Improving attendance: strategies and factsheet (secondary)

Last reviewed on 2 December 2021
School types: All · School phases: Secondary, 16 Plus
Ref: 9539

Find the tools you need to tackle attendance among persistently absent pupils or groups. Use our factsheet to remind parents of their responsibilities and help you embed a whole-school culture of high attendance.

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Contents

  1. Start by analysing your attendance data 
  2. Whole-school: establish a positive yet firm approach to attendance
  3. Persistently absent groups: who to keep an eye on 
  4. Persistent absentees: tailor your strategies to meet their needs
  5. Make attendance a standing item on your weekly SLT meeting agenda 

Start by analysing your attendance data 

Make sure you fully understand the situation in your school before you start taking steps to improve it. Find out how to analyse your attendance and absence data in 3 steps.

 

Whole-school: establish a positive yet firm approach to attendance

Use these strategies to lay the foundations of a strong culture around attendance. 

But remember: while whole-school approaches are important, you should target the majority of your attendance resources at persistent absentees (see section below). This is because a small number of persistent absentees (those who miss 10% of sessions or more) are likely to be responsible for a large proportion of absences. 

Set and communicate high expectations 

Make sure to visibly tackle any staff lateness as well, to set a good example

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