Poor levels of perceived wellbeing and happiness among pupils in England is associated with higher school absences, with stronger links seen among girls and persistently absent pupils.
A study from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) examined the relationship between life satisfaction, school belonging and absence rates among 15-year-olds in England.
Its report, Understanding the relationship between attendance, wellbeing and sense of belonging, uses data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the National Pupil Databased (NPD).
The research found self-reported lower levels of life satisfaction among pupils were associated with higher absences from school, with the link becoming stronger as absence rates increased.
This suggests wellbeing may play a particularly important role in understanding persistent absence.
The relationship was also stronger for girls than boys, suggesting wellbeing may be more closely linked to girls’ attendance patterns, while other factors may play a greater role in explaining attendance patterns for boys.
The report recommends widening the parameters of what constitutes life satisfaction to include access to mental health support and support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
School belonging
The study also found school belonging may contribute to improved attendance indirectly through its influence on pupils’ overall life satisfaction.
This was measured using responses to questions such as: ‘I make friends easily at school’, ‘I feel I belong at school’, ‘Other students seem to like me’, ‘I feel like an outside at school’ and ‘I feel lonely at school’.
The findings come at a time when absence rates remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, averaging 8.4% in secondary schools in 2024/25 compared with 5.5% in 2018/19. This is despite considerable efforts from schools and government to improve attendance.
There is also a growing policy focus on improving pupils’ sense of belonging in school. The Schools’ White Paper sets out an expectation that all schools will measure school belonging by 2029, although evidence linking school belonging to pupil outcomes remains limited.
Overall, the findings indicate improving school belonging and life satisfaction may help reduce absence, but are likely to make only a small contribution on their own.
The report emphasises the need for a wider response combining school-based action with mental health support, family support and other public services.
It recommends improving services around mental health, with sufficient staffing and funding to work alongside schools.
Emma Moore, Senior Research Manager at NFER, said: These findings show a clear connection between how young people feel about their lives and whether they attend school regularly.
“The particularly strong relationship between low life satisfaction and high absence rates suggests wellbeing should be a central part of conversations about attendance, especially for pupils who are persistently absent.
“Focusing on sense of belonging alone is unlikely to fully solve the attendance crisis.
“Schools cannot address these challenges in isolation. A more joined-up approach is needed, with education, mental health and family support services working together to help children overcome barriers to attendance and stay engaged in learning.”
Problems beyond the school gates
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The root causes of pupil absence often lie beyond the school gates.
“Schools work really hard to nurture an inclusive environment, identify issues affecting pupils, and get them support, but they don’t always have the answers to deeply ingrained social issues.
“These findings show why government policies like parental fines for unauthorised absence and AI-generated attendance targets, are unlikely to get to grips with this issue.
“What is really needed is more funding to ensure children and families get the support they need – not just from schools but from social care, mental health and other community services which have suffered from years of under-investment.
“It will be especially important that the government’s SEND reforms are truly backed by the funding needed to help ensure pupils get the support they need in school, with last year’s small increase in severe absence – where pupils miss more than half of sessions – being fuelled by an increase among pupils with additional needs.”
