Your school is expected to have an attendance policy under the statutory attendance guidance. This means that, although there is no legal requirement to have this policy, your school would need a good explanation if your leaders chose not to set one.
We previously expected that having an attendance policy would become a statutory requirement in summer 2024. However, the necessary legislation (the School Attendance Bill) didn't complete its passage through parliament before dissolution for the general election. We will update this article if there are any relevant changes to the statutory guidance or legislation.
What this policy needs to do
Your school's policy should fulfil the points below to meet the expectations set out in the Department for Education's (DfE's) statutory guidance on working together to improve school attendance (from 19 August 2024) and the statutory guidance on school attendance parental responsibility measures.
Your school's policy should set out exactly what it