Attendance
Attendance is a vital ingredient of success. Standards suffer from missed classes, and even skipping school to go to the dentist's detracts from children's education. There is a strong statistical correlation between absence and attainment with:
over 90% of pupils in secondary schools with average absence of less than 15 sessions between September and May achieving 5 good GCSEs;
under 31% of pupils in secondary schools with average absence of more than 40 sessions between September and May achieving 5 good GCSEs;
over 90% of pupils in primary schools with average absence of less than 15 sessions between September and May achieving level 4 or higher at Key Stage 2; and
under 66% of pupils in primary schools with average absence of more than 30 sessions between September and May achieving level 4 or higher at Key Stage 2.
Early intervention to prevent pupils' attendance deteriorating or becoming poor is crucial. It is important to address the underlying cause of deteriorating and poor attendance and to prevent the absence becoming persistent. You're not alone in urging pupils to attend: there are sources of support and measures you can use in order to help your school's attendance drive, the pupils and their families.
Guidance is available on TeacherNet's A to Z of School Leadership.
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk /management/atoz/a/attendanceandabsence/
And on the Department for Education and Skills' website:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/schoo lattendance
