The number of children missing more than half of their time in school has hit another record high in England, according to data from the Department for Education (DfE).

Although overall attendance improved for most students in 2024/25, the number who were "severely" absent - missing at least 50% of their classes - rose again.

This was mainly due to a rise in pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) missing school, as the number of severely absent pupils without SEND fell when compared with the previous year.

The DfE says it has made "real progress", with 225,000 more children attending school almost every day, but that it knows there is more to do for children with SEND.

Mum Rebecca, not her real name, says there isn't enough support for children who go through long-term school absence due to illness.

Her seven-year-old daughter Gracie had over two years of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, after she was diagnosed at the age of three.

Gracie spent long periods in hospital, and despite finishing treatment and being in remission, her mum says she has since struggled to adapt to school life.

She went through severe levels of school absence during and after treatment, her mum says, and has developed anxiety around returning to class.

"There's not enough support around kids who are going through treatment or finished treatment when it comes to going to school," she says.

"For a child that young to go through something like cancer is not normal. It's a really traumatic experience to go through."

Despite changing schools, and having one-to-one support through an education, health and care plan (EHCP) - which sets out the provisions which children with SEND are legally entitled to - Gracie was still struggling to attend.

In recent months, Gracie's school attendance has been improving after receiving tutoring support at home twice a week, through the charity Bright Futures UK, which Rebecca says has "massively" helped Gracie's confidence.

"It's taken quite a long time to get to where we are. But I'm very hopeful by the end of this year that she will be in full-time education," Rebecca says.

Different rates of school absence are described in the DfE's data using terms like "severe" - when children miss over half of their school time - and "persistent", when pupils miss over 10% of school.

A new report by Bright Futures UK, which provides tutoring and mentoring for young people with medical conditions, also measured the number of pupils missing 20% of school.

It estimates that 279,000 children missed a fifth of their education in 2023/24 - the year before the most recent DfE data - due to long-term illness.

Chief executive Joshua Pelled says children with long-term illnesses can feel "completely forgotten and overlooked" within the SEND system.

"Not putting the correct support in place for a young person can lead to severe mental health complications and emotionally-based school avoidance," he says.

"Even a young person facing a physical illness, if they don't get the right support in place, they become anxious, nervous and they have less confidence about being in school and keeping up with friends."

Keeping children in school has been a big challenge since the end of the Covid pandemic.

But overall absence rates for state schools have improved year on year, with the most recent figures showing the biggest improvement in attendance in over a decade, the DfE says.

But, the number of children missing half or more of their education has increased to over 175,000 students, a large proportion being children with SEND.

Over 5,000 more pupils with EHCPs missed half or more of their schooling in 2024/25 than in the previous year, while the number of those without additional needs improved, the DfE says.

"We know there's more to do particularly for children with SEND," a spokesperson said.

"We have launched the biggest reform to the SEND system in a generation with work already underway, ensuring children get the right support earlier, in a school near them."

They added that free breakfast clubs, attendance and behaviour hubs were tackling the root causes of absence and building a system where every child can achieve and thrive, whatever their background or needs.