Attendance

The latest news and professional advice on school attendance, including analysis of attendance data and shared practice on tackling pupil absence and internal truancy

Today

17th Jul 2024

AP facing staff funding cliff edge, Phillipson warned
Alternative provision leaders call for more funding and action on unregulated provision in open letter to education secretary
phillipson
Exclusive

Friday

12th Jul 2024

Governors’ financial fears at record high
Six in 10 governors and trustees say that balancing their school budget is now their biggest challenge
Majority of governors fear financial sustainability

Monday

8th Jul 2024

Punitive measures to cut absence ‘no longer work’
Schools should instead adopt a ‘collaborative approach’, providing support to families of pupils with poor attendance, study finds
Attendance

Wednesday

3rd Jul 2024

Our trust attendance hub is helping us to cut absence
One trust explains the strategic approach it has taken that is providing ‘green shoots’ of recovery on school attendance
Creating an attendance hub to tackle absence

Tuesday

25th Jun 2024

IFS: Labour’s breakfast clubs plan risks school ‘mission creep’
The free breakfast clubs pledge is part of a set of measures that could present additional challenges for schools, according to the IFS
IFS: Labour’s breakfast clubs plan risks school ‘mission creep’

Thursday

20th Jun 2024

Disadvantage absence gap widens in Year 7
Wider absence gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers after transition to secondary could be partly down to differences in ‘parental support’, say analysts
Revealed: Disadvantage absence gap widens in year 7

Wednesday

19th Jun 2024

Exclusions aren’t the answer to Scotland’s behaviour issues
Resistance to school exclusions seems to be weakening in Scotland – but educators should be wary of apparent quick fixes for behaviour problems, says David Cameron
How Scottish education can do better for the most vulnerable pupils

Tuesday

18th Jun 2024

GCSEs: Deprived schools worst hit by teacher absence
Challenges facing this year’s GCSE exams cohort are significantly higher in disadvantaged schools, findings suggest
empty blue stadium seats

Sunday

9th Jun 2024

Labour: Breakfast clubs plan ‘could cut half a million days of absence’
Labour sets out plan to turn primary school classrooms into 3,300 new nurseries
Labour: Breakfast clubs plan ‘could cut half a million days of absence’

Wednesday

5th Jun 2024

7 practical ways our MAT is tackling attendance
From building a dedicated team to using robots, a director of performance explains how his trust is improving attendance
Number 7 seat

Tuesday

14th May 2024

DfE: Schools need ‘strong’ Friday curriculum offer to reduce absence
School system minister Baroness Barran sets out how attendance can be improved among pupils missing between 5 and 15 per cent of lessons
Picture of the day Friday on a clock

Thursday

18th Apr 2024

Absence rates up despite attendance drive
DfE data shows a rise in overall absence and pupils persistently absent last term compared with spring 2022-23
Absence rates up despite attendance drive