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A 6-step strategy that transformed attendance: primary case study

Turn your attendance figures around with a consistent, data-led approach, underpinned by a clear policy. Find out how 1 primary school improved attendance and reduced persistent absence, with practical ideas you can implement today.

Last reviewed on 13 August 2025
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 52089
Contents
  1. What's the approach?
  2. Why try this?
  3. This could work for you if …
  4. Use a ‘staged approach’
  5. 1. Expect: create a culture where all children can, and want to, be in school
  6. 2. Monitor: act on attendance data daily, weekly and monthly
  7. 3. Listen and understand: work with parents/carers to remove barriers to attendance
  8. 4. Facilitate support: support parents/carers to access external support to overcome barriers outside of school
  9. 5. Formalise support
  10. 6. As a last resort: enforce
  11. How to make this a success

This case study sets out 1 example of a successful attendance strategy. For more general advice, see our article on how to develop an attendance strategy.

What's the approach?

  • A ‘staged approach’, with 6 key principles, provides a structured strategy
  • A clear and easy-to-understand policy, communicated to everyone and implemented consistently
  • Daily, weekly and half-termly data monitoring, with a focus on all attendance bands, not just persistent and severe absence
  • A “swift and effective” response to monitoring, such as home visits and proactive conversations with pupils and parents/carers
  • Going “above and beyond” – e.g. providing personalised support such as wraparound care and 'soft starts' to the school day

Why try this?

Persistent absence has decreased significantly from 13.5% to 5.3%, better than local and national averages. Currently, just 5 pupils are persistently absent The school's overall attendance increased from 94.7% in 2022/23 to 96.5% in 2024/5, meaning it has less than 4% absence The