Attendance

The latest news and professional advice on school attendance, including analysis of attendance data and shared practice on tackling pupil absence and internal truancy

Today

14th Sep 2026

How some schools turn parent power into an unfair advantage
The real differentiator between top-performing state schools and the rest is something policymakers won’t speak about – the ability to curate an engaged parent cohort, says this headteacher
Cherry picking from bowl

Tuesday

8th Sep 2026

Where will Mission Coastal go next?
Tes looks at which coastal areas could follow Hastings and Scarborough in the government’s school improvement scheme
A person pressing a red pin into a map
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Monday

7th Sep 2026

Community cohesion takes years - not terms
A MAT CEO explains how its schools took part in a four-year project to bring pupils together across settings, with real impact
Children running in field

Wednesday

26th Aug 2026

Why attendance policies aren’t working for students with long-term health conditions
A research project is attempting to understand the difficulties children with conditions such as diabetes, asthma and epilepsy experience at school. Dr Simon Pini details its findings so far
Teenage boy with asthma inhaler

Friday

21st Aug 2026

How a short-term behaviour intervention can bring long-term benefits
Interventions don’t need to be long to deliver results, explains Clare Dash, whose doctoral research is exploring how a one-week residential is improving pupil behaviour and wellbeing
Dominos being interupted

Wednesday

12th Aug 2026

A new approach to tackling emotionally based school avoidance
One local authority is pioneering a new form of alternative provision that uses heritage buildings and the arts to re-engage children with education
Romeo and juliet

Friday

7th Aug 2026

Supporting pupils and having high expectations ‘not in conflict’
Students’ sense of belonging in school is strongest where teachers both support them and challenge them to ‘think hard and learn more’, according to new research
Teenagers sat in a classroom

Thursday

6th Aug 2026

Autumn absence on the rise in England’s schools
Pupil absence increased in both school phases in the autumn term last year, official figures show, prompting calls for the government to focus on implementing its SEND reforms
Absence in the autumn term

Friday

31st Jul 2026

School attendance improvement stalls for first time since Covid
While the June heatwave was a factor, no meaningful improvements in attendance were made during the rest of the year, finds FFT analysis
Attendance may not have dropped

Thursday

30th Jul 2026

‘Rushed’ RISE improvement plans concern ‘many’ heads
Latest DfE review of RISE school improvement programme finds there is a clearer understanding of advisers’ roles and better communication – but worries persist over timeframes for drafting plans
"Rushed" process a concern for heads

Thursday

23rd Jul 2026

Social media bullying linked to school absence, study finds
Research by the NFER also reveals that parental fines for student absence are ‘counterproductive’
Online bullying

Tuesday

21st Jul 2026

Late DfE policy dump ‘shows scant regard’ for schools
Schools tell Tes they have been left with little time to implement significant policy changes on safeguarding, enrichment and attendance after the DfE released substantial updates late in the summer term
Schools running out of time
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