The Department for Education (DfE) has issued guidance to mainstream schools for the 2026-27 academic year, warning that large events such as concerts by musicians popular with teenagers can have an impact on attendance when they take place on school days. The Labour Party government is also giving state schools specialised targets for attendance this year.
DfE guidance on concerts and attendance patterns
In the guidance, the DfE states: “Large events such as concerts for musicians who are popular with teenagers, or agricultural shows in particular counties of England can have an impact on attendance when taking place on school days.” The department advises schools to “analyse data to identify patterns of absence linked to specific events or dates” and to “explore your attendance patterns can help you spot repeated trends at school and cohort level over time.”
Where patterns are identified, the guidance says schools should “take proactive steps to mitigate impact, such as communicating with parents about the impact of missed learning.” It also recommends that, where relevant, schools “engage with local event organisers or community partners to reinforce positive attendance messages.”
Attendance ambassador highlights progress and challenges
Jayne Lowe OBE, Attendance and Behaviour Ambassador, wrote in the guidance's foreword: “Attendance remains one of the most pressing educational challenges of our time. Everything you do well in schools – your curriculum and enrichment offer, your approach to teaching and learning, and how you care for pupils and keep them safe – relies on your young people coming through the school gates every day.”
She noted that progress is being made, stating: “The good news is that we are starting to see progress. The 2024/25 academic year saw pupils spend over 5 million more days in the classroom compared to the year before, with 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent. Of those, 45,000 were young people from deprived backgrounds.”
Two distinct attendance challenges identified
Lowe added: “These improvements reflect the tireless efforts of everyone working in education and your communities to improve attendance, particularly for the most disadvantaged. But the legacy of the pandemic is continuing to shape patterns of absence around the world.”
She explained that the data in England continues to tell two stories: “The first is one of scale and volume, with a large number of pupils missing occasional days of school. The second is one of severity and complexity, with a smaller, but growing, number of pupils missing more than 50% of school.”
Lowe concluded: “With these two distinct challenges in mind, we must go further. The positive impacts of attendance – on attainment, on safety and wellbeing, and on future earnings – are too important to ignore.”
