Low life satisfaction more strongly associated with school absence for girls than boys
New research shows that lower life satisfaction among pupils in England is associated with higher school absences. The new study from the NFER, 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 an 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.
Overall in the study, pupils who reported high life-satisfaction had an average absence rate of 6.1 per cent, compared to 9 per cent for pupils with low life satisfaction. A similar pattern was seen for pupils’ sense of school belonging – pupils who reported a very low sense of school belonging had an absence rate of 8.9 per cent, while those with a very high sense of school belonging had an absence rate of 6.4 per cent. However, once the researchers controlled for life satisfaction, they found that school belonging was no longer significantly related to school absences, suggesting that ‘sense of belonging largely impacts on absences by influencing life satisfaction’.
The report recommends the government expands their focus on school belonging to consider wider factors that influence pupils’ life satisfaction, such as timely access to wellbeing and mental health support. It also calls on government to ensure 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.
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.’
Also commenting on the findings Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union said: ‘The root causes of pupil absence often lie beyond the school gates, as this analysis shows. Challenges children face at home, from poverty to mental health issues, inevitably impact their happiness and wellbeing, and it’s no surprise that this can then affect their attendance at school. When they do attend, their ability to focus and flourish in the classroom may be compromised. Schools work really hard to nurture an inclusive environment, identify issues affecting pupils, and get them support, but they don’t always have the answers to deeply ingrained social issues. These findings show why government policies like parental fines for unauthorised absence and AI-generated attendance targets, are unlikely to get to grips with this issue. Attendance mentors in some areas may help, but what is really needed is more funding to ensure children and families get the support they need – not just from schools but from social care, mental health and other community services which have suffered from years of under-investment.’