Attendance resources
Official guidance and useful school attendance resources
This page brings together official and parent-friendly attendance resources in one place. The calculator itself is independent and estimate-based, so use these links when you need policy context or formal guidance.
Why this page exists
Attendance matters, but every family situation is different. If absence relates to illness, anxiety, SEND, bullying, transport issues or other barriers, it can help to speak to school and check the official guidance directly rather than relying on percentages alone.
This site is independent. It does not provide legal advice and it is not official government, DfE, Ofsted, school or local authority guidance.
For national trends, the Department for Education publishes regular pupil attendance statistics through Explore Education Statistics. You can find that link in the statistics section below.
Official guidance
Useful attendance resources to check alongside this calculator
These links point to official or relevant external resources. The calculator stays separate and independent.
Official guidance
Official attendance guidance and reference documents from DfE and Ofsted.
Main Department for Education guidance page for school attendance expectations and support.
Working together to improve school attendance - August 2024The August 2024 PDF version of the guidance for reference and offline reading.
Summary table of responsibilities for school attendance - August 2024A quick-reference summary of who is responsible for what in school attendance work.
Securing good attendance and tackling persistent absenceOfsted report on what schools can do to improve attendance and respond to absence.
Statistics and national data
For national trends, the Department for Education publishes regular pupil attendance statistics through Explore Education Statistics.
Parent-friendly explainers
A simpler explainer page for families who want context rather than policy wording.
A more parent-friendly DfE explainer about attendance, support and common questions.
Fines for parents for taking children out of school: what you need to knowDfE Education Hub explainer covering the national penalty notice framework that applies in England from 19 August 2024.
This calculator is an independent helper tool. It is not official government, DfE, Ofsted, school or local authority guidance. Results are estimates only. Always check your school's attendance policy and official guidance.
Attendance matters, but every family situation is different. Speak to your school if absence relates to illness, anxiety, SEND, bullying, transport issues or other barriers.
Start with the core pages
These are the strongest pages to read before relying on any percentage estimate or comparing it with a school figure.
Start with the site’s cornerstone guide covering percentages, sessions, thresholds and common misunderstandings.
School attendance calculatorUse the main calculator for current attendance, future impact, recovery and year-to-date estimates.
How we calculate attendanceRead the formula, assumptions, examples and reasons school records may differ.
Attendance guidesBrowse plain-English explainers grouped around common attendance questions.
Understand percentages, recovery and benchmark questions
These guide pages are useful after checking the calculator because they translate percentages into benchmark explanations and practical next-step reading.
See the simplest one-day benchmark and why it looks different early in the year.
How much does attendance go up each day?Understand why recovery usually looks slow and why sustained attendance matters.
What 95% attendance meansTranslate a common attendance benchmark into missed days, sessions and context.
What 90% attendance meansSee why 90% can still represent a large amount of missed school time across a typical year.
How to calculate attendance percentageRead the plain-English formula guide if you want to work through the maths yourself.
How we calculate attendanceCheck the full methodology, assumptions and reasons the school app may differ.