What Should I Get Ready for Ofsted regarding Attendance?

Ofsted have outlined a focus on the attendance of pupils during the Covid-19.
‘’Inspectors will discuss attendance patterns with school leaders to understand how the pandemic specifically affected the individual school. They will want to understand how, in the circumstances, the school ensured the best possible attendance for those pupils eligible to attend in person. ‘’

Please note - Attendance between March 2020 and March 2021 will not impact on the judgement of the school. Well, that’s good news!

‘’Inspectors recognise that the context in which schools operate has changed as a result of the pandemic.‘’ Therefore, they will consider the specific context and the steps school leaders have taken to ensure the best possible rates of attendance since the school opened to all pupils in March 2021.

We would advise you to create a specific data sheet that evidences how the attendance of cohorts has trended between March 2021 to the point of your inspection. We would recommend that you collate half termly data to clearly evidence the trends and that you report on your key cohorts of pupils, including those with a social worker. Provide a brief narrative for the inspectors to contextualise the data.

If you would like advice and support with preparing your attendance and persistent absence data for an inspection then please contact us on admin@anchoredschools.com We have created data reporting resources which will allow you to evidence the key aspects Ofsted have highlighted in their revised framework.