Schools could face new rules and greater scrutiny as part of new government plans to tackle what it describes as “the postcode lottery of avoidable absence” among pupils.
The Department for Education is consulting on proposals to require all state schools to have “robust” attendance policies, and also plans to create new national rules setting out when parental fines for children’s unauthorised absence must be considered.
It also wants to ensure that academies have to follow the same rules as maintained schools in only granting absence from lessons in “exceptional circumstances”.
And it has said that children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza will work with some councils to “review” and “interrogate” attendance data and step up efforts to support children who are persistently absent from school.
The DfE is also calling for schools to be involved in a new data trial, which will involve data being gathered directly from school registers - something the children’s commissioner had called for.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the proposals would end a “postcode lottery” on how attendance is managed in different schools and in different areas of the country.
DfE drive to cut pupil absence
The DfE has today launched a consultation on:
- Requiring schools to have an attendance policy.
- A national framework on fixed penalty notices for absence and other legal intervention.
- Bringing the rules for granting leaves of absence in academies in line with other state-funded schools .
- Introducing statutory guidance on the expectations on schools, trusts and governing bodies on attendance management and improvement.
- Introducing statutory guidance on the expectations of local authority attendance services .
Proposals for new rules on fines for parents
The government said the latest data shows “a radically different approach to sanctions across the country, with some local authorities issuing no fines in 2020-21, while others issued over 1,500”.
It said the new standards will make sure that interventions such as fines are always used when all other options have been explored.
The consultation says that a new national framework for when fines should be considered could include:
- A number of sessions of unauthorised absence in a fixed period.
- An incidence of unauthorised leave of absence in term time.
- Any sessions of unauthorised absence immediately following a period of authorised leave in term time.
- A number of occurrences of lateness.
- An incidence of being in a public place during school hours when excluded (with reasonable exceptions).
What will schools’ attendance policies be expected to include?
The government’s consultation document says that the plan to require schools to have an attendance policy is “not for the sake of having a document, but so that schools think strategically about their attendance efforts and ensure that staff, pupils and parents all understand the importance of regular attendance”.
Under the plans, school policies on attendance would be have to include the following:
- How the school sets clear expectations for parents and pupils.
- The day-to-day processes around attendance management that parents can expect (for example, phoning the parent on the first day of an unauthorised absence).
- How the school is promoting good attendance (for example, through regular monitoring).
- The named member(s) of staff responsible for attendance.
- The “specific strategies” the school is using to address persistent absence.
- The “clear escalation route” in the event of a pupil’s failure to attend regularly.
Mr Zahawi said: “I want every single child to have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, which only time in school with this country’s world-class teachers can bring. That’s why I will continue to give schools the tools they need to keep pupils in class, whether that’s support with ventilation, testing or vaccinations, which all remain so vital.
“And as we transition from pandemic to endemic, it makes me even more determined to fight for children to be in school every day they possibly can be. ”
He continued: “Absence due to Covid is unavoidable, but there are other reasons children miss out on school, too.”
The new proposals would, he said, “end the postcode lottery of how attendance is managed in different schools and parts of the country, and make sure every child and family gets the best possible support to attend school as regularly as possible”.
Today’s consultation comes as the latest school attendance statistics show that Covid-related pupil absence soared by nearly a third over two weeks.
The attendance consultation is running until 11.45pm on 28 February.
