Strategies to improve attendance in primary schools

Read guidance on effective strategies for improving primary attendance, including 2 case studies of how different schools successfully tackled this issue.

Last reviewed on 12 January 2022
School types: All · School phases: Primary
Ref: 89
Contents
  1. Use advice from local authorities and regional government
  2. Case study: how 1 school improved attendance and tackled absence
  3. Case study: a deputy headteacher’s advice on boosting attendance

Government guidance on improving school attendance emphasises the need for ‘clear and consistent’ systems to improve and reward attendance. This includes monitoring and analysing attendance data to better understand patterns within your school, which we cover in detail in this article.

Use the resources below to understand what strategies you can use to improve attendance, and where they may be most useful. You can also download attendance audit and tracking tools here.

Use advice from local authorities and regional government

Having a 'first day contact' system in place, where parents are expected to inform the school of pupil absence as soon as possible Using posters and leaflets to boost the profile of good attendance Using rewards and incentives such as credits and