New NFER research shows that lower life satisfaction among pupils in England is associated with higher school absences, with stronger links seen among girls and persistently absent pupils*.
The findings come at a time when absence rates remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, averaging 8.4 per cent in secondary schools in 2024/25 compared with 5.5 per cent in 2018/19. This is despite considerable efforts from schools and government to improve attendance.
The study, Understanding the relationship between attendance, wellbeing and sense of belonging, analysed linked data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the National Pupil Database (NPD) to examine the relationships between life satisfaction, school belonging and absence rates among 15-year-olds in England.
As part of PISA 2022, pupils were asked: “Overall, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”. Their responses were used as a measure of wellbeing, with pupils rating their life satisfaction on a scale from 0 (“not at all satisfied”) to 10 (“completely satisfied”).
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, indicating wellbeing may be more closely linked to girls’ attendance patterns, while other factors may play a greater role in explaining attendance patterns for boys.
For female pupils, higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with lower absence rates, with a one-unit increase in life satisfaction linked to a 0.4 percentage point reduction in absence.
This association translates to a six per cent reduction in their average absence rate, compared with a five per cent reduction in average absence seen across all pupils.
The study also found school belonging may contribute to improved attendance indirectly through its influence on pupils’ overall life satisfaction. However, it warns that improving school belonging alone is unlikely to be a “silver bullet” for solving the attendance crisis.
This comes amid growing policy focus on improving pupils’ sense of belonging at 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.
According to the research, a stronger sense of self-reported school belonging was associated with lower absence. However, once life satisfaction was taken into account, there was no longer a clear link between school belonging and absence.
This suggests school belonging may contribute to improved attendance indirectly through its influence on pupils’ overall life satisfaction.
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.
Emma Moore, Senior Research Manager at NFER, said:
“School attendance is influenced by a wide range of factors, but 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.
“While schools play a vital role, they 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.”
The report recommends the government:
- Expands its focus on school belonging to consider wider factors that influence pupils’ life satisfaction such as timely access to wellbeing and mental health support, ensuring a balanced school curriculum and support for socio-economically disadvantaged pupils and their families.
- Focuses efforts to improve life satisfaction with the aim of increasing school attendance on females and pupils with the highest absence rates including persistently and severely absent pupils to yield the greatest benefit.
- Ensures that wider public services, including family support and mental health services, have sufficient staff capacity and funding to work alongside schools and provide support to children and families, so schools and agencies can work together to help overcome barriers to attendance.
- Should consider building the evidence base about the causal impacts of improving school belonging on pupil outcomes including school attendance and attainment. For example, by generating evidence via What Works Centres.