School attendance working group minutes: June 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government (Chair)
• Education Scotland
• Connect
• NASUWT
• ASPEP
• Connect
• Scottish Council of Independent Schools
• Quarriers
• EIS
• Enquire
• Spartans Community Foundation
• ADES
• AHDS
• COSLA

Apologies

• SLS

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The chair welcomed members, noted apologies and introduced colleagues that were deputising on their behalf. 

Minutes and actions from previous meeting

Minutes from the previous meeting of the group on 1 May had been circulated in advance of the meeting and members confirmed that they were content to approve the minutes.

The chair confirmed that the Terms of Reference have been updated following feedback from members. Members confirmed that they were content with the updates.

Action: SG to publish minutes and Terms of Reference on SG website.

Update on planned engagement work

The chair provided an update on work to engage parents, carers, children and young people in the development of the refresh of Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1. It was confirmed that plans are in place to circulate a survey to gather feedback from parents and carers.

The group discussed the importance of gathering feedback from a wide range of circumstances, including children who have experienced challenges attending school.  To ensure a breath of views are captured, Quarries and Spartans will undertake engagement with their pupils and families and there are further opportunities to gather evidence from communities such as Gypsy and Traveller families through the STEP network. 

Action: SG to circulate survey link amongst members.
Action: Members to circulate survey link within own networks where appropriate.
Action: SG to present evidence gathered from engagement work at next meeting of the working group in August.

The chair confirmed that a key facts document for parents and carers will be published in the coming weeks subject to approval from the Cabinet Secretary. 

Action: SG to share key facts document with members for information prior to publication. 

The chair also confirmed work is underway on a national marketing campaign on attendance. 

Discussion on introductory sections of guidance

A draft copy of the introductory section of the guidance was circulated prior to the meeting. Feedback was provided by members which included:

• it was suggested that the introduction was well written and that inclusion of the term ‘nurture’ may be helpful to highlight the benefits of the nurture approach, particularly for those who are vulnerable to low attendance such as children with care experience or ASN
• it was suggested that the values should be better linked to the policy context and UNCRC
• the importance of partnership working between schools and families was discussed and it was suggested that partnership working with other sectors such as social work should be highlighted; it was also suggested that links should be made to school environment factors such as health and safety frameworks
• the guiding principles should be re-ordered to include parental engagement higher up
• it was suggested that the introduction should include a definition of attendance
• it was suggested that when referencing barriers to learning, the guidance should recognise that these may take place outwith school
• it was discussed that a balance should be sought between highlighting individual factors and systemic drivers of non-attendance

Priority areas for consideration

Feedback was sought from members on priority areas for consideration. Key discussion points included:

The definition of attendance:

• it was suggested that consideration should be given to scope of activities which could be considered as attendance. It was suggested that clarity was needed on how often these activities could be undertaken. An example was given that the number of university open days which can be undertaken currently varies between LAs
• the variations in approaches to managing prelim exam leave between LAs was discussed, including inconsistencies in the use of SEEMIS coding; it was acknowledged that SEEMIS coding is managed at local authority level and are therefore beyond the scope of the group
• it was suggested that a definition of engagement would also be helpful to include in this section

Sickness absence:

• it was highlighted that the guidance on children too ill to attend school is being refreshed and links between the two guidance documents will be made where appropriate
• it was suggested that where children have symptoms which require them to be absent for a recommended period of time, but these are related to chronic or other health conditions, discretion may be required with regard to the 48 hour rule

Flexi schooling and attendance while awaiting outcome of decision on home education:

• it was suggested that to ensure consistency in approaches to recording and monitoring flexi-schooling, clarity was needed about what is meant by this term - flexi-schooling relates to circumstances where a child is home educated for a set day or number of days , but there is an agreement between the LA and parent that the child will attend school for some of the time
• some concern was raised that the wording used in current guidance related to flexi-schooling can highlight issues with equity and consideration should be given to this in the guidance refresh

Flexible learning/part-time timetables:

• some concern was raised that part-time timetables can be used for lengthy periods of time - it was noted that this may sometimes be due to needs not being met because of challenges with resources. 
• it was suggested that part-time timetables can be effectively used as a supportive measure but can also be used as a form of hidden exclusion and the guidance should be clear about their appropriate use
• it was suggested that children may attend school part-time after a period of illness and guidance on this should be linked to the guidance on children too ill to attend school
• the importance of a holistic, child-centred and collaborative approach with children and young people and families was discussed - the guidance should make clear that decisions on the use of part-time timetables must be taken in collaboration with children and young people and parents and carers
• it was suggested that there should be clarity around how long part-time timetables will last at the outset of implementation
• it was highlighted that there is a lack of data and research around the use of part-time timetables and it would be helpful to gather evidence where available
• it was suggested that recording attendance for those on part-time timetables on SEEMIS can sometimes make it appear as though they are in attendance 100% of the time - the guidance should include advice on recording and monitoring in these circumstances
• some concern was raised about the increased use of online learning platforms and this should not be a replacement for classroom teaching - the increased resourcing implications for teachers and school staff was also noted
• it was suggested that links with GIRFEC, The Promise and trauma informed approaches should be highlighted within the guidance
• it was suggested that the guidance on part time timetables should align with the national guidance on risk assessments

Action: Education Scotland and ADES to enquire as to whether any LAs have current guidance on part time timetables.
Action: Enquire to circulate any available evidence on part time timetables gathered through engagement with families in their service.

Approaches that reward attendance:

• it was suggested that rewarding attendance can punish children and young people, particularly those who have barriers to attendance - it was suggested that approaches which celebrate engagement and achievement are more beneficial and equitable to all children

The chair indicated that drafting would begin on additional sections of the guidance over the summer period.  This will take account of the feedback provided by the group. Drafts will be shared with the group in advance of the next meeting.

Next steps 

The next meeting of the group is scheduled for August.  The focus of that meeting will be to discuss evidence from engagement, further sections of the guidance and additional priority areas.