School Attendance

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You may have seen recent headlines in the news about a new national campaign run by the Government to remind parents and carers of the importance of school attendance. This will include a programme of expanding the number of attendance hubs, and a commitment to further legislation in the coming months that will mean all schools will be required to share their daily school registers. They say that this, together with reforming pupil registration practice, will modernise how schools record and share data on attendance and support them to understand what is driving absence in their school and provide early support and intervention where pupils are displaying worrying trends of absence.

Here are some statistics quoted from their campaign to show a clear link between attendance and attainment:

In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2
standards, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders.
And 36% of PA children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and maths GCSEs, also compared
with 84% of regular attenders.

And it’s never too late to benefit from good attendance:
More than half (54%) of pupils who were PA in Year 10 and then rarely absent in Year 11,
passed at least 5 GCSEs, compared to 36% of pupils who were persistently absent in both years.

But attendance is important for more than just attainment:
Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor
for mental health and wellbeing.

Moments Matter, Attendance Counts (DfE Campaign)

But – what if you are a parent of a child with SEN or health needs, where regular or full time attendance is not an easy outcome to achieve? What can you do in response to these pressures to ensure your child attends school full time?

These pages will take a look at what the law states in terms of school attendance and what support should be offered by school and by the local authority when your child is struggling to attend.

When should children start their full time education?

Under UK Law, children must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday – whichever comes first. If your child’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date. In England a young person can leave* full-time education on the last Friday in June if they will be 16 by the end of the summer holidays.

*However, they must then do one of the following until they’re 18:

  • Stay in full-time education, for example at a college or sixth form
  • Start an apprenticeship, traineeship or supported internship
  • spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

Is attendance at school compulsory? (Click to expand)

Not necessarily. Although the term is ‘compulsory school age’, this does not mean that education must be received through attendance at a school.

Parent/carers (not the LA) are responsible for ensuring that their child, if he or she is of compulsory school age, is suitably educated. This can be done by educating them themselves, organising someone else to educate them, or requesting the local authority to organise a mainstream school placement.

If the latter, it is the LA not the parent/carer who is then obliged to find a setting – or make alternative arrangements for your child to be educated. However, even if the LA are responsible for finding a school place, parent/carers remain responsible for ensuring their child attends where possible (we will look at the obstacles to this in more detail over our other pages)

What do we mean by suitably educated? (Click to expand)

As mentioned above, education should be suitable for the child.

The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient1 full-time2 education suitable –

  • (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and
  • (b) to any special educational needs he may have,
  • either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

Section 7 Education Act 1996

For education to be suitable, it must consider a child’s SEND, as well as their age, ability and aptitude towards learning. This may or may not mean regular attendance at school. The Education Act also mentions efficient and full time education. Click on the questions below to find out more.

1 What is ‘efficient’ education?

There is no lawful definition of ‘efficient’ education. However, it can be interpreted as meaning education which ‘achieves what it is intended to achieve’. This is not the same as the education being ‘suitable’ – because it is possible to deliver efficiently an education which is definitely not suitable for the child. Conversely, it is possible to deliver a suitable education very inefficiently.

2What is a ‘full-time’ education?

There is also no legal definition of “full-time” in terms of education at home, or at school. Children attending school normally have about five hours tuition a day for 190 days a year, spread over about 38 weeks. The Local Government Ombudsman’s view is that it is commonly held to be equivalent to between 22 and 25 hours a week. However they do consider that one to one tuition is worth more than provision delivered in a group or class, so it will vary depending on the type of education a child is receiving.

For those over 16, the definition of full-time participation is at least 540 hours a year; which is around 18 hours per week.

For those over 16 years old (Click to expand)

Once a young person is no longer considered ‘compulsory school age’, the legal requirement to participate is on the young person, not the parent/carer. Enforcement does not form part of the current law and therefore young people will not receive a sanction for non-participation.

However the LA still has certain broad duties to encourage, enable and assist young people, between the ages of 16-18, to participate in education, employment or training. They are expected to:

  • collect information about young people in their area who are not participating and to target their resources on those who require them most.
  • liaise with education providers to identify children under the age of 16 years old who are at risk of not participating post-16 and for intensive support to be provided to remedy the situation. This is particularly important in relation to children with SEND who are significantly less likely to participate post-16 in comparison to their peers without SEND.

When might a child not attend school (Click to expand)

Apart from ‘school holidays’, there may be other times when a child or young person is not able to attend school. These may be:

  • They are not well enough to attend (either full time, or can only attend part time). This could be physical OR Mental Health illness.
  • School have given advanced permission for you to take them out of school (for example to attend appointments or for exceptional circumstances). Please note: You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school’s permission.
  • When they are issued fixed term or permanent exclusions.

School Attendance Codes

School attendance codes changed in August 2024. The list and explanations can be found in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance‘ Statutory DfE guidance Aug 2024. It may be helpful to know how your school is marking your child’s attendance (or lack of attendance) against the following list.

Code / \: Present at the school / = morning session \ = afternoon session

Code L: Late arrival before the register is closed

Attending a place other than the school

Code K: Attending education provision arranged by the local authority – A pupil attending provision arranged by the school rather than the local authority must be recorded using Codes P or B instead.

Code V: Attending an educational visit or trip

Code P: Participating in a sporting activity

Code W: Attending work experience

Code B: Attending any other approved educational activity – The pupil is attending a place for an approved educational activity that is not a sporting activity or work experience.

Absent – leave of absence

Code C1: Leave of absence for the purpose of participating in a regulated performance or undertaking regulated employment abroad.

Code M: Leave of absence for the purpose of attending a medical or dental appointment

Code J1: Leave of absence for the purpose of attending an interview for employment or for admission to another educational institution

Code S: Leave of absence for the purpose of studying for a public examination

Code X: Non-compulsory school age pupil not required to attend school. If under compulsory age – this is parental preference for starting school part time.

Code C2: Leave of absence for a compulsory school age pupil subject to a part-time Timetable. In very exceptional circumstances, where it is in a pupil’s best interests, there may be a need for a temporary part-time timetable to meet their individual needs.

Code D: Dual registered at another school

Code C: Leave of absence for exceptional circumstance

A leave of absence should not, and from a school maintained by a local authority or a special school not maintained by a local authority, must not be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Absent – other authorised reasons

Code T: Parent travelling for occupational purposes

Code R: Religious observance

Code I: Illness (not medical or dental appointment) – Only where the school has genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.

Code E: Suspended or permanently excluded

Absent – unable to attend school because of unavoidable cause

Code Q: Unable to attend the school because of a lack of access arrangements (home to school travel)

Code Y1: Unable to attend due to transport normally provided not being available

Code Y2: Unable to attend due to widespread disruption to travel

Code Y3: Unable to attend due to part of the school premises being closed

Code Y4: Unable to attend due to the whole school site being unexpectedly closed

Code Y5: Unable to attend as pupil is in criminal justice detention

Code Y6: Unable to attend in accordance with public health guidance or law

Code Y7: Unable to attend because of any other unavoidable cause

Absent – unauthorised absence

Code G: Holiday not granted by the school

Code N: Reason for absence not yet established

Code O: Absent in other or unknown circumstances

Code U: Arrived in school after registration closed

Code Z: Prospective pupil not on admission register

Code #: Planned whole school closure

For more specific information about these, please click on the topics below:

Picture of a calendar with a date circled

Reduced Timetables

Reduced timetables and when they should be considered?

Sanctions & Exclusions

A look at the different sanctions schools can use including exclusions

School Admissions

A look at the process for admissions to schools for those without an EHCP

Education – Otherwise at school (including Home Ed)

A look at the options and duties on both the LA and on Parents

Further Resources / Information

Guidance

Resources

Best Practice