Attendance through a public health lens.
School attendance is shaped by much more than what happens inside a classroom. Health, emotional wellbeing, poverty, housing, transport, family circumstances, disability, access to services and a child's sense of belonging can all form part of the picture.
Health
Explore physical health, mental health, disability, treatment and access to healthcare.
Inequality
Consider poverty, deprivation, housing, transport and unequal access to opportunity and support.
Prevention
Identify emerging barriers earlier rather than waiting for absence to become entrenched.
Place
Look across schools, neighbourhoods and communities to understand patterns that individual cases may hide.
Six public health lenses for attendance
Persistent or severe absence may have several interacting causes. These lenses can help professionals move beyond a single explanation and build a richer understanding of the barriers affecting children and communities.
Physical Health
Long-term conditions, recurrent symptoms, pain, fatigue, treatment, appointments and recovery can all interact with access to education.
Mental & Emotional Health
Anxiety, low mood, emotional distress, trauma and school-related worries can influence a child's ability to attend consistently.
Wider Determinants
Housing, income, food security, transport, employment and neighbourhood conditions can shape family capacity and opportunity.
SEND & Disability
Consider unmet need, accessibility, sensory experience, reasonable adjustments and the fit between provision and need.
Family & Community
Caring responsibilities, parental health, family stress, community safety and social networks may all influence attendance.
Belonging & Participation
Relationships, safety, connection, inclusion and whether a child feels known and valued can form an important part of the attendance picture.
What data could you examine alongside attendance?
Attendance becomes more informative when it is considered alongside wider population information. At local level, consider whether patterns overlap with other indicators of health, vulnerability or inequality.
Start with your professional role
These external professional resources provide useful starting points for different parts of the system.
Director of Public Health / Analyst
Explore national and local public-health indicators, comparison data and population profiles.
Open OHID Fingertips → School NursingSchool Nurse / Public Health Nurse
Explore the national Healthy Child Programme guidance for school nursing from ages 5 to 19.
Open professional guidance → HealthcarePaediatrician / Healthcare Professional
Explore the RCPCH position statement on the role of paediatricians in supporting children's school attendance.
Open RCPCH resource → Mental HealthMental Health Professional
Explore NICE guidance on social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education.
Open NICE guidance → EducationSchool / Trust / Local Authority
Go directly to the Department for Education's statutory school-attendance guidance.
Open DfE guidance → CommissioningCommissioner / System Leader
Explore national guidance on commissioning and assuring public-health nursing services.
Open commissioning guidance →Evidence, guidance and professional reading
A curated starting point for professionals who want to explore the relationship between attendance, health, wellbeing, inequality, public-health intelligence and multi-agency working. Every link below opens an external professional or official website.
Attendance & Education
Working Together to Improve School Attendance
The national statutory framework for school attendance, including responsibilities across schools, trusts and local authorities.
Visit GOV.UK → Department for EducationMental Health Issues Affecting Attendance
Guidance focused specifically on supporting attendance where social, emotional or mental-health issues are present.
Visit GOV.UK → Children's CommissionerAttendance as Everybody's Business
A wider-system perspective on why attendance should matter to services and professionals working with children.
Visit Children's Commissioner → Children's CommissionerAttendance Is Everyone's Business
Research and analysis exploring persistent absence and the wider barriers affecting children's engagement with education.
Explore the resource →Public Health Data & Population Intelligence
Fingertips Public Health Profiles
Explore public-health indicators and compare population data across geographical areas.
Open Fingertips → OHIDChild & Maternal Health Profiles
Explore indicators specifically related to the health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Explore child health data → OHIDLocal Health
Explore public-health information for smaller geographical areas and examine variation within local authorities.
Explore local health → Office for Health Improvement & DisparitiesPublic Health Outcomes Framework
Explore the national framework and indicators used to understand public-health outcomes.
Visit GOV.UK →Health Professionals & School Attendance
Role of Paediatricians in Supporting Attendance
A professional position statement specifically connecting child health practice and school attendance.
Visit RCPCH → RCPCHA Role for All Healthcare Practitioners
Practical professional reading on how healthcare contacts can contribute to conversations about attendance and barriers.
Visit RCPCH → Department of Health & Social CareHealthy Child Programme: School Nursing
National guidance for school nursing services supporting children and young people aged 5 to 19.
Visit GOV.UK → Department of Health & Social CareSchool Nursing High-Impact Areas
Explore national priorities for prevention, early identification, wellbeing and school-age public-health practice.
Open professional guidance →Mental Health & Wellbeing
Social, Emotional & Mental Wellbeing in Education
NICE guidance covering approaches to social, emotional and mental wellbeing in primary and secondary education.
Visit NICE → NHS England DigitalMental Health, Education & Support Data
National survey material examining education, missed schooling and mental-health support.
Explore NHS data →Public Health Leadership & Professional Practice
Children & Young People Public Health
Professional public-health work focused on children, young people, health, inequality and population wellbeing.
Visit Faculty of Public Health → Local Government AssociationHealthy Child Programme: Local Leadership
A useful overview of the Healthy Child Programme and the local-government role in children's public health.
Visit LGA →Questions worth asking
Use these questions to stimulate discussion across education, health, public health, children's services and local partnerships.
Attendance is bigger than education alone.
Explore national public-health intelligence and professional guidance to develop a richer understanding of the relationship between children's health, inequality, wellbeing and access to education.