In England and Wales, a growing attendance crisis in schools has prompted a startling admission from teachers: many would choose term-time holidays for their own children if they could, believing such breaks can sometimes offer more value than classroom time. This candid perspective, revealed in a comprehensive three-year study, challenges conventional wisdom about the primacy of school attendance and exposes deeper systemic issues undermining engagement in education.
Teachers’ Doubts Reflect a System Struggling to Engage
The research, conducted by youth charity Impetus and the polling firm Public First, involved in-depth focus groups with 62 secondary school staff from predominantly low-income areas. These frontline educators expressed profound skepticism about the effectiveness of current attendance policies, including fines for unauthorised absences. Despite the official hardline stance, nearly one in five pupils in England and Wales miss at least 10% of school, a figure that has worsened since the pandemic.
One teacher candidly remarked that if not bound by professional duty, they would take their child on holiday during term time because it could be more economical and potentially more enriching than a week in school. Another reflected on how a rare family holiday might outweigh the educational benefits of attending school during a dull January week. These sentiments reveal a disconnect between the rigid attendance expectations imposed by schools and the lived realities of families and educators alike.
Attendance Enforcement: Strained Relationships and Limited Impact
Schools have ramped up efforts to tackle absenteeism, issuing a record 492,825 penalty notices for unauthorised absences in 2024-25. Yet many teachers warn that such punitive measures can backfire. The report highlights how fines often damage trust between schools and families, making it harder to build the supportive relationships essential for re-engaging students.
One senior leader described how sending penalty notices sometimes “breaks a relationship” with parents, undermining efforts to encourage regular attendance. The relentless pursuit of attendance can consume significant staff time and energy, detracting from more constructive interventions. Teachers and administrators often find themselves caught between enforcing rules and trying to nurture fragile connections with pupils and their families.
Mental Health and Support Shortfalls Compound the Crisis
Beyond attendance policies, the study sheds light on broader systemic challenges. Many pupils face unmet mental health needs, unaddressed special educational requirements, and a lack of social worker support. Schools are increasingly seen as the default providers of a wide range of social and emotional services, stretching their resources thin.
One senior leader lamented the absence of adequate external support, noting that children who should be in specialist provision remain in mainstream classrooms, often without the necessary help. The shortage of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and social workers exacerbates the problem, leaving schools struggling to meet complex needs that contribute to disengagement.
Hidden Disengagement Among Older Students
The attendance crisis extends beyond younger pupils. The children’s commissioner recently highlighted the issue of “hidden Neets” — 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled in colleges but attending less than half the time. An estimated 42,000 young people fall into this category, a figure nearly double official counts of those not in education, employment, or training.
This phenomenon points to a blind spot in the education system, where many vulnerable young people slip through the cracks without targeted interventions. The lack of reliable attendance data for colleges further complicates efforts to identify and support these disengaged youth.
Reimagining Attendance: Building Trust and Addressing Root Causes
The findings suggest that the solution to the attendance crisis lies not in stricter enforcement but in addressing the underlying causes of disengagement. Teachers emphasize that the most effective interventions involve building relationships, mentoring, and home visits — strategies that require significant time and resources but foster trust and connection.
Susannah Hardyman, CEO of Impetus, stresses that schools cannot resolve this crisis alone. The disengagement epidemic is driven by factors often beyond educators’ control, including poverty, mental health challenges, and insufficient social services. Without a coordinated, multi-agency approach that prioritizes support over punishment, attendance issues are unlikely to improve.
Ultimately, the candid admissions from teachers challenge policymakers to rethink the value placed on rigid attendance metrics. Recognizing that occasional term-time holidays may sometimes enrich a child’s learning experience more than classroom hours could open the door to more flexible, empathetic approaches that better serve students and families in a complex social landscape.
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For more context, see related Peack News coverage and explainers linked below.