School attendance working group minutes: May 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government (Chair)
• Education Scotland
• Connect
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
• Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP)
• Connect
• Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS)
• Quarriers
• Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• Enquire
• Spartans Community Foundation
• Education Scotland
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS)
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The chair welcomed members to the first meeting and thanked them for agreeing to be part of the working group to support the refresh of Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1.

The chair noted that there were no apologies and introductions were made. 

Terms of reference

The chair noted that a draft terms of reference for the working group had been circulated in advance of the meeting.  Members were invited to provide comments on the draft. The following points were raised during discussion:

• it is important that the refresh of the guidance is informed by the views of children and young people, parents and carers, and school staff. It was suggested that further engagement, particularly with parents and carers and children and young people, should be undertaken to help inform the guidance
• it was noted that timescales for development of the guidance will impact on the type of engagement that can be undertaken.  There is evidence already available and this could be supplemented with further engagement. The Chair will meet with members of the group representing parents and carers and children and young people to discuss this further 
• as the guidance is developed, the group should consider how to continue to seek the views of children and young people. Suggestions included using existing groups or organisations such as Young Scot Equity Panel and Scottish Youth Parliament  
• engagement with groups representing Gypsy Traveller and Armed Forces families should also be considered to help inform the guidance
• engagement with schools, including with headteachers, teachers and through Parent Councils will also be important as the guidance is developed
• the guidance should consider issues such as intersectionality, equalities, child protection, home education and anti-racism
• the terms of reference should be updated to clarify reference to guidance on the education of children too ill to attend school
• it was suggested that it may be helpful to incorporate the guidance on the education of children too ill to attend school into the wider attendance guidance. The chair noted that this had been considered by the Scottish Government (SG), however, it was agreed that these would remain as separate documents, mainly due to their differing audiences.  However, there are opportunities for greater alignment and signposting between the two documents as they are reviewed
• there are also opportunities for alignment and signposting to other relevant guidance documents, including as part of the upcoming refresh of IEI part 2 on school exclusions 
• it is important that the guidance includes advice on the use of part-time and flexible timetables and on flexi schooling in relation to home education

Actions:

• the chair will arrange a meeting with representatives of Connect, SCIS, Quarriers and Spartans to discuss further engagement to help inform the guidance 
• the chair will re-draft the terms of reference document, reflected the discussion - this will be circulated to the group for consideration

Discussion on key issues for consideration

The chair noted that a paper setting out suggested issues for consideration within the refreshed guidance and another paper containing a suggested outline structure for the refreshed guidance, had been circulated to the group in advance of the meeting. 

The chair invited members to provide feedback on these papers and consider whether there were other areas that should be included. The following points were raised in discussion:

• the refreshed guidance should be complimented by an executive summary which sets out the key points from the guidance. The chair indicated that a key facts documents with information for schools and education authorities was currently being developed and will be published shortly.  This could then be updated to draw out the key messages from the refreshed guidance
• information in this document is also being used to inform information for parents and carers which will be published on Parent Club.  Further resources for parents and carers and children and young people will be developed, highlighting the key messages from the guidance and providing signposting
• the guidance should highlight the benefit of positive culture and ethos within schools and how this can support intervention strategies
• the guidance should be evidence-based. It was suggested that key points from academic research on attendance could be summarised in the guidance
• language used within the guidance must be consistent and aligned to other guidance documents, such as absence from school due to ill health and IEI part 2 and include clear signposting between relevant documents
• the guidance should acknowledge that barriers to attendance are complex and could be due to many and varied reasons which may overlap. These could be related to reasons including poverty, additional support needs, bullying, anxiety and may impact pupils from different demographics in different ways
• the guidance should consider pupils in upper secondary who combine working with attending school and may be disengaged from education. It was noted that this was a particular issue in rural or high tourist areas and at certain times of the year 
• the guidance should also consider other reasons why pupils may be disengaged from learning and consider how to address this through a framework of culture, systems and practice. Consideration should also be given to engaging parents and carers who may be disengaged or need support with their child’s attendance  
• the guidance should include examples of good practice with case studies to highlight approaches that have increased attendance and helped to address barriers to attendance and engagement 
• the guidance should consider advice around rewarding children for good attendance as these can often have a negative impact on children who are more vulnerable to low attendance  
• the guidance should highlight the importance of an engaging curriculum and recognise the breadth of achievements of all pupils  
• it was noted that there is inconsistency when recording absence on the SEEMIS system - the guidance will seek to provide clarity on SEEMIS codes used for recording different types of absence 
• the guidance should maintain a focus on pupils in both primary and secondary

The chair noted the points raised and indicated these would be considered as the refreshed guidance develops, alongside the issues already highlighted in the paper.

Next steps

The chair indicated that a draft workplan had been circulated to the group in advance of the meeting. This sets out key milestones for the refresh of the guidance. This will be kept under review and updated as the work progresses.  

Date of next meeting

Doodle polls have been circulated to determine availability for future meetings of the group. The next meeting is scheduled for the beginning of June and calendar invitations for this, and future meetings will be issued by SG shortly.