Attendance policy
The school's attendance policy: expectations, how to report absence, the Senior Attendance Champion and who to contact, how absence is followed up and when penalty notices are used. It should be on the school's website.
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 is it due?
- How often
- Every 12 months
- Resets on
- 1 September, the start of the academic year
Items expected to be renewed each September (term dates, music development plan, governance attendance and interests).
What's needed
Publish the school attendance policy on the statutory information or policies page.
What it must contain
9 parts- Sets out attendance and punctuality expectations, including school day and register timesShould
- Names the Senior Attendance Champion and how to contact themShould
- Names who to contact about attendance day to dayShould
- Explains day-to-day attendance processes, for example first-day calling and following up on unexplained absenceShould
- Says how it promotes and rewards good attendanceShould
- Describes its strategy for using data to target attendance supportShould
- Sets out its strategy for reducing persistent and severe absence, including support servicesShould
- Explains when penalty notices and other legal interventions will be soughtShould
- Dates the policy within the current school yearMust
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§ 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§ 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§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
The name and contact details of the school’s Senior Attendance Champion.
Should§ 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§ 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§ Chapter 2, para 24 bullet list, pages 16–17
How the school is promoting and incentivising good attendance.
Should§ 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§ 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§ 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§ 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§ 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§ Chapter 2, para 25, page 17
Questions schools ask
Does every school have to publish the attendance policy?
The official sources we check set no requirement for academies. The official sources we check set no requirement for maintained schools.
When does the attendance policy need to be published?
How often: Every 12 months. Resets on: 1 September, the start of the academic year. Items expected to be renewed each September (term dates, music development plan, governance attendance and interests).
What must the attendance policy 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.
Where does the requirement for the attendance policy come from?
It is set out in Working together to improve school attendance (2026).
Changes to the official sources
The sources for this item do not publish dated change notes. Their current versions are listed above.
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