An update on attendance with Ofsted and the DfE

In this webinar, we provide an update on attendance matters for maintained schools and academies in England. We look at how Ofsted inspects attendance and at the Department for Education's updated attendance guidance.

This webinar builds on the messages in the webinar we held in February 2022 where we considered how schools are securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence - you can watch it here:    • Securing good attendance and tackling...  

You can access the resources mentioned in this webinar here: https://linktr.ee/ofstedattendance

Our panel
(From Ofsted)
Lee Owston HMI, Deputy Director, Schools and Early Education
Jonathan Keay HMI, Senior HMI, Schools and Early Education
Sue Morris-King HMI, Senior HMI, Schools, West Midlands
(From DfE)
Adam Luke, Team Leader, School Attendance Policy and Strategy
Rosemary Palmer, Policy Adviser, School Attendance Policy and Strategy

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
2:48 Outline of session
3:40 The attendance landscape
6:07 Drivers of persistent absence
8:27 Disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils
9:53 Geographical and regional variation
10:14 Why attendance matters
12:46 Working together to improve attendance
15:17 Inspecting attendance
18:40 Attendance research findings
19:40 Recognising the context
21:25 Attendance information schools need to provide
22:23 Inspection activities
23:16 Attendance and safeguarding
23:52 Behaviour and attitudes
25:41 Attendance data
35:17 Attendance and leadership
36:04 Pupil referral units and AP
37:36 Part-time timetables
38:59 Grade descriptors
40:26 Recap of 4 key steps
41:32 Questions and QR code
43:09 Q1: Attendance below the national average
44:21 Q2: Accessing attendance data
45:35 Q3: Documentation
47:45 Q4: Lateness
48:10 Q5: Role of the governing body
50:05 Q6: Attendance hubs
51:05 Q7: Students in alternative provision
53:00 Q8: Attendance and reports

Questions in full:
Q1: Is attendance that is well below the national average a limiting factor when it comes to inspection judgements?
Q2: How can we easily access a breakdown of the most up-to-date data on attendance both nationally and in our own area?
Q3: What kinds of documentation do we need to be able show Ofsted?
Q4: What sort of actions do we need to evidence for lateness?
Q5: How does the attendance element of the inspection link to the role of the governing body over the inspection?
Q6: Can we have more information about attendance hubs?
Q7: How are students in alternative provision considered and reviewed as part of this process?
Q8: Where does attendance feature in reports?