1. ATTENDANCE Mike Cooper Ofsted expects.....
DfE Education Specialist Adviser
and Education Consultant
School Improvement Solutions Ltd.

2. September 2014 – Revised Framework
72 pages in School Inspection Handbook (August 2016).
Replaces 450 pages of guidance and briefings.
SAFEGUARDING has a separate 34 page document.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (2015).
Working together to safeguard children (2015).
Expectation is that ‘inspectors will use their professional judgement and expertise to interpret evidence in the light of the handbook and the school’s context’.
Grade 1 schools are exempt from section 5 inspections BUT all schools are subject to a risk assessment (Sec. 8)
ATTENDANCE IS INCLUDED IN THE RISK ANALYSIS.

3. From School Inspection Handbook (Aug. 2016)
p14/ Inspectors should request SEF and will ask to
see current school improvement plan, up to date
attendance records, documented evidence of the
work of governors, their priorities - and the impact.
p Inspectors must evaluate the welfare and safety
of pupils in any alternative provision and systems
used to monitor attendance.

4. From Evaluation Schedule (in Sch. Insp. Handbook)
Leadership and management
p No mention of attendance in Leadership & management BUT the descriptors make it easy for inspectors to reference
Attendance through other aspects of the schedule
( eg. Personal development, behaviour and welfare. )
The Descriptors
Grade They (Leaders) are committed unwaveringly to
setting high expectations for the conduct of pupils.
Grade Leaders set high expectations of all pupils.

5. Personal development, behaviour and welfare
p49 Rates, pattern, reasons for fixed term exclusions including
pupils taken off roll for attendance reasons.
Attendance rates for different groups.
Punctuality to school and to lessons.
Inspectors should compare against national figures and for ‘low’
must be <93.7%(Pri) / <92.5(Sec). (that’s the bottom 10% of schools.)
Impact of strategies to improve attendance (esp. low attenders)
The Descriptors
Grade 1 – Rarely miss a day. No group disadvantaged by low
attendance Grade 2 – Pupils are punctual.
Grade 4 – Attendance is consistently low with little sign of improvement.

6. Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings (Aug. 2016)
Inspectors should evaluate how well schools fulfil their
statutory responsibilities on keeping pupils safe.
p taking action to ensure all children have best outcomes.
Pupils’ health and safety and meeting needs of pupils with
medical needs. Missing child policy (not confused with
‘Children missing education’, September 2016).
p10 Governors must ensure they comply with their safeguarding duties.
p School staff need to be sensitive to signs of poor and
irregular attendance and persistent absence.
Other publications / guidance…..
Keeping children safe in education School Attendance (November 2016),
Working together to safeguard children (February 2017)

7. WHAT AN INSPECTOR KNOWS
RAISEonline
3-year trend
Persistent absence
Exclusions data
Breakdown of groups…
[Boys / Girls / Disadvantaged (PP) / EAL / SEN / EMA]
Details of any complaints.
Anything in local press.
What’s on your website (or not!)
Also, a risk assessment provided by the HMI /Ofsted
inspection desk (and this may detail attendance as an issue)
Executive summary of the LA’s (or perhap’s MAT’s)
Ofsted Report or child protection arrangements.

8. WHAT YOU WANT AN INSPECTOR TO KNOW
SEF
Paints a picture/sets the scene and might be the start of any
defence, justification or promotion of why you are
outstanding!
Even if attendance is 99%, why is it not 100%?
What can the school do to improve?
If all is fine, then say so. Promote the positive image whenever you can. But take care!
Don’t be caught out if one group’s (or pupil’s) poor attendance is masked by overall high percentages of other groups.

9. If attendance is high for all groups then there are no worries
but if there are some low spots there will be a story to tell…
Case histories of pupils (and attendance in previous settings
if applicable)
Re-work data with persistent non-attenders removed
(that’s the school’s own evidence).
Show improvement for individuals.
Try to show an improving trend.

10. Have statistics for: Same day last year. Try to show improvements.
Same period last year.
Last year’s attendance compared to this year’s.
Any low spots and reasons.
Try to show improvements.
Think REASONS not EXCUSES

11. STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
House system / year groups / class groups / pastoral
care arrangements / competitions.
Moving registration times to ensure maximum
attendance.
RAG rating charts to give immediate visual impact.
Challenging attendance targets for all pupils.
Promotion of the link between achievement and
Attendance assemblies.

12. Letters home, calls to parents / carers.
Interviews with the parents /carers of persistently
absent / late pupils.
Competitions (week / half term / termly etc) with
prizes / incentives.
100% attendance rewards.
Provide transport for those who will not make it on their
own (pupil premium).
Show an action plan to improve attendance.
Promote an overt link between attendance and achievement.

13. ASK A GOVERNOR Is there a link governor for attendance?
If not, should there be?
If attendance is an issue, do governors know about it?
How are they told? How can you prove you have told them?
What statistics are produced for governors?
What strategies are used to promote attendance?
- are they working?
Attendance issues may be raised in discussion with governors.
NOT ALL EVIDENCE IS COLLECTED IN FORMAL MEETINGS!!

14. Double Whammy!! Personal development, behaviour and welfare
attendance / absence follow-up / attendance rates for
different groups / impact of strategies to improve.
Leadership and management
Curriculum, partnerships (parents and professional agencies)
SMSC
Support for longer term absences, medical needs etc.

15. Look at the documents that are already published but some are now a bit out of date:
Subsidiary Guidance (Sept 2014)….
“It is not acceptable to judge low attendance as ‘average’ just because the school is working hard to improve it.”
Inspecting Attendance (Ofsted Document, Nov 2016)….
“The school can demonstrate that it knows the whereabouts of each child and the reasons for absence.”

16. Put best foot forward…. Re-worked data and know it!
Know the impact of any initiatives
Evidence of which initiatives work best
Case studies
Success stories
Witnesses
‘Hard to move’ stories
Take control of the evidence and present the case clearly and
strongly – but always in a non-confrontational manner.
Talk to inspectors in a language they understand.
Get the inspector the information needed to agree good or better.
Put good stuff under an inspector’s nose and let them sniff out the
‘not so good’ stuff for themselves.
...but, if you are effective in tackling problems let it be known!

17. Questions? Thank you and have a good lunch! You have listened to….
Mike Cooper
School Improvement Solutions Ltd.