We spoke with school staff and a total of 85 students across nine secondary mainstream schools. The rising impact of mental healthSchool staff told us that mental health concerns – particularly anxiety – were a significant barrier to attendance. Schools that haven’t already done so should consider adopting the government’s eight principles for a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. Multi-agency collaboration should be strengthened to ensure that schools are not left managing complex mental health needs without adequate support. Read the full report, ‘Voices from the classroom: Understanding how secondary schools support pupils returning from absence’ here