One in four children are persistently absent from school and new government guidance means attendance is a priority this term.

In this episode, we discuss why students struggle to attend school, the barriers they face, and effective approaches/strategies to help raise attendance.

We seek tips from children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and the Education Endowment Foundation, discussing the findings and recommendations from two school attendance research reviews.

We ask what secondary schools can do to support students who struggle to attend, including how to engage with families, with a range of practical ideas for short-term and long-term interventions.