Guides
School attendance guides in plain English
These guides sit alongside the calculator and explain common UK school attendance questions using worked examples, tables and clear assumptions.
Guide hub
Start with the page that matches your question
The guides below are grouped so users can move from quick benchmark questions to deeper explainers and then into methodology or official resources.
Quick answers
Start here with the cornerstone guide
Start with the site’s main editorial guide, then move into the benchmark-style pages for one-day, five-day and threshold questions.
Cornerstone guide covering days, sessions, 190 school days, thresholds, worked examples and common misunderstandings.
How much attendance is one day off?Quick plain-English explanation of what one missed school day usually means across a year and a term.
If I miss one day of school, what will my attendance be?Practical examples showing why the answer depends on how far through the year you are.
How much attendance is 5 days off?A one-week absence benchmark page with full-year and term-to-date comparisons.
How many days off is 90%, 95% and 97% attendance?A quick comparison table showing approximate days and sessions missed.
Understand percentages
Understand attendance percentages and benchmark numbers
These pages explain how percentages are calculated, how thresholds translate into missed time and why school-year assumptions matter.
Plain-English explanation of 95% attendance, missed days and why schools notice it.
What does 90% attendance mean?See what 90% attendance usually means in missed days, sessions and practical school-year context.
How much does attendance go down per day?See how the percentage drop changes from early term to a full-year total.
How to calculate school attendance percentageFormula, worked examples, days versus sessions and common mistakes.
How many school days are in a year in the UK?Why 190 days and 380 sessions are used so often in attendance calculations.
Recovery and improvement
Recovery, improvement and worked examples
These guides focus on how the number changes over time and what recovery or cumulative absence looks like in practice.
Recovery-focused explainer showing why progress is gradual rather than instant.
School attendance percentage examplesSeveral realistic examples showing exactly how the percentage is worked out.
School attendance recovery calculatorMove from recovery explanations into a target-based estimate using your own figures.
School days missed calculatorConvert missed days into sessions and clearer percentage context.
Official resources and methodology
Check assumptions, official sources and next steps
Use these pages when you want to understand the site’s methodology or compare the independent explainers with official guidance.
Read the formula, 190-day and 380-session assumptions, examples and caveats in one place.
Attendance resourcesCheck DfE, Ofsted and other external guidance alongside the calculator and guides.
School attendance calculatorMove from broad benchmark answers to an estimate using your own days or sessions.
Before relying on any percentage
The pages on this site are independent explainers and estimate-based tools. They are useful for understanding the maths, but they do not replace school records, school policy or official guidance.
If you want to see exactly how the site works out its estimates, read how we calculate attendance before comparing your own figures.
For direct calculations, open the school attendance calculator and then use these guides for follow-up questions and examples.