Children who are absent for roughly a third of the school year are almost three times more likely to experience mental health difficulties than those who attend consistently, according to extensive new research examining attendance and health records from more than 1.1 million pupils. The findings come as persistent absence remains a widespread issue, affecting close to one in five children across England.
Researchers from Loughborough University, publishing their findings in September 2025, observed a clear pattern showing that mental health risks increase steadily as time away from school grows. Among pupils with no recorded absence, the likelihood of mental ill health stood at 1.82%. This rose to 3.7% for children missing around one-fifth of sessions and climbed further to 5.27% for those absent for approximately 30% of the academic year.
The study’s conclusions mirror national attendance data released by the Department for Education for the 2024/25 academic year. These figures indicate absence rates of 5.2% in primary schools, 8.6% in secondary schools and 12.9% in special schools. Across all settings, 18.7% of pupils fall into the category of persistent absence, defined as missing at least 10% of school sessions.
Researchers also found that children already experiencing mental health conditions were absent far more frequently than their peers. On average, these pupils missed 16% of sessions, compared with 6% among children without identified mental health difficulties. The data points to a cyclical relationship, where poor mental well-being contributes to increased absence, while prolonged absence itself is linked to a greater risk of mental health problems.
The analysis combined information from the 2021 Census with hospital records, school attendance data and household characteristics. Importantly, it also showed that pupils receiving additional support from schools displayed a weaker link between absence and mental ill health, suggesting that targeted intervention may help reduce some of the associated risks.
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