This report looks at how the last Labour government in the United Kingdom of the late 1990s and 2000s addressed the issue of school absence. It makes recommendations on how the government should tackle school absence now, and draws out wider lessons for the approach to mission-led government.

The 12 recommendations are designed to drive progress on absence against a challenging background. They centre on:

• developing a cross-government strategy to tackle school absence and children missing education
• six key components of change
• developing a delivery culture.

Key findings

• Nearly 1.5 million pupils were ‘persistently absent’ in 2023–24.
• 43% of secondary pupils eligible for free school meals missed at least 10% of school.
• Secondary school absence fell by 42% between 2000–01 and 2013–14 under the last Labour government.
• The single biggest cause of school absence is, and always has been, illness.