What is severe absence?

A pupil is severely absent when their overall absence reaches 50% or more of the sessions they could have attended. The Department for Education’s statutory guidance, Working together to improve school attendance, says these pupils may face bigger barriers to attending and are likely to need more intensive support across a range of partners.

The guidance asks all partners to make this group the top priority. Support might include help with attendance, a whole-family plan, consideration of an education, health and care plan (EHCP), or an alternative form of educational provision where that is needed to overcome the barriers.

England and Wales

The severe absence measure comes from the English attendance guidance and statistics. Wales publishes its own attendance statistics and guidance, so check Welsh Government material if you work with learners from Welsh schools.

Why it matters for your setting

• Alternative provision is often part of the plan for severely absent pupils, so your placement may be a key step in getting them back into education.
• Schools and local authorities will expect regular, accurate updates on attendance and engagement.
• Small improvements matter, and good records let you show progress over time.

How PupilDB helps

PupilDB reports attendance percentages by month and attendance against each pupil’s entitled hours, so you can show commissioners how attendance is changing.