The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that schools must make discussions around attendance central to parents' evenings from September, as part of a wider clampdown on rising child absences. The Labour government department has sent an attendance toolkit to schools ahead of the autumn term, reinforcing guidance that parents' evenings should prioritise attendance messaging.
Attendance toolkit sent to schools
The DfE's attendance toolkit tells schools: "Consider holding welcome (or welcome back) events for pupils and their families at the start of the year to emphasise the importance of attendance, and make them aware of attendance processes, expectations and support." It also demands schools "ensure" attendance is "covered in parents' evening."
The toolkit includes guidance on how best to communicate with parents and carers about attendance, adaptable letter templates, shareable resources, and video case studies featuring attendance and behaviour hub lead schools. It also contains short animations to send to parents and carers. The DfE hopes the guidance will help schools explain the importance of regular attendance and outline expectations in a consistent and accessible way.
Ernesford Grange example in Coventry
The DfE has taken on feedback from Ernesford Grange in Coventry, which has started holding all parents' evenings on Thursday to try to improve attendance through the week. The school's advice states: "We also think carefully about how we structure activities throughout the school year. High-engagement events—such as school photos and sports days—are often scheduled on Fridays, and all parents' evenings are held on Thursday evenings, to help encourage strong attendance at the end of the week."
Ernesford Grange is also exploring whether there would be benefit in aligning INSET dates with the local primary school, helping families avoid situations where siblings are off school on different days. The school ensures all its work feeds into a school attendance calendar, which informs communication to parents and pupils and is mapped out a half-term in advance. According to the school, "This advance planning ensures that we continue to prioritise key messages (for example around Friday attendance), regardless of wider capacity and time pressures."
Impact on attendance data
Ernesford Grange reported that its attendance data is showing year-on-year progress, and the approach is particularly impacting the attendance of lower year groups as they work their way through the school. The school noted: "There are few quick wins in this area, but our attendance data is showing year-on-year progress, and we are also seeing our approach particularly impact the attendance of lower year groups, as they work their way through the school."
The DfE's reinforced guidance and the toolkit are intended to support schools in tackling rising child absences by embedding attendance expectations into regular parent communication and events.
