Tens of thousands of teenagers enrolled in further education are not attending classes regularly enough to be counted in official statistics, leaving them effectively invisible to support systems, according to a new report by the children's commissioner.
Dame Rachel de Souza's analysis found that approximately 42,000 16- and 17-year-olds officially registered at college are missing at least half of their sessions, while more than half of all students in this age group are persistently absent by school-based standards. These young people have slipped "under the radar" and are not receiving the help they require, the report concludes.
The Department for Education acknowledged the gap in its monitoring systems and stated it would work with colleges to improve attendance tracking and establish centralised data collection, a practice already in place for schools through its attendance monitoring tools.
Unlike schools, colleges in England have no legal obligation to record or report attendance figures, creating a significant blind spot in understanding youth disengagement. Dame Rachel's findings are based on attendance records from 262 college groups across England and reveal rates substantially lower than those seen in schools.
This issue connects to a broader crisis affecting young people in the UK. Nearly one million young Britons aged 16 to 24 are out of education, employment or training, and more than one million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK are classed as Neet, with officials warning of a lost generation without urgent intervention.
How many students are severely absent?
The data reveals stark patterns of disengagement. Using the same absence threshold applied in schools—missing 10% or more of sessions—the report estimates that 52.2% of 16- and 17-year-olds in further education are persistently absent. At the most severe end, around 42,000 students (5.9% of the cohort) are missing at least half of their college sessions.
The Department for Education currently estimates that 57,000 16- and 17-year-olds in England are Neet. Dame Rachel argues that the persistently absent college students should be counted alongside these figures as "hidden" Neets, suggesting the true scale of youth disengagement is substantially larger than official counts indicate. According to government interim analysis, the most common reason young people become Neet is that they are looking for work or a suitable course, accounting for nearly 40% of cases.
What factors drive college absence?
Dame Rachel identified multiple reasons why teenagers fail to attend college regularly. Part-time work, travel costs, and the lingering effects of pandemic-related educational disruption all contribute to absences. She distinguished between two groups: those juggling part-time employment who miss classes occasionally, and a "far more vulnerable" cohort who are severely absent and often face deeper challenges.
Liam Sloan, principal at Bolton College, confirmed this pattern. He noted that while few students miss more than half their classes, those with severe absence typically struggle with mental health difficulties or are working part-time shifts.
Sometimes the student being able to be offered that £30 shift there and then means more... than the potential qualification in six or seven months' time,he explained.
Sloan highlighted a particular pressure point: English and maths GCSE classes, which students in England must take alongside other courses if they have not achieved a grade 4 or above. These mandatory resit classes create what the government has described as an "endless treadmill" of failure and repetition. However, Bolton College has seen attendance improve in recent years and has introduced full-time "positive engagement officers" who greet students each morning and contact those who do not arrive.
Why is this data gap a problem?
Dame Rachel emphasised that the absence of centralised attendance data for colleges represents a critical failure in monitoring youth welfare.
It's under the radar and these kids are not getting the support that they need,she told the media, adding that it was "shocking" the Department for Education had not collected this information, allowing the issue to be "ignored".
The lack of visibility means colleges cannot easily identify which students need intervention, and policymakers cannot assess the scale of the problem. This contrasts sharply with schools, where attendance is tracked and reported as part of routine monitoring. The absence of equivalent systems in further education means thousands of teenagers can disengage without triggering any formal response.
What recommendations has the commissioner made?
Dame Rachel has put forward several specific recommendations for government action. These include establishing mandatory attendance data collection and targets for 16- and 17-year-olds in further education, accelerating the rollout of mental health support teams in colleges, and introducing free bus travel for young people to remove transport as a barrier to attendance.
The Department for Education responded by committing to track attendance in colleges and to speed up the deployment of mental health support teams. It also announced plans to introduce a new stepping-stone qualification designed to break the cycle of students repeatedly failing and resitting GCSE maths and English.
What do colleges say about the barriers?
Cath Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges, acknowledged the validity of many recommendations but pointed to a fundamental constraint.
Funding pressures [are] limiting colleges' ability to provide tailored support,she said, calling for increased investment, better integration of support services, and a stronger national strategy for employer engagement.
The tension between identifying need and having resources to meet it runs through the entire further education sector. While colleges can now see the scale of the problem through reports like Dame Rachel's, translating that awareness into action depends on funding and coordination that many institutions say they currently lack.
What happens next?
The Department for Education has signalled its intention to make attendance data collection in colleges a priority in future reforms aimed at tackling the broader Neet crisis. The government's official education statistics service is expected to become the channel through which future attendance and participation data will be published, bringing colleges into the same transparent reporting framework as schools.
A major government review led by former minister Alan Milburn is expected to deliver its final recommendations in the coming weeks. An interim instalment published in May warned that the proportion of young people who are Neet could rise to one in six within five years without urgent action, describing the country as "at risk of a lost generation." Dame Rachel's report on hidden absences in further education adds weight to calls for comprehensive reform across the entire youth support system.
Key Facts
- Approximately 42,000 16- and 17-year-olds registered at college are missing at least half of their sessions, and 52.2% are persistently absent by school standards
- Unlike schools, further education and sixth form colleges in England are not required to collect or report attendance data, creating a monitoring gap
- The Department for Education estimates 57,000 16- and 17-year-olds are Neet, but the commissioner argues persistently absent college students should be counted as "hidden" Neets
- Mental health challenges, part-time work, and travel costs are identified as key drivers of college absence
- The government has committed to centralising college attendance data and accelerating mental health support rollout in further education
