You will find on the Attendance page – Suffolk Learning, an outline of the offer to all schools from the School Attendance Service. We are awaiting details from the government around a national framework that will cover how fixed penalty notices and other punitive measures may be used.

We anticipate these measures will be clearly defined as ‘last resorts’ in most cases and that a supportive, relationship-based approach will be at the forefront. The framework will likely take account of the shift in perceptions of parents and carers as outlined in this guidance: Attendance Report V02 (publicfirst.co.uk)

A consultation is beginning during half term for proposals from September 2024. We will be reviewing all documents and processes in light of this.

We are also waiting for the Working together to improve school attendance (publishing.service.gov.uk) to become statutory. In the meantime, there are some sound proposals in the guidance that we are looking to implement.