{"id":247154,"date":"2026-06-03T05:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=247154"},"modified":"2026-06-03T12:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:36:45","slug":"report-finds-significant-link-between-school-absence-and-life-satisfaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/report-finds-significant-link-between-school-absence-and-life-satisfaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Report finds ‘significant link’ between girls’ absence and life satisfaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report has revealed a “significant” link between girls’ school absence and their sense of life satisfaction.<\/p>\n

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report comes as absence remains more than 50 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, averaging 8.4 per cent in secondary schools last academic year compared to 5.5 per cent in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

NFER<\/a> researchers analysed data from the 2022 programme for international student assessment (PISA) where pupils rated how satisfied they were “with [their] life as a whole”, on a scale of 0 to 10.<\/p>\n

They cross-examined this with absence data from the national pupil database to inform solutions to help tackle the attendance crisis.<\/p>\n

Gender divide<\/h2>\n

The research found pupils’ life satisfaction ratings were “significantly related to school absence”, with lower levels of life satisfaction associated with higher absences from school.<\/p>\n

The link became stronger as absence rates increased.<\/p>\n

The relationship between absence and satisfaction 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”.<\/p>\n

However the analysis is “associational rather than causal”, meaning it cannot determine if better life satisfaction led to better attendance, or vice-versa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The report found life satisfaction “was a stronger predictor of absence” for girls than boys.<\/p>\n

For girls, “a one-unit increase in life satisfaction lowers absences by 0.4 percentage points, while the effect for males is not statistically significant,” the report found.<\/p>\n

The link was also strongest among pupils who are the most absent.<\/p>\n

For pupils in the 90th percentile of absences, there was a 0.7 reduction in absences with increased life satisfaction. This is double the effect seen for pupils with average absence rates.<\/p>\n

The report found no statistically significant differences in the link between life satisfaction and absences when pupils were looked at by free school meal eligibility, English as an additional language (EAL) or special educational needs status. There was also no difference found between white and non-white pupils.<\/p>\n

The report noted this may be due to relatively small sample sizes.<\/p>\n

Belonging ‘not a panacea’<\/h2>\n

The schools’ white paper states<\/a> all schools will be expected to measure pupil “belonging” by 2029.<\/p>\n

According to NFER’s research, a stronger sense of school belonging was associated with lower absence. But <\/span>once life satisfaction was taken into account, there was no longer a clear link between belonging and absence. <\/span><\/p>\n

“This highlights that improving sense of belonging is unlikely to be a panacea for addressing attendance challenges,” said the report.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emma Moore, senior research manager at NFER, said the overall findings “show a clear connection between how young people feel about their lives and whether they attend school regularly”.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFocusing on sense of belonging alone is unlikely to fully solve the attendance crisis.”<\/span><\/p>\n

She added that “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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommendations<\/h2>\n

The report recommended 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”. It also recommended expanding support for disadvantaged pupils and their families.<\/p>\n

Linked to this, it said government must ensure wider services such as family support and mental health services “have sufficient staff capacity and funding to work alongside schools” and support children.<\/p>\n

It also recommended the government “focuses efforts to improve life satisfaction, with the aim of increasing school attendance, on females and pupils with the highest absence rates”.<\/p>\n

It also urged government to consider “building the evidence base about the causal impacts” of improving belonging, on pupil outcomes, including attendance and attainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life satisfaction ‘was a stronger predictor of absence’ for girls than boys, says NFER<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314902,"featured_media":247157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1576],"post-theme":[2524],"class_list":["post-247154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-attendance","post-theme-attendance"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t