A new systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence has found a large range of interventions exist to address the diverse causes of school absence, with substantial new evidence from randomised controlled trials.
Poor school attendance can negatively affect young people's behaviour and their future health. It is a growing public health concern, due to increasing rates of persistent absence from school, something which has risen considerably and remained high in some parts of the country, since the COVID-19 pandemic. A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health reviewed and synthesised the evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on interventions to help improve school attendance.
The review looked at 61 articles on RCTs conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, due to similarities in education systems. It also focused on studies including pupils of primary or secondary school age, their parents, guardians or teachers.
Dr Jean Strelitz, joint first author on the review said "This review comes at a critical time, as school attendance hasn't fully recovered since the pandemic. Persistent school absence presents a public health concern, as it is associated with poorer developmental and behavioural outcomes.
We identified a large number of recent high-quality trials of school attendance interventions. In our meta-analysis, engaging with parents and improving communication to parents had consistent positive impacts on attendance across several studies. However, there is a wide range of intervention types which may suit different needs of schools and populations. We can learn from this new research, to inform a more evidence-based approach to improving attendance.
Dr Jean Strelitz, Research Fellow in Population Mental Health, Psychological Medicine, IoPPN
The analysis identified that parental engagement and mentoring interventions were most consistently effective, particularly among younger age groups, with small improvements in attendance.
Teaching social and emotional skills, behavioural interventions, and interventions targeting high-risk pupils also showed some positive effects on attendance, but there were fewer trials of these types of interventions, so it is harder to be certain of the impacts. However, the study notes that there may be broader aims and benefits of these kinds of interventions, beyond attendance.
Professor Ann John, Swansea University, senior author on the review said "Persistent absence impacts children's life chances. It's an issue that disproportionately affects disadvantaged children compounding existing differences in how well pupils do at school. The start of a new school year brings renewed attention to how we can address it.
Our findings strengthen the evidence that improving attendance requires approaches which respond to the complex causes of school absence, rather than relying on a single solution.
In particular, working closely with parents and providing consistent, individual mentoring type support can make a difference. The priority now is to build on this evidence and understand how these approaches can be used effectively across our schools."
The evidence suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach would fail to respond to the needs of different student populations, given the diverse causes of absence. However, the implementation of parental engagement interventions may be a beneficial large-scale option, due to its effectiveness and relative ease of scaling this kind of intervention up to a national level.
The review highlights a need for more UK-based trials to take place around this topic to help inform policy and address the current downward trends in school attendance in the UK.
Jessica Barrett, National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Royal College of Psychiatrists), joint first author on the review said, "Every day a child misses school is a missed opportunity to learn, build relationships and develop confidence. We know that attendance, wellbeing and educational outcomes are closely connected, making absence a concern for schools, families and communities.
Our findings show that there are many ways to improve attendance, reflecting the numerous reasons why children are absent. Schools can play an important role in addressing attendance by strengthening relationships with students, parents and guardians, and by tailoring support to individual needs. Our review provides a clearer picture of approaches likely to improve attendance, helping educators identify what may work best for the children they teach."
'Interventions to improve school attendance: a systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence from randomised controlled trials' by Jean Strelitz et al., was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2025-225671
This evidence review was proposed by Professor Ann John of Swansea University and the Dyfodol programme from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in response to the Welsh Government identifying school attendance and absence as a priority area.
This work was supported by Administrative Data Research (ADR) Wales programme Swansea University (ESRC grant ES/S007393/1) and the Dyfodol programme from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The research was led by researchers at the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre, the National Centre for Mental Health, and Swansea University and at the UKRI national research network, Population Health Improvement UK (PHIUK) Population Mental Health Consortium (MRC grant MR/Y030788/1).
