Texting parents number of school days missed improves attendance, study finds

Telling parents the number of days their child has missed school rather than their overall attendance percentage can help drive down absence levels, a new study suggests.

A Behavioural Insights Team programme trialled telling parents about the number of days their child had missed, rather than their overall percentage.

Parents reported the communication “more meaningful” and that they didn’t need to be told about the negative impacts of absence.

Researchers said the small improvements in attendance “highlights importance of how pupil absence is communicated”, with larger impacts on female pupils and those eligible for free school meals.

Messaging ‘more meaningful’

Researchers implemented the messaging at more than 100 schools in England, covering 100,000 year 7 to 11 pupils and 87,000 parents.

Parents reported “days missed” messaging was “clearer and more meaningful” than attendance percentages, and some said they took action on their child’s absences.

Data showed a small positive impact on attendance for pupils who received the text messages, equivalent to 0.21 fewer missed days of school per pupil.

The programme had a larger impact on pupils eligible for free school meals, female pupils.

‘Simple tweaks’

Emily Yeomans, co-CEO of Education Endowment Fund, said results “signal some simple tweaks that could be made to help strengthen communications between school and home”.

“There is no doubt that the attendance crisis is one of the biggest issues currently facing schools across England. Good attendance is critical to ensure young people keep up with the curriculum and ultimately are able to reach their full potential,” Yeomans said.

Last year, the proportion of persistent absences was 18.7 per cent, which is an improvement in recent years but much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

It comes after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson warned parents to “play their part” in improving school attendance in August. The government has launched RISE attendance and behaviour hubs, which will be supported by ambassadors Tom Bennett and Jayne Lowe.