Tackling persistent absence in English secondary schools continues to be a complex challenge. In 2024-25 nearly a quarter of secondary school pupils were persistently absent (23.4 per cent). This matters because consistent attendance is closely linked with higher academic attainment and later life outcomes such as future earnings. Previous evidence indicates rising persistent absence rates have coincided with reported declines in pupil wellbeing. This prompted debate about whether declines in pupil wellbeing are driving increases in school absence, is it the other way round, or are they completely unrelated? To explore this issue, NFER conducted new research, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, examining the role of pupil wellbeing in persistent absence and exploring effective strategies to support pupils’ return to school. What did we do? NFER carried out in-depth case studies across 10 mainstream secondary schools in England. We spoke to school senior leaders, parents, carers and pupils to build a rich picture of how wellbeing and attendance are connected, and what schools can do to support young people to attend and thrive. What did we find? We found that schools have been putting considerable effort into adopting a range of approaches to improve attendance, combining formal compliance measures with flexible, tailored support including curriculum and timetable adjustments, pastoral support, family-focused support and specialist provision. Many have done this despite persistent strains on their funding and resources. For pupils, parents and carers who had experienced persistent absence, the relational aspects of support, such as consistent and empathetic communication and feeling understood and supported mattered most. Collaborative, flexible approaches that were responsive to pupil needs were felt to be most successful for enabling pupils to return to school, more so than any individual intervention (such as tutoring or mentoring). School staff also talked about the importance of building relationships and tailoring support to pupil needs. Negative impact Many pupils, parents and carers appreciated the adjustments put in place to support attendance and found them helpful. However, there were examples where the support provided was felt to be unsuitable or have a negative impact on pupils’ wellbeing or education. These instances primarily arose when pupils were spending significant amounts of time in separate rooms or units within the school. While these measures had often been put in place to reduce stressors on pupils related to the physical school environment or bullying and led to increased physical attendance, they sometimes had unintended consequences, including feelings of social isolation and reduced access to specialist subject teachers. These findings suggest that while improving school attendance is currently a key priority, physical school presence does not necessarily guarantee that pupils are receiving a full educational experience. However, on this point, it is important to acknowledge that many of the barriers to attendance extend beyond what schools can reasonably influence. Limited budgets Similarly, it is important to recognise that schools must operate within limited budgets, and balance improving attendance and catering for individual needs with other key priorities while being constrained by staff capacity, timetables and exam requirements. Consequently, schools sometimes felt they needed to be able to draw on support from wider services, which was not always available. Overall, discussions about improving attendance need to move beyond statistics focused on increased physical presence, and consider pupils’ educational experiences, including how best to fully re-integrate them into school both socially and academically. For pupils, this includes feeling physically safe, welcome and included in school. While this may mean access to separate or “safe” spaces to support pupil needs where applicable, opportunities to mix with peers and receive subject-specialist teaching also need to be considered. Parents, carers and pupils also highlighted the importance of being provided with schoolwork while they were absent, and support to catch up on missed learning on their return to school to make academic re-integration easier. Adapting teaching to pupil needs, especially pupils with SEND, was also felt to be important for enabling pupils to access and engage with the curriculum. Practical challenges At the same time, parents and carers also appreciated the practical challenges, including capacity and budget constraints, schools faced in trying to support pupils. Some participants also noted that the use of more inclusive approaches or greater access to specialist provision would require broader educational reform. This was echoed by school staff who reported that they faced a range of challenges supporting pupils, not least the difficulty of identifying pupils’ support needs and providing interventions, in the context of high levels of demand. This included the volume of pupils experiencing attendance-related difficulties and the complexity of their needs. School staff also highlighted challenges in providing support when pupils were physically out of the school setting, as this limited opportunities for them to understand the issues and for direct engagement and intervention. Going forward, these results suggest that tackling persistent absence requires more than increasing physical attendance and getting pupils through the school gates. It is about ensuring every young person feels safe, welcome and supported to learn, but schools cannot do this alone.