What do we mean by ‘good attendance’?
Ideally, children should attend every school day. Therefore 100% is the expected level, however, 95% is considered as good attendance. Anything below 95% is not good enough and will require action by school and parents in partnership with the local authority and other relevant services. This may seem a high expectation of the children. However when converted into session and days missed, it becomes apparent why this level of attendance is important. 95% attendance means a child misses two weeks of school across the year. 70% attendance, for example, means a child is absent for more than 11 weeks of the school year. This level of absence can make it very challenging for the child to catch up and can spiral into further absences.
| Attendance (percentage) | Numer of days absent | Number of weeks (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| 95% | 9 | 2 |
| 90% | 19 | 4 |
| 85% | 29 | 6 |
| 80% | 38 | 8 |
| 75% | 48 | 10 |
| 70% | 57 | 11.5 |
| 65% | 67 | 13.5 |
| 50% | 76 | 15 |