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Government makes significant expansion to size of attendance mentoring to get thousands more persistently absent pupils back in school

Thousands more pupils will benefit from the support of a specialist attendance mentor as the government ramps up work to tackle the epidemic of school absence. 

Persistent absence across the country has increased since the pandemic, with around one in five pupils across the country currently missing 10% or more of school.

Backed by £15 million, the government will expand the investment and reach of attendance mentoring to reach 10,000 more children and cover an additional 10 areas with some of the worst attendance rates across the country. Nottingham, Ipswich and Blackpool are among the new areas that will benefit from the expansion.

The original programme, which has been running since 2022 in five pilot areas, sees attendance mentors provide one to one support to persistently absent pupils including those with SEND or mental ill health to break down the barriers to attendance, getting them back in the classroom, learning and thriving.

The new mentoring programme builds on the government’s plan to deliver free breakfast clubs in every primary school, with delivery starting in up to 750 schools from as early as April 2025. This is one of many programmes that will make sure children start the day ready to learn to ensure they leave school with the best life chances.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:

Tackling the national epidemic of school absence is non-negotiable if we are to break down the barriers to opportunity so many young people face.

For too long persistent absence has held back young people across the country and denied them the life chances that they deserve: this government is gripping this generational challenge facing our schools.

This significant new investment will help thousands of children back into the classroom and marks an important step towards truly turning the tide on persistent absence, helping us drive high and rising standards in every school.

Pupils on the programme will be supported over a 12 to 20 week period and will have a specific plan to help them, developed by the mentor.

This might include helping pupils to manage anxious feelings, developing their confidence and self-esteem, establishing more consistent routines at home and supporting pupils to access support from wider services.

The programme will be run by delivery partners, Etio, a specialist consultancy that is already running a number of successful education projects in England, including the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.

UK Managing Director at Etio, Dr. Gordon Carver said:

Etio has been awarded the Attendance Mentoring Pilot Expansion (AMPE) project by the DfE, which aims to improve attendance and produce a robust evidence base for what works. The project is expected to yield important sector insights for tackling one of the most pressing issues in education. Headed up by Etio Project Director, Laura Bell, and a brilliant team behind her, we are keen to begin this important work. 

The pilot programme has already successfully supported pupils with a wide range of challenges including low-level anxiety, special educational needs, poor attitude to learning and complex family circumstances. The pilot evaluation showed improvements in individual pupils’ attendance, wellbeing, home routines, and engagement at school.

To make sure the new contract also provides the opportunity to build a more robust evidence base around what works, the department has appointed the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to oversee a full external evaluation of the programme.

Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza said:

As Children’s Commissioner, children tell me all the time that they want to be in school, so this investment is a welcome step in addressing some of the barriers to attendance. These barriers are varied and complex: unmet mental health or SEND needs, family commitments such as being a young carer, or a disengagement from school that needs special care to resolve. 

I remain deeply concerned by the rate of severe and persistent absences, which have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Attendance mentors can be an important part of the solution, by being a trusted person working closely with children and their families. 

I have seen through my role as Chair of Greater Manchester Local Attendance Action Alliance how shared objectives, learning from what works and focusing on meeting every child’s needs means we can see real progress. Attendance must be a shared and top priority. Only when we ensure every child can engage with education, will we truly break down the barriers to opportunity. 

The programme builds on the government’s statutory Working together to improve school attendance guidance which takes a ‘support first’ approach to managing school absence, by working with children and their families to address their specific barriers to regular school attendance.

The government is committed to tackling the root causes of absence including by providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every secondary school, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary and ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.