This document, issued by the Department for Education (DfE), provides statutory guidance aimed at improving school attendance across England. It is intended for use by maintained schools, academies, independent schools, local authorities, and other stakeholders involved in education and child welfare. The guidance, effective from August 2024, covers the following key areas:
1. The Importance of School Attendance
- Attendance is crucial for students' academic success, wellbeing, and future opportunities.
- The law requires parents to ensure their children receive a full-time education.
- Schools must create a supportive and engaging environment to promote regular attendance.
2. Expectations of Schools
- Building Relationships: Schools should build strong relationships with families to understand and address attendance barriers.
- Whole School Culture: Schools must develop a culture that values high attendance, underpinned by clear policies and expectations.
- Data and Monitoring: Schools are required to regularly analyse attendance data, identify patterns, and implement strategies to improve attendance.
- Collaboration: Schools must work with local authorities and other partners to support students with persistent or severe absences.
3. Expectations of Academy Trust Boards and Governing Bodies
- Leadership: Boards and governing bodies must prioritise attendance across all policies and practices.
- Support and Training: They should ensure that school staff receive adequate training on attendance management.
- Review and Challenge: Boards are expected to review attendance data regularly, challenge trends, and support school leaders in addressing issues.
4. Expectations of Local Authorities
- Strategic Leadership: Local authorities should track local attendance data and develop strategic plans to address barriers to attendance.
- School Attendance Support Teams: These teams are to be established to provide advice, multi-disciplinary support, and legal intervention when necessary.
- Partnership Working: Authorities must work with schools and other local partners to remove barriers to attendance, particularly for vulnerable pupils.
5. Persistent and Severe Absence
- The guidance emphasises the importance of early intervention to prevent persistent or severe absenteeism.
- Schools and local authorities must work together to provide targeted support and, if necessary, enforce attendance through legal means.
6. Attendance Legal Intervention
- Outlines the legal framework for addressing attendance issues, including attendance contracts, education supervision orders, and prosecutions.
- Introduces a National Framework for issuing penalty notices, emphasising the need for clear communication and structured intervention before legal action.
7. Admission and Attendance Registers
- Schools must accurately maintain admission and attendance registers, following the updated codes and regulations.
- The guidance includes specific instructions on retaining and amending registers, granting leaves of absence, and handling part-time timetables.
Key Changes in This Edition
- Clearer links between attendance and school culture.
- Updates to the law on attendance registers, codes, and data sharing.
- Introduction of a National Framework for penalty notices.
- Revised guidance on managing pupils with health needs and part-time timetables.
This guidance stresses the collective responsibility of schools, local authorities, and other partners to ensure high attendance levels, viewing attendance improvement as integral to students' overall success and wellbeing.
Further Information:
Attendance Checklist
DFE - Working together to improve school attendance