Teachernet, Attendance

School attendance

Reducing absence and persistent absence is a vital and integral part of schools' and local authorities' work to:

promote children's welfare and safeguarding
ensure every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled
ensure that pupils succeed whilst at school
ensure that pupils have access to the widest possible range of opportunities when they leave school.

This section of the website contains information and guidance on school attendance issues. It also contains case studies and examples of good practice that have been introduced by individual schools and LAs.

Pupil registration: Regulations and guidance
The pupil registration section describes the 2006 pupil registration regulations that govern the admissions and attendance registers that all schools must keep. It contains the latest official guidance on keeping pupil registers and using absence and attendance codes. It also outlines the circumstances under which a pupil can be removed from the admissions/attendance register.

Attendance targets: Regulations and guidance
Promoting regular school attendance is a key component in the Government's strategy to raise educational standards. Read guidance for LAs and schools on the Education (School Attendance Targets) Regulations 2007 and for LAs on setting persistence absence indicators for their schools in 2009/10.

Local authorities: Duties and legal measures to ensure school attendance
This provides information on the measures that are available under the law for ensuring regular school attendance in England, as set out in Ensuring children's right to education: Guidance on the legal measures to secure regular school attendance.

It also offers information and further links to guidance on the use of:

Attendance guidance and good practice for schools, LAs and others
This section provides case studies, examples of good practice protocols and good practice guidance in the following areas: