How Ofsted Judges Attendance

Attendance is evaluated primarily as part of the personal development, behaviour and welfare judgement.

The School Inspection Handbook (2015) states:

Inspectors will consider:

• overall absence and persistent absence rates for all pupils, and for different groups in relation to national figures for all pupils

• the extent to which low attenders are improving their attendance over time and whether attendance is consistently low (in the lowest 10%)

Direct mention of attendance is mentioned in the grade descriptors within the School Inspection Handbook:

Outstanding:

Pupils value their education and rarely miss a day at school.  No groups of pupils are disadvantaged by low attendance.  The attendance of pupils who have previously had exceptionally high rates of absence is rising quickly towards the national average.

Good:

Pupils value their education. Few are absent or persistently absent.  No groups of pupils are disadvantaged by low attendance.  The attendance of pupils who have previously had exceptionally high rates of absence is showing marked and sustained improvement.

Resources for Ofsted inspectors can be found here.