Attendance & Behaviour in 2025: Restoring Calm, Rebuilding Habits

The picture: Post-pandemic, attendance and behaviour remain top concerns. Loss of routine, social anxiety and digital distractions have raised the stakes.

Latest figures & moves:

• Persistent absence in 2023/24 was 20% across England—substantially above pre-pandemic norms. Early 2024/25 showed small improvements term-on-term, but severe absence increased—highlighting a hard-to-reach cohort. explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk+1

• The government launched RISE Attendance & Behaviour Hubs (initial 21 hubs named; ambition to support ~800 schools). Data cited by ministers: 7 minutes lost out of every 30 to disruption—equivalent to ~45 days a year. Schools WeekGOV.UKThe Times

What works on the ground:

• Tight routines, fair follow-through: visible adult presence; calm corridor transitions; 30-second scripted interventions.

• Attendance escalation ladders that start supportive: same-day calls, guided return plans, social stories for anxious pupils, fast AP/SEMH signposting for chronic cases.

• Curriculum hook: boredom fuels misconduct. Use quick-win retrieval starters and frequent response formats (mini-whiteboards, cold-call with think time).

• Parental partnership: weekly attendance dashboards; solution-focused meetings; praise phone-calls for micro-gains.

• Data hygiene: classify disruption types; time-stamp hot spots; deploy adults to the right five minutes each day.

Equity lens: Persistent absence and suspensions cluster among pupils on free school meals and in specific groups; prevention plans should include transport, breakfast, uniform and homework access.