Attendance

The government is focusing huge amounts of attention and funding on trying to solve the attendance crisis. But how sure are we that steps to tackle persistent absence will actually lead to a significant shift in outcomes?

Sir Martyn Oliver hopes the watchdog’s new inspection framework will result in a ‘system-wide behaviour shift on inclusion’

Lift Schools and Reach Foundation launch a programme to tackle disengagement in Years 7 to 9, including testing out a later start to the school day

In response to new AI-powered attendance targets for every school, leaders tell the DfE that there is no ‘quick solution’ to the pupil absence problem

Visiting schools in Ohio where assessment is turned into a celebration got this MAT leader thinking about ways to use healthy competition to drive engagement and outcomes

Permanent exclusions from school have also dropped and are now similar to pre-pandemic levels, DfE figures show

There are multiple issues with the government’s new AI-powered attendance targets – but the most pressing is that they will deter schools from being inclusive, argues headteacher Michael Tidd

Analysis of 2025-26 attendance rates so far shows absence levels remain similar to figures from the same time last year

By introducing four new core sports across its 20 schools, Redhill Academy Trust bolstered attendance, with a particular benefit for disadvantaged pupils. Ellen Peirson-Hagger hears how it did it

The latest cohort brings the total number of hub lead schools to 57, with more expected to be announced

Headteachers’ leaders dismiss new individual attendance targets for every school as a ‘Whitehall diktat’ that will be an extra burden on staff

The latest DfE figures show that overall pupil absence has improved, but a higher proportion of children are missing more than half of their classes