was a lot of related stress. Should we inform the school or not? Are we going to pay a fine? Are we ‘bad’ parents for even considering taking our daughter out of school? Are we ruining her future and will she fail all her exams in the future since regular attendance is a key factor in being successful in them? Every rational and irrational thought crossed our minds, despite deep down knowing that the trip offered a lifetime of learning opportunities. While we were in Kenya, she witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of global warming, gained an understanding of colonisation and heard of its impact from people who experienced it, gained further insights into social inequality, learned about efforts to support communities, saw strong, empowered women working and signing together, came close with wildlife and got a better understanding of nature and its workings, and so much more. Not only that, but it was the quality time we all had together, the laughter we shared and the re-bonding we experienced away from the everyday routine and rush of it all. Why, as a parent, did I have to hesitate for us to experience all of this?  

Of course, this is just one example, and I recognise that many families—particularly those with fewer resources—face even greater challenges in being able to provide such opportunities for their children. The costs of travel during school breaks make it even more unlikely that children from disadvantaged backgrounds will be afforded the experiences of visiting different places in the UK or abroad, exploring further their own or different histories, geologies, cultures, food, accents and/or languages, are part of organising packing, outings and budgets, and having a bonding, care-free time with their families. This only serves to deepen existing social inequalities.  

"This only serves to deepen existing social inequalities."

Schools and local authorities are doing their best to be responsive to the needs of their communities by, for example, providing lists of more affordable holiday options or considering solutions such as extending half-term breaks. However, they cannot solve this challenge alone. I understand that the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has suggested that the government will be looking into how this issue can be addressed, and union leaders are advocating for such a change. A national solution is certainly needed, with a key priority being to hold the travel industry accountable for the high costs during school holidays - the core of the problem. If that happens, I am sure that parents and teachers across the country, alongside me, will breathe a sigh of relief. Furthermore, I suspect that if school holiday absenteeism were addressed through national policy in this way, we could better understand absenteeism figures—especially persistent absenteeism—and thus, be able to direct more focus, time, and effort into supporting the children, young people, and parents/carers who need it most. 

Through our research, we aim to identify factors that influence school non-attendance to support schools, parents, children and young people to keep attending school. If you are the parent or carer of a child attending a Plymouth school, please complete our surveys and help find a way forward for children struggling to attend school.