Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Improving Attendance in Scotland's Schools

Managing absence

Registration

Public schools are required to keep an attendance record of all their pupils.^[38] Recording of attendance should take place at least twice a day to enable the school to note attendance and absence of children and young people for each morning and afternoon session.

Schools are best placed to decide on the approach that works for their setting. Some secondary schools monitor attendance in every lesson. This can provide useful management information to help monitor and manage absences effectively and support identification of developing patterns of absence to inform strategic intervention where necessary. It can also be helpful in identifying and supporting children and young people who are present in school but are not attending classes.

Regardless of the approach taken, absence information should be used to inform immediate follow-up action as part of safeguarding responsibilities. Delays between class-level recording and further action should be minimised by the efficient transfer of information.

Recording lateness

Schools should ensure that they have a method to record the attendance of children and young people who are late. How this is recorded will depend on when the child or young person arrives at school. In data returns to the Scottish Government the following should be considered:

• if a child or young person arrives during the first half of the morning session, this is recorded as Late 1 (L1)
• if a child or young person arrives during the second half of the morning session, or during the afternoon session, this is recorded as Late 2 (L2)

For secondary schools who record attendance in every period, the following should be considered:

• if a child or young person is late but registers in any period that starts in the first half of the session, this should be converted to an overall L1 code for the opening
• if a child or young person’s first registration is in the second half of the session, this should be recorded as an overall L2 code for the opening

This is the case even if a later period is subsequently missed.

Schools should monitor persistent lateness and seek to identify any patterns. This should be considered alongside other relevant information and be used to inform appropriate intervention and support.

Schools should take a sensitive and supportive approach when responding to lateness, recognising that it may be linked to complex personal or family circumstances, including for example, children and young people with caring responsibilities, those impacted by domestic abuse, mental health difficulties or financial challenges. Where appropriate, reasons for lateness should be explored with the child or young person in the first instance. Communications with children and young people and parents about lateness should be respectful and considerate of individual family circumstances, offering reassurance that where challenges exist in arriving at school on time, schools will work collaboratively with families and relevant partners to address them. In doing so, schools should remain mindful of their safeguarding responsibilities, ensuring that any concerns about children and young people’s wellbeing are appropriately identified and responded to. Schools should also sensitively explore opportunities to offer practical help to parents and children and young people, such as breakfast or after-school clubs to support increased attendance.

Schools should be particularly aware of the impact that a placement move may have on Care-experienced children and young people. For example, they may need to travel longer distances or adjust to new routes which could result in lateness. Young carers may also face additional responsibilities, such as escorting younger siblings to school which may contribute to lateness. The designated senior manager for Care-experienced children and young people in the school should work with relevant partners to ensure that support is in place at as early a stage as possible to maintain continuity for children and young people and support their learning and wellbeing.

Immediate action when an absence is noted

Reporting an absence

When a child or young person is absent, information about this should be provided to the school in line with their local arrangements. The following information should be provided:

• the reason for the absence
• the expected date of return to school if this is known

How the absence is recorded will depend on whether the reason given is considered to be valid. Further information about this is provided in the categorising absence section.

Schools should consider whether any follow up action is necessary aligned to their staged intervention model.

If discussions between the parent, child or young person and a member of school staff are required to resolve an issue, then these should take place as soon as possible and should not wait for the pupil to return to school. This is especially important if further support may be required to support a return to school. Where appropriate, other relevant partners should also be included in these discussions to ensure a coordinated approach to meeting the child or young person’s needs.

An absence has not been reported

If a child or young person is absent and the school has not been advised of this by their parent or another service provider, then it must be assumed that they are unaware of the absence, and the child or young person is either missing or absent without parental awareness.

The absence should be recorded as unauthorised absence until an explanation is received by the school.

Schools should take the following action when a child has not arrived in school:

• parents should be contacted using automated call/text systems where available, or by appropriate non-teaching staff
• if attempts to contact the parent are not successful, emergency contact numbers, such as those of other family members, should be used

In most circumstances, contact with the parent or emergency contacts will result in an explanation for the absence and/or the child or young person returning to school. However, schools cannot be complacent about children and young people’s safety. In rare instances, there have been more serious or tragic reasons why a child or young person has not registered at school.

If the school has been unable to establish contact with the parent or emergency contacts, action must be taken to satisfy the school and the education authority that the child or young person is safe and well.

The record of absence should immediately be passed to a member of staff with responsibility for attendance. This may be a member of the school’s senior management team, pastoral care staff or home-school link worker. This staff member should:

• carefully consider the information related to the absence, taking account of any known attendance issues, support needs or current concerns about the child or young person’s wellbeing
• speak to school staff and where appropriate, members of the child or young person’s peer group to ascertain if they have any information about the pupil’s whereabouts
• decide on what follow up action should be taken, including escalation to other services
• follow local child protection procedures and consider National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 - updated 2023
• take into account the age of the child or young person and the implications for further support to resolve any difficulties
• if necessary, contact the school’s child protection co-ordinator without delay

In the case of Care-experienced children and young people, those on the Child Protection Register, or other vulnerable children, unknown absence should always be followed up immediately. To enable swift action to be taken it is vitally important that the school has an up to date and accurate record of the key contact information for the parent and social worker where relevant. Where children and young people are looked after at home,^[39] the social worker should always be contacted.