Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools 1995/96 to 1997/98

Part 3: Reference

1. The law and attendance

What the law says about attendance and absence is set out in Section 30 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. It places a duty on parents of school age children to provide education for their children either by attendance at a public school or by other means. The responsibilities of parents are highlighted further in The Parents' Charter in Scotland (1995) which explains parents' responsibilities to ensure that their children attend school regularly.

The responsibilities of schools for arrangements to ensure attendance are set out in regulations. They require day schools to keep attendance registers and to record the absence of pupils for each morning and afternoon school session and require education authorities to record the authorised and unauthorised absence of pupils for all stages from P1 to S5.

Education authorities have powers to enforce the statutory requirements on school attendance by making attendance orders, by referring children whose attendance is unsatisfactory to the Reporter to the Children's Panel or by reporting parents of children who do not attend to the Procurator Fiscal with a view to prosecution. Education authorities use a range of strategies to try to avoid absence reaching the point where such measures are necessary.

2. Recording attendance and absence

2.1 CATEGORIES OF ABSENCE

The SOED Circular 1/95 and SOEID Circular 10/95 gave specific guidance to schools and education authorities. These circulars defined attendance, and specified the two categories for the recording of absence in school handbooks: authorised and unauthorised.

Attendance was defined as:

participation in the programme of educational activities arranged by the school.

In addition to actual attendance within the school premises, it covered: work experience; educational visits; day and residential visits to outdoor centres; college/consortium school study; interviews and visits relating to further and/or higher education; debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions etc. arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school; activities in connection with psychological services; school medical examinations off-site; hospital tuition.

Authorised absence was defined as: sickness; medical and dental treatment; bereavement; domestic circumstances relating to exceptional hardship at home; no school within walking distance and no transport arrangements; study leave; religious observance; family holidays where attendance is otherwise satisfactory; meetings prior to, and in, court; attendance at, or in connection with, a Child Care Review; attendance at, or in connection with, a Children's Hearing; weddings of immediate family; certified debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by, or in conjunction with, the school; extended visits overseas to relatives; sanctioned, extended absence in relation to children of travelling families.

Unauthorised absence was defined as: temporary exclusions arising from incidents in or out of class; truancy, an application having been made to the education authority in relation to an attendance order; truancy, an appeal having been made to the Sheriff in relation to an attendance order; family holidays where attendance is otherwise unsatisfactory; truancy, defined as unauthorised absence from school, for any period, as a result of premeditated or spontaneous action on the part of the pupil, parent or both; unexplained absence.

Returns were sought from education authorities on authorised absence and unauthorised absence, in terms of the number of half days pupils were absent according to the categorisation above. Returns on exclusions were sought in terms of the total number of pupils permanently excluded from a school and in terms of the number of half days pupils were temporarily excluded. Where pupils were permanently excluded from school their absence arising from the exclusion was not taken into account in calculating the school's attendance and absence rates.

Local interpretation of national guidance may influence the figures reported by schools or education authorities, from whom further information can be obtained.

2.2 CALCULATION OF FIGURES IN THIS REPORT

The total number of possible attendances for a school is calculated by totalling the possible attendances for all pupils while they were on the school register.

The advantage of having figures for attendance and absence for the whole year is that they are less likely to be distorted by seasonal factors.

The figures for education authority attendance and absence and the figures for absence in schools are given as percentages. They have been rounded up or down for clarity. As a result they may not add up to 100%. For example, 88.3% becomes 88% and 94.9% becomes 95%.

The average number of half days absence for each pupil in the education authority tables and in the school information assumed 380half days in the school session, except where indicated. This average figure was for guidance and obviously the situation was more complex than this because some pupils were absent more than this number of half days and others were absent for fewer half days.

2.3 NATIONAL AND EDUCATION AUTHORITY AVERAGES

The national and education authorities average percentages in primary schools and secondary schools for attendance, authorised absence and unauthorised absence and figures for half days absence include in the calculations all education authority primary and secondary schools, grantaided schools and selfgoverning schools in Scotland.

Points to remember Each morning and afternoon of each school day counts as a separate possible attendance. All percentages in the report relate to the total number of possible attendances. The figures are averaged over the whole year so they are less likely to be distorted by seasonal factors. The percentage figures have been rounded for clarity of presentation and as a result they may not add up to 100%. All education authority primary and secondary schools, grantaided schools and selfgoverning schools are included in the national and education authority information.

3. Publicly-available information on Scottish schools

School handbooks provide a range of information on the school: what is taught; policy on matters such as discipline and school uniform; the school roll and stages covered; and, for a secondary school, public examination results. In future, schools will also publish information on attainment targets.

Handbooks of schools making provision for education in fourth, fifth and sixth year also include information on where pupils go after they leave school. This information is presented in a similar way for all schools. However, schools are also encouraged to include additional information, set out as they think best. Education authorities provide all parents of primary seven pupils with comparative tables for secondary schools in their area, excluding independent schools. The information presented in handbooks is in a standard format for all schools.

Information on attendance and school costs is also published in school handbooks.