School attendance guidance working group: terms of reference

Purpose

The attendance guidance working group will work collaboratively to update national guidance on school attendance: Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Promoting and Managing School Attendance.

Background

The guidance was last updated in June 2019. At the time, it replaced guidance that was published in 2008 and gave a stronger focus on approaches that can be used to ensure that attendance at school is clearly linked to the overall approaches to promoting positive relationships and behaviour and ensuring all children and young people are included, engaged and involved in their education. 

In August 2024, the Scottish Government published the relationships and behaviour in schools action plan (2024-2027).  This action plan contains a wide range of actions that are being taken in response to the current evidence on relationships and behaviours in Scotland’s schools. This includes a commitment to update Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1 during phase 2 of delivery which is due to be complete by March 2026.

Remit

The working group will support development of refreshed guidance on school attendance. 

They will draw on evidence from a range of sources to inform their considerations. This will include

• Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2023,
• Education Scotland’s report ‘Improving Attendance: Understanding the Issues’, National discussion on education in Scotland,
• Strathclyde University’s research on Understanding School Attendance, Educational Attainment, and Labour Market Outcomes
• What I Need to Learn Survey Report undertaken by Young Scot.

The working group will identify key issues arising related to attendance and consider how these can be addressed through refreshed guidance, ensuring that intersectionality and equalities issues are taken into account. They will also identify areas of the guidance where content can be clarified or streamlined to make it more user-friendly and consider opportunities to develop or signpost to supporting resources.

The working group will ensure that their work is informed by the views of parents and carers, children and young people and school staff.  They will work to identify opportunities for meaningful engagement to ensure that their views are central to their considerations. In addition, the working group will consider opportunities to develop, strengthen or align with information available to parents, carers, and children and young people on attendance.

The working group will reflect the current legislative and policy context within the refreshed guidance and consider where there is opportunity for further alignment. They will ensure that the guidance provides appropriate information on child protection procedures and practical advice on action to take where there is a child protection or wellbeing concern. In addition, alongside other stakeholders, the group will contribute to development of refreshed guidance on education for children and young people unable to attend school due to ill health which sets out legal duties on education authorities to make special arrangements for pupils who are absent due to prolonged ill health to receive education elsewhere than at school.

Membership

Membership of the working group is detailed on the group page.

To ensure that the guidance reflects barriers faced by pupils and families from different demographics, the group may also call on the expertise and advice of other individuals or organisations necessary to support consideration of particular aspects of the guidance as appropriate. This will include input on equalities issues, including from the Gender Equality Taskforce on Education and Learning (GETEL) and input from organisations supporting Gypsy Traveller children and young people and Armed Forces families and pupils who are Care Experienced or Young Carers.

Governance

The current version of Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1 was endorsed by SAGRABIS. As part of their oversight of the relationships and behaviour in schools action plan, SAGRABIS will retain oversight of the development of the guidance.

Arrangements for meetings

It is expected that the working group will meet virtually every month, or as required, with work progressing between meetings. The Scottish Government will chair the working group and provide secretariat support. Minutes of meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website. The working group is time-limited and is expected to run until March 2026.