Attendance policy: what to publish on your school website
Your attendance policy sets out what you expect, how parents report absence, who to contact and how absence is followed up.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Every September
Review it each year, ready for the new academic year.
What's needed
Publish your attendance policy on the statutory information or policies page on your website, naming your Senior Attendance Champion and explaining how to report absence, and review it every year.
What it must contain
9 parts- Sets out attendance and punctuality expectations, including school day and register timesShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Names the Senior Attendance Champion and how to contact themShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Names who to contact about attendance day to dayShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Explains day-to-day attendance processes, for example first-day calling and following up on unexplained absenceShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Says how it promotes and rewards good attendanceShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Describes its strategy for using data to target attendance supportShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Sets out its strategy for reducing persistent and severe absence, including support servicesShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Explains when penalty notices and other legal interventions will be soughtShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Dates the policy within the current school yearMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 1 official source:
Working together to improve school attendance (2026)
The policy should be easily accessible to leaders, staff, pupils, and parents, including being published on the school’s website.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 27, page 17
As the barriers to attendance evolve quickly, the policy should be reviewed and updated as necessary. In doing so, schools should seek the views of pupils and parents.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 28, page 17
Show 10 more from this source
The attendance and punctuality expectations of pupils and parents, including start and close of the day, register closing times and the processes for requesting leaves of absence and informing the school of the reason for an unexpected absence.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
The name and contact details of the school’s Senior Attendance Champion.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
Information and contact details of the school staff who pupils and parents should contact about attendance on a day to day basis (such as a form tutor, attendance officer etc) and for more detailed support on attendance (such as a head of year, pastoral lead or family liaison officer etc).
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
The school’s day to day processes for managing attendance, for example first day calling and processes to follow up on unexplained absence.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
How the school is promoting and incentivising good attendance.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
The school’s strategy for using data to target attendance improvement efforts to the pupils or pupil cohorts who need it most.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
The school’s strategy for reducing persistent and severe absence, including how access to wider support services will be provided to remove the barriers to attendance and when support will be formalised in conjunction with the local authority.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
Details of the National Framework for Penalty Notices and when Notices to Improve, penalty notices or other legal interventions will be sought if support is not appropriate (e.g. for a holiday in term time), not successful, or not engaged with.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
Schools should be clear about the individual circumstances in which leave of absence may be granted, in line with the principles set out in paragraph 36, and that requests will be considered on their individual merits.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 14 bullet 3, page 12
Whilst every pupil has a right to a full-time education and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils, the attendance policy should account for the specific needs of certain pupils and pupil cohorts. The policy should be applied fairly and consistently but in doing so schools should always consider the individual needs of pupils and their families who have specific barriers to attendance. In development and implementation of their policy, schools must consider their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 or considerations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ Chapter 2, para 25, page 17
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish their attendance policy?
For academies and maintained schools, it's recommended in official guidance, but isn't a legal requirement in itself.
What does a school attendance policy need to include?
Sets out attendance and punctuality expectations, including school day and register times; Names the Senior Attendance Champion and how to contact them; Names who to contact about attendance day to day; Explains day-to-day attendance processes, for example first-day calling and following up on unexplained absence; Says how it promotes and rewards good attendance; Describes its strategy for using data to target attendance support; and 3 more parts listed above.
How often do we need to review our attendance policy?
Every September. Review it each year, ready for the new academic year.
Where does the requirement for the attendance policy come from?
It is set out in Working together to improve school attendance (2026).
Recent changes to the official guidance
The official sources for this requirement don't publish dated change notes. We check them for changes ourselves.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
Is this on your school's website?
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4