Attendance Information

Pupils with good attendance are more likely to do well at school. When pupils miss school, even if the time period is very short, it can lead to gaps in their learning which might make future lessons more difficult for them.

Regular attendance helps pupils to feel part of the school community and enables them to develop good relationships with their peers and other members of the school community. This can have a positive impact on their wellbeing and help them to feel more settled in school.

What does the law say?

It is a legal requirement for schools to keep a record of attendance and the reasons for any absences. There are clear guidelines set out by the government about how schools should manage attendance and schools are expected to follow these.

Only the headteacher can officially authorise an absence but, unless there is a concern, other staff will usually do this on their behalf. Parents and carers should provide reasons for absences to enable the school to decide whether or not to authorise the absence based on government guidelines.

Parents and carers must ensure that their child attends school regularly. Failure to do so, without good reason, is an offence, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. Parents and carers of children with unauthorised absences may be subject to a fixed penalty notice/legal action.

What are the different types of absence?

There are two broad categories of absence:

Authorised absence: This is an absence that has been authorised by the school for a legitimate medical, emergency or unavoidable situation.

Typical examples of authorised absence include:

• illness that means a child is too unwell to come to school;
• following NHS advice regarding remaining off school following a period of illness (in the case of certain infectious illnesses);
• an emergency medical or dental appointment;
• the recent death of a close family member;
• religious observance, as long as certain conditions are met.

Unauthorised absence: This is where a pupil’s absence is for a reason deemed to be unacceptable by the school or where the reason for a pupil’s absence has not been provided and cannot be established.

Some examples of unauthorised absence include:

• looking after a younger sibling
• time off for birthday celebrations
• a family holiday (unless there are exceptional circumstances);
• oversleeping;
• shopping trips or days out
• Days out/Music concerts

Why is it important that my child is on time each day?

When children are late to school, they may initially feel unsettled and they might miss important information and activities.

Schools are required to record late arrivals. If pupils arrive after the start of the school day but when the register is still open, it will be recorded as a late mark. If pupils arrive after the register closes (which government guidelines state must be within 30 minutes of the register opening), then their morning mark will be recorded as an unauthorised absence, unless evidence can be provided that there are exceptional circumstances that led to the late arrival.

How does occasional absence affect my child?

Missing occasional days from school may seem unimportant at the time; however, this can have a significant impact on your child in the long term:

Regular absences can result in poorer outcomes over time. Research shows that pupils who miss between 10% and 20% of school (which is between half and one day per week on average) stand only a 35% chance of achieving five or more good GCSEs, compared to 73% of those who miss fewer than 5% of school days.

Late arrivals also add up over time – being 10 minutes late each day adds up to two weeks of lost learning time over the whole school year.

Session

Schools are required to take attendance registers twice a day for all pupils. Each of these attendance marks counts for one session. Each day is made up of two sessions; morning and afternoon. In a typical school year, a pupil will attend for a maximum of 190 days, or 380 sessions.

Persistent Absence

When a pupil’s attendance figure reaches 90% or below, they are deemed as ‘persistently absent’ from school. Children whose attendance is below 90% are likely to achieve lower educational outcomes and are 3 times as likely to be at increased risk of harm and exploitation. A pupil with 90% attendance will be absent for the equivalent of: one session per week, six sessions per six-week half term or 38 sessions per school year.

Severe Absence

When a pupil is absent from school with an attendance figure of 50% or below, they are deemed as ‘severely absent’. Children in this group are at increased risk of exploitation and education outcomes are poor. A pupil with 50% attendance will be absent for the equivalent of: five sessions per week, 30 sessions per six-week half term or 190 sessions per school year.

All sessions are recorded and accessed by the Local Authority and the DfE.