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Attendance News

Attendance Register Coding During Extreme Weather and Heat Warnings

This advice is being provided in response to the extreme weather and heat warnings affecting the week commencing 22 June 2026.

In light of the extreme weather and heat warnings experienced during the week commencing 22 June 2026, we would like to remind schools of the attendance coding requirements that should be applied depending on the operational decisions made by the school.

Where a school has closed the entire school site, and the expectation is that no pupils should attend for that session, schools should record attendance using Code Y4.

Where a school has partially closed, affecting only certain pupils or year groups, schools should use Code Y3 for those pupils who were unable to attend because of the partial closure. Pupils and year groups not affected by the closure should be coded according to their individual attendance circumstances.

If attendance was made optional, rather than the school being formally closed to pupils, schools should not use Y codes. In these circumstances, pupils who do not attend should be recorded using the appropriate attendance or absence code. Where no other authorised reason applies, Code C (leave of absence authorised by the school) may be appropriate where the school has agreed that pupils may remain at home.

Where a school closed early, but only after the normal afternoon registration time had taken place, pupils who were present at afternoon registration should, of course, be recorded as present for that session.

If the expectation was that pupils were to attend school and they did not attend without an agreed reason (for example, illness), the absence should be recorded using Code O (unauthorised absence). Where the school accepts the reason for absence, the relevant attendance code should be used to reflect the reason provided for that session.

Schools should ensure that attendance coding reflects both the school's operational status and the individual circumstances of the pupil concerned.

If you are unsure about the correct code to use in any situation, please contact the Attendance Team for advice:

Telephone: 01603 223681
Email: [email protected]

Attendance Coding Reminder for Year 11 Pupils - Summer Term 2026

As we reach Friday 26 June 2026, the final day on which current Year 11 pupils remain of compulsory school age, we would like to remind secondary schools of the attendance coding requirements that should have been applied throughout the summer term and encourage schools to review their registers to ensure they accurately reflect statutory requirements.

Attendance registers are legal documents and should reflect both the school's expectations of pupils and the actual circumstances for each session.

Where Year 11 Pupils Were Expected to Attend

Where Year 11 pupils were expected to attend school and did not attend, the absence should have been recorded using the appropriate attendance code for the reason provided.

If no acceptable reason was provided, or the school did not agree that the reason given justified the absence, the sessions should have been recorded as Code O (unauthorised absence).

Study Leave

Where the school formally authorised study leave, Code S (study leave) could have been used for the relevant sessions.

Schools are reminded that Code S can only be used where study leave has been authorised by the school and only up to and including the date on which the pupil had a public examination scheduled. It should not be used once a pupil has completed their final examination.

Following a Pupil's Final Examination

Once a pupil had completed their final public examination, Code S should no longer have been used.

Where the school made a decision that pupils were not expected to attend school following completion of their final examination and up to and including Friday 26 June 2026, the appropriate code would generally have been Code C (leave of absence authorised by the school).

Removal from Roll

Following Friday 26 June 2026, Year 11 pupils are no longer of compulsory school age. Schools may therefore remove these pupils from roll in accordance with their usual end-of-Year 11 procedures and relevant regulations.

Action for Secondary Schools

We would ask all secondary schools to review the coding applied to Year 11 pupils during the summer term and satisfy themselves that it is accurate, reflects the school's expectations of pupils for each session and complies with statutory attendance requirements.

In particular, schools should ensure that:

  • Code O has been used where pupils were expected to attend and no authorised reason for absence applied.
  • Code S has only been used where study leave was formally authorised and only up to and including days on which the pupil had a public examination.
  • Code C has been used where the school authorised pupils not to attend following completion of their final examination and before the end of compulsory school age.

Where any inaccuracies are identified, schools should amend their registers accordingly.

If you are unsure about the correct code to use in any circumstance, please contact the Attendance Team on 01603 223681 or by email at [email protected]

Attendance Team Update - Staffing, Support and Upcoming Events 

We are pleased to share that the Attendance Team is expanding, with several new Attendance and Entitlement Officers (AEOs) joining us and further appointments on the way. As the team grows, we look forward to colleagues meeting our new members over the coming months through Targeting Support Meetings (TSMs), Attendance Spotlights, and our network events. 

As our expanded team settles in and completes induction, we will begin preparations to increase the operational hours of the Attendance Duty phoneline. The line currently operates 9am-12pm to support the capacity of the team, but the intention is to restore the phone line to its previous 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday service. We will share an update with schools as soon as the extended phoneline hours are ready to go live.

Book a Targeting Support Meeting 

Schools are reminded that you can book a Targeting Support Meeting (TSM) with the Attendance Team to discuss strategies, challenges, and tailored support for improving attendance. 
Book here: NCC Targeting Support Meetings bookings

Help Shape Our Targeting Support Meeting Offer for 2026/27

The Attendance Team is reviewing the current Targeting Support Meeting (TSM) offer and would like to hear from Headteachers, Principals, Senior Attendance Champions, Attendance Leads and other school leaders.

We are keen to understand what is working well, what could be improved and what schools need from TSMs in the future. Your feedback will play an important role in shaping the model for the 2026/27 academic year and ensuring it continues to provide meaningful support for schools.

The survey should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete.

Please complete the survey by Friday 10th July 2026.

Survey link: Targeting Support Meetings (TSMs) - Shaping the 2026/27 offer

Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your views. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us develop an effective and responsive offer for schools across Norfolk.

If you have any questions, please contact the Attendance Team at [email protected] or on 01603 223681.

Make the Most of Your Similar Schools Attendance Reports

Did you know?
42% of Norfolk primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have already accessed their Similar Schools Comparison Reports on attendance. If your school hasn't yet, now is the time to take advantage of this valuable tool.   

What are Similar Schools Comparison Reports?
These reports compare your school's attendance with around 20 schools that share similar characteristics, such as:

  • Free school meal eligibility
  • SEND support 
  • Per-pupil funding

The latest report (November) also includes your school's Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) for 2025-26. This helps you track progress against an indicative improvement target throughout the year. 

Why it matters
Using these reports can help you: 

  • Identify practical strategies from schools in similar circumstances
  • Understand your ABIE - the minimum expected improvement tailored to your school
  • Track progress against helpful benchmarks
  • Meet elements of the Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance
  • Inform discussions with governors and leadership teams

What schools can see

  • Which similar schools are high performers in key attendance areas
  • Week-by-week absence trends compared to similar schools
  • Areas where you're doing well and where to focus
  • How different pupil groups are performing 

How to access your report

  1. Log in to View Your Education Data (VYED) using your DfE Sign-in
  2. Select 'Monitor your school attendance' 
  3. Click 'Similar schools comparison reports' 
  4. Choose 'Your similar schools comparison reports'

New reports are published each half term and full term - the next update will be available January 2026. 

Learn more

  • Watch the DfE webinar on using the reports and ABIEs effectively
  • Sign up for the next webinar: Wednesday 28 January at 11am.  This session will cover how to analyse attendance data and connect with similar schools.

Action for schools: 
If you have not accessed your report yet, please do so and use it as part of your attendance strategy. These insights can make a real difference. 

Attendance & Behaviour Hubs Programme

As you will be aware, the DfE will shortly be launching their RISE attendance and behaviour programme. The Programme is intended to galvanize a community of practice: allowing schools to work together to share practice and insights. It is part of a broader programme of activity from DfE, alongside new data tools and attendance baseline improvement expectations.  

The DfE is currently seeking expressions of interest from any schools that would like to be supported through the programme. There are two main pathways that partner schools can access:  

  1. Regional support for schools who want lighter touch support to help them make changes to their practice. Partner schools will have access to a structured attendance and behaviour CPD offer, opportunities to visit their lead school, and discuss and share practice with other schools in their hub.
  2. Enhanced support for schools that want and need more concerted support to improve their school's attendance and behaviour. Partner schools will have access to 10 days of intensive leadership support over 3 terms supporting them to develop and implement an attendance and behaviour focussed action plan.

If you are a primary or secondary school that is interested in participating, please complete the Expression of Interest form as soon as possible.  

Norfolk Learning Collaborative (NLC) 

Building on the success of the collaboration around last year's priorities, including the Norfolk KS2 Challenge, the NLC have identified attendance as one of its four key priorities for 2025/26. To complement the support available from the RISE Attendance & Behaviour Hubs, we will be writing to individual schools to invite them to access a local offer of peer support.  

If you or your organisation feels that you have the capacity and expertise to work with other schools about attendance or could share how your school is working to improve the NLC would like to  hear from you [email protected]

Revised School Attendance Strategy - Consultation for Education Settings

Revised Attendance Strategy - Draft Consultation January 2026 (PDF, 416 KB)

Norfolk's School Attendance Strategy, first published in 2022, has supported significant progress in improving attendance across the county over the past three years. The strategy has now been updated to reflect current priorities, build on successes, and incorporate local and national best practice, including guidance from the Department for Education. 

We know that promoting good attendance requires a system that can respond to the vulnerabilities of children and families at the earliest opportunity. Schools cannot tackle this challenge alone, as the reasons for non-attendance can be complex. To help shape the next phase of this work, we invite education settings to share their experiences by completing a short survey. Your feedback will inform the development of an action plan to accompany the revised strategy. 

The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. Results will be shared with relevant groups to support collaborative planning.  The survey can be accessed via this link and we would ask that responses are received by Friday 6 February 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact: 
Katie Griffiths, Attendance and Entitlement Manager at [email protected] 

Data sharing & statutory returns

In accordance with regulation 13 of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 all schools are required to share attendance data with the LA as well as the Department for Education. In Norfolk we aim to avoid any unnecessary burdens for schools we achieve this through our live attendance data feed which has been in operation since 2019 and extracts relevant pupil data from your Schools Management Information System (MIS) to populate the Norfolk County Council's Education Management Information System. It is positive to note that we have 90% coverage of schools in Norfolk via this system. In order to meet requirements in accordance with statutory guidance and the regulations, it is important that schools maintain the live attendance link and keep the Local Authority informed of any changes to management information systems. In order to do this, please could you complete this short form so that we have up to date information about your MIS and a key contact for the attendance data returns. 

As part of the process of data collection, files will be received by the LA on a daily basis and any queries which are identified as part of the process will be sent to schools within a spreadsheet via AnyComms+ on a weekly basis.  This will be uploaded to the School Administrator role and they will receive an email notification informing them a file is ready to be downloaded. It is important that any queries are reviewed to ensure the data supplied to the LA is accurate.  Within the spreadsheet general information will be listed on what responses are required and the changes/checks to be made within your MIS.  We ask that all changes are made within 5 working days of receipt of the queries spreadsheet, if this cannot be achieved please advise via email to [email protected]  Any changes made by the school in response to the queries will be automatically collected within the next file upload from your MIS into the LA education management system. 

Upcoming events

Attendance Training

No training dates currently available

 

Attendance Spotlight Webinars

The Attendance Team hosts a regular 'Spotlight' webinar via MS Teams, this is to provide support and guidance on key areas of practice as identified by Attendance Leads.  Please note these webinars will all begin at 10:30am and last no longer than an hour. Click on the link to join the webinar of your choice:

Following the webinar the slides can be found on our Training and webinars page.

 

Countywide Attendance Network Meetings

We use these sessions - held each term - to provide local and national updates, an opportunity for schools to share and develop effective practice to support improvements in attendance and a chance to spend time with the Attendance Team.  Meetings take place 9:30am - 12:30pm.  Kindly complete the Attendance Network Delegate Registration Form to confirm your participation in each Network meeting.

Central Attendance Network

We're pleased to continue the Central Attendance Network in Norwich, providing an opportunity for schools to collaborate, share best practice, and stay updated on attendance guidance.

Spaces are available for delegates from schools across Norfolk. To confirm your attendance, please complete the Attendance Network Delegate Registration Form.

Thank you for your commitment to improving attendance and supporting pupils across Norfolk.

  • Summer - Friday 3 July 2026 - County Hall
  • Autumn - Friday 6 November 2026 - County Hall
  • Spring - Thursday 4 March 2027 - County Hall
  • Summer 2027 to be confirmed

Details of each meeting will be emailed to delegates shortly before the event.

West Attendance Network

We're excited to re-establish the West Attendance Network in King's Lynn. Please note that spaces are limited to 25 delegates for this network.  To secure your place, it's important that you complete the Attendance Network Delegate Registration Form as soon as possible.  If demand is high, we may need to limit attendance to one delegate per school to ensure fair access for all.  

  • Dates to be confirmed

Location:
King's Oak Academy
Parkway, Gaywood, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4QJ

Parking Information:
Please be aware that there is limited parking available on the school site, but there is plenty of roadside parking nearby.

Thank you for your understanding and support in making these networks successful.

 

 

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