Management Information Sheet
Change to Persistent Absence criteria
Summary
The DfE stated when the Persistent Absence (PA) rate changed from 80% to 85% that further changes would occur. We have been made aware that a new persistent absence threshold of 10% will be introduced from the start of the next school year 2015/16.
Content
In the run up to the introduction of the 10% PA threshold in 2015/16, the DfE will publish data for PA thresholds at both 15% and 10% for this academic year. The first publication of this will appear in the Statistical First Release in May 2015, giving data for autumn term 2014.
The DfE have said that they do not intend to continue publishing data for the 15% threshold in future years. They have stated that their intention is to raise expectations regarding PA and move practice/thinking forward in this respect.
The table below shows the proposed absence sessions by term for PA pupils.
| Terms | PA at 15% | PA at 10% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half term 1 | 10 or more sessions | 7 or more sessions | |
| Half term 1 & 2 (Autumn term) | 22 or more sessions | 14 or more sessions | |
| Half term 1-3 | 30 or more sessions | 20 or more sessions | |
| Half term 1-4 (Autumn and Spring term) | 38 or more sessions | 25 or more sessions | |
| Half term 1-5 | 46 or more sessions | 31 or more sessions | |
| Half term 1-6 (full academic year) | 56 or more sessions | 38 or more sessions |
This change could have a major impact for schools and the need to put support and challenge in place at the earliest opportunity when a pupil’s attendance causes concern becomes even more crucial.
Headteachers and Governing Bodies need to be assured that the Local Authority attendance staff will support and challenge schools to fulfil their statutory duties, focus on pupils whose attendance is unsatisfactory or who are missing from education, track and ensure a place for Children Missing from Education (CME) as well as fulfilling the enforcement function through legal processes.