The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed the rules surrounding school absences attributed to illness, following data showing that sickness accounted for 50% of missed school days last year. Starting in September, every mainstream state school will be assigned a specific attendance target as part of Labour’s efforts to reduce overall absences.
In newly released guidance, the DfE highlights that “Illness is the biggest single driver of school absence, contributing to half of all absence, and rates remain 50 per cent higher than pre-Covid.” The guidance encourages schools to share NHS advice with parents - including a related poster - reinforcing that children with a common cold, minor illnesses, or those feeling anxious or worried, can usually still attend school.
Some schools have successfully introduced straightforward measures such as an ‘Under the weather’ form, allowing parents to inform the school if a pupil is slightly unwell. This helps staff monitor and support affected pupils throughout the day.
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Preventative measures to reduce infections are also encouraged, such as ventilating classrooms by opening windows between lessons and promoting regular hand washing. While these should be standard practice, they are particularly important during seasonal illness outbreaks.
The guidance further stresses the importance of recognising and addressing anxiety-related barriers to attendance promptly, including working with pastoral teams and external services when necessary. Schools are reminded that attending school supports children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Jayne Lowe OBE, Attendance and Behaviour Ambassador, wrote in the guidance’s foreword that the accompanying toolkit offers case studies from a variety of schools. These examples demonstrate how schools with diverse contexts use data effectively to improve attendance.
She points to the DfE’s Monitor Your School Attendance service, which provides banded attendance data by year group and heatmaps to identify attendance trends. Schools can benchmark their attendance against similar institutions and use Year 6 transition data to support pupils vulnerable to attendance dropoff during the move to secondary school.
Lowe also highlights the launch of Attendance and Behaviour (A&B) Hubs, which provide intensive support to schools needing additional help. These hubs are led by schools with strong attendance records and offer peer-to-peer support, co-created action plans, and collaborative problem-solving to build regional capacity.
The updated rules and support initiatives aim to assist schools in managing absences due to illness and improve overall attendance figures in the coming academic year.