New school attendance rule is being rolled out across England next month in major crackdown

A NEW school attendance rule will be rolled out across England next month, as the government looks to crackdown on pupil absence rates. This comes as the number of children missing days of school remains above pre-pandemic levels. Attendance rates have been slow to return to pre-pandemic levels Credit: SolStock Schools across England will now be given targets to improve pupil attendance rates. The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that every state school in England will be given personalised pupil attendance targets, which would be monitored. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! This comes in an effort to raise the number of pupils within education, as one in five pupils continue to miss at least 10 per cent of schooling. According to official attendance data released yesterday (August 6), absence rates remain above pre-pandemic levels, with an overall attendance rate of 93 per cent for the 2025/26 academic year. This is almost three per cent lower compared to the roughly 96 per cent attendance rate during the 2018/19 academic year. As a result, education minister, Paul Waugh, told the BBC that the attendance targets would take each school’s local challenges into account, but “every school has a role to play to improve attendance”. Schools have also been encouraged to offer more activities on Fridays, to improve attendance at the end of the week. Although there would reportedly be no penalties for missed targets, the DfE will contact schools that are off-track to ensure they are taking action. Most read in The Sun The school may then be encouraged join with other educational instituions in a local behaviour and attendance hub. Since the start of the 2024/25 academic year, the government made it mandatory for schools to share their attendance records with the DfE. In turn, Waugh has promised schools with better access to data tools to help them identify areas of concern quicker within individual pupils’ attendance records. Comment now