Improving attendance

Improving attendance and reducing persistent absence

School attendance levels are affected by several factors. When the school leadership champions the attendance agenda and regularly reviews the school's attendance levels, focusing on vulnerable groups and learners with persistent absence, attendance levels will often improve.

• Leadership and management in attendance

  Find out more about why senior leaders are key to improving attendance in schools, how appointing a school attendance leader can help, and how every member of the school community should take responsibility for improving teaching and learning for attendance. You can also find out how to conduct an attendance review.

  • Senior leadership and attendance

  • Role of a school attendance leader

  • Teaching and learning for attendance

  • Attendance reviews

• Using data and information to review attendance

  Find out how attendance and attainment are linked, get advice on how and why senior leaders may find it helpful to build a school attendance profile, and on what good attendance practice and procedures are. Tools and resources are provided to help you analyse attendance data.

  • Linking attendance and attainment

  • Building a school attendance profile

  • Using your school profile

• Developing a whole-school approach to attendance

  Senior leaders can find tools and resources that will help to support staff, learners and parents/carers, and encourage them to take responsibility for improving attendance. There is also advice about establishing a school attendance policy and developing strong systems to support a whole-school approach.

  • Achieving a whole-school approach

  • School attendance policy

  • First-day calling

  • Academies and free schools

  • Working with parents, carers and learners

  • CPD session: Effective registration practice

  • CPD session: The importance of regular attendance

• Improving the attendance of vulnerable groups

  Senior leaders can use these tools and resources to help them identify vulnerable groups, support them effectively and find out more about the attendance of vulnerable groups. It is important to understand which groups are most vulnerable and how to improve their attendance when trying to improve attendance levels across the school.

  • Identifying vulnerable groups

  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller learners

  • Learners with special educational needs

  • Learners who are being bullied or fear being bullied

  • Learners from economically deprived communities

• Improving outcomes for learners with persistent absence

  Find out how to reduce persistent absence, how to prevent any further decline in attendance and how to deal with medical absence. Also discover how partners in your local area can help you improve attendance. Part of Improving outcomes for learners with persistent absence.

  • Reducing persistent absence

  • Helping learners at risk of persistent absence

  • Medical absence

  • Working with partners