91% Sounds Like An A Grade: The Letter Still Says 'Persistent'

So, um, it arrives in the book bag or, you know, it pops up as an email at 10 past four. Yeah. Always right at the end of the day. Always. And you open it up and the message reads, we are writing to inform you that your child's attendance is currently 91%. Right. And there is a chart included, usually color coded. And somewhere near the bottom of the page, you just see the word persistent. And your stomach just drops. It really does. Because 91 sounds, I mean, it sounds like an A grade.

Yeah, 91 % is a great score on almost anything else. Exactly. Which is exactly why the letter comes as such an unexpected shock. Well, this is the education commute. parents commute. Both voices on this show are synthesized. The research, reading, and judgment are done by a serving practitioner, same as every episode. And I am the teacher who actually signs a few of those letters. Right. And I want to explain what is behind them the way I would explain it to you at pickup, not the way the letter reads to you at home.

I am the document reader, so I have read the statutory document the letter comes from, cover to cover, and I have to say the most useful thing I found in the entire document is what is not in it. Tell me what you mean by that. Well, the letter you get at 10 past 4, it comes from a specific piece of statutory guidance. It's called Working Together to Improve School Attendance, the Department for Education, July 2026 edition. Right. That is the exact document schools are working to now.

Exactly. But it is written strictly to schools, trusts and councils. It has absolutely no chapter addressed to you, the parent. Wait, none at all. Zero chapters for the person actually receiving the letter. Zero. The chapters are explicitly titled for the professionals. So there is a chapter for expectations of schools. There is one for expectations of trusts and governing bodies. And there is one for expectations of local authorities. But nothing for parents. No. Your part, the parents' part, is just two paragraphs near the front of the document.

Two paragraphs. Yeah. And I want to read paragraph nine full right now just so you hear the actual wording. Let's hear it. Okay. Here is the text. Quote. Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. Legal duty. That is heavy wording. Very heavy. It goes on. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances, such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

We really need to pause and look at that wording. Yeah. Because the document generating the letter you received was never actually written for you. No, it wasn't. It is a legal directive aimed at schools, trusts, and councils. And that definitely explains the tone you read at 10 past 4, doesn't it? When you read that you have a legal duty and the child must attend every day that the school is open, it's incredibly stark. It explains a lot. I mean... The tone you read at home is entirely explained by the audience the document was written for at the Department for Education.

Right. The tone is meant for institutions, but it ends up in a book bag. Yeah, it gets handed to you. So today we are reading the plain text of the guidance document and breaking it down. And the agenda is very specific. Two numbers and then four ages. Let's begin with the two numbers. The two numbers are 10 % and 50%. Okay. So we look at paragraph 134. In that paragraph, persistent absence is defined as missing 10 % or more of school. 10%. Yeah. And the guidance actually provides its own translation for the 10 % figure.

It translates 10 % as missing one day or more a fortnight across a full school year. One day a fortnight. Exactly. And then we look at paragraph 135. Severe absence is defined as missing half or more. So 50%. Okay. So we need to do the math on the letter you received. Right. If you get a letter saying your child has 91 % attendance. That is 9 % absence. Yeah, 9%. So at 9%, the absence is not persistent yet. Right, because it hasn't hit 10. Exactly. But one more day off changes the entire nature of the letter.

Because one more day off crosses that 10 % line. Ah, that makes perfect sense. That is why the letter arrived at 91%. The school writes to you before the line is crossed, not after it. Yes, schools write before the line is crossed. But here is what the guidance says should actually happen when a child does cross that 10 % line. Because this is the part the letter never, ever quotes to you. I have paragraph 134 right here. Let me read what schools are actually told to do.

Please do. It says, schools and local authorities are, quote, expected to work together to put additional targeted support in place to remove any barriers to attendance. Yeah. And it goes on to say they must sensitively consider some of the reasons for absence rather than reaching immediately for punitive approaches. I really want you to repeat that last line for emphasis. Rather than reaching immediately for punitive approaches. Right. Now think about the letter you get. 91%. Do you see that sentence printed anywhere on the page? No. No, it just lists the absences and mentions persistent absence.

It completely leaves out the instruction to start with support. Exactly. But those are the words from the Department for Education. Support first is the actual design of the document. Yeah. The punitive approaches are not the immediate step. The immediate step is targeted support to remove barriers. Okay. So let's move to early years. Ages three to five. Yes. Because I get asked a very specific question at the gate every single September. A parent will ask me, she is only in reception. Does any of this count? And there are two honest halves to that answer.

Right. First, we look at the legal duty and the penalty system we just mentioned. The guidance explicitly states that the legal duty and the penalty system apply from compulsory school age. Compulsory school age. Yes, the entire guidance document is about pupils of compulsory school age. It says separately that schools can allow pupils below that age to be absent from non -timetabled sessions. Okay. Therefore, a four -year -old in reception will not generate a fine. A four -year -old in reception will not generate a fine. That is the legal half of the answer.

Right. What's the other half? The other half is the teacher's half, because the letter you will get in year two is actually being written right now. How so? It is not being written by the school. It is being written by the pattern. A child who takes Fridays off in reception builds a pattern. Oh, I see. A child who does Fridays off in reception is a child whose Fridays are extremely hard to get back in year three. Right. That is not printed in the document from the Department for Education.

That is just the classroom reality I see. So my advice to you at this specific age is only about mornings. What exactly should a parent do about the mornings? Keep the same leaving time every single day. Keep the shoes by the door. And if there is a wobble at the gate, hand over fast and let the school staff do the rest. Hand over fast. Yes. The school staff are good at the first five minutes. We are not good at the child who has been talked out of the car for 20 minutes.

That makes a lot of sense. So we know reception is about building habits without the threat of fines. Right. But once a child hits compulsory school age in primary, so ages 5 to 11, a whole new barrier appears for parents. And that is the endless string of winter illnesses. Oh, absolutely. So how does the guidance handle the doctor's note dilemma? I get asked about doctor's notes weekly. I mean, parents panic when a child gets sick again and wonder if they need a medical professional to prove it.

So what does the guidance say? Well, let me read paragraph 374. Okay. It says, schools are not expected to routinely request that parents provide medical evidence to support illness absences and should not have blanket rules requiring this. No blanket rules. Right. And it continues, in the majority of cases, a parent's notification that their child is too ill to attend school can be accepted without question or concern. Accepted without question or concern. Right. That is a huge relief for parents to hear. Totally. So what is the specific action they need to take?

Ring in on the very first day. First day. Yes, if you ring in on the first day, that makes it an authorized absence. The guidance explicitly tells schools to ask you to do that. Ring in on the first day. But if the notification is accepted without concern in the majority of cases, when can a school actually ask for evidence? The school can ask for evidence only if there is genuine and reasonable doubt. The school can also ask for evidence if it is trying to support a child with prolonged or repeated patterns of illness.

Right. Repeated patterns. And even in those specific cases, the guidance tells the school not to be rigid about the form of the evidence. So a prescription counts. A medicine box counts. An appointment text counts. That's good to know. And importantly, the guidance tells the school to start with a conversation with you, not a rigid form. And this brings me to what I would actually say at pickup. What's that? If your child has had four separate colds since September, the school is not doubting you when it asks to meet.

Right. The meeting request is about the repeated pattern line in the guidance. We just want to talk about the pattern. So come to the meeting. Go to the meeting. Yes. The parent who comes to the meeting gets support. The parent who does not come to the meeting is the parent the next paragraph is about. And that is paragraph 63. Right. What does it say? Where parents do not engage with support, the school works with the council to formalize it. And as a last resort, legal intervention.

Legal intervention is a last resort for when parents do not engage with support, but you have to go to the meeting. Yeah, that makes sense. So let's shift to secondary, ages 11 to 16. Okay, this is the big one. This is the holiday and term time argument, and this is where the fines happen, so we really need to break this down thoroughly. Let's start with the holidays themselves. Okay, paragraph 37 states that the Department for Education does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.

Not an exceptional circumstance. Right. Schools can grant leave for exceptional circumstances. But they must judge every single request on its own facts. And the 2026 edition actually added that schools should not apply blanket policies that grant leave automatically for particular events either. So the rule is not never. The rule is not for a holiday. And every single request is read on its own facts. Yes, exactly. Now for the fine thresholds. Because this is where parents get caught off guard by the math. Oh, absolutely. The math catches everyone out.

Let's look at paragraph 184. The national threshold is 10 sessions of unauthorized absence in a rolling 10 school weeks. Let's define a session for the parent listening. A session is half a day. Okay. So a full school day is two sessions. Therefore, a five -day holiday is 10 sessions in one week. Which means the threshold is met immediately in that one single week. Threshold met. Done. Wow. Do late arrivals count towards those 10 sessions? Yes. Arriving late after the register closes counts as an unauthorized session.

And the guidance actually provides its own example for this calculation. It says four sessions of holiday plus six late arrivals. And that equals 10 sessions. Yes. And the threshold is met. Now, break down the money rules. How much is the fine? Paragraph 194 outlines the money. The first notice is 160 pounds. Wow. But this is reduced to 80 pounds if it is paid within 21 days. Okay. And the second notice? The second notice for the same child within three years is a flat 160 pounds. There is no reduction for paying in 21 days on the second notice.

And is there a third notice? No. There is no third notice. A third time in three years goes directly to alternative action, which the guidance says will often mean prosecution. We really must stress the calculation method here. Because this surprises a lot of families. It is calculated per parent, per child. Per parent, per child. Yeah, here is the calculation example provided in the text. Two children, two parents, one week in Spain equals four notices. Let's spell out exactly how that equals four notices. Let's do the math.

So, as parent one, you receive a penalty notice for child one. That is the first notice. Right. Then parent one receives a separate penalty notice for child two. That is the second notice. Okay. Then parent two receives a penalty notice for child one. That is the third notice. And finally, parent two receives a separate penalty notice for child two. That is the fourth notice. That is exactly how per parent per child is calculated. Four separate fines for one household taking one holiday in Spain. Which really adds up.

It does. But here's the part I would add, teacher to parent. Before any of that money calculation happens, the guidance makes the school ask itself a specific question. Read the question. Paragraph 185. Before issuing a notice, the school must ask, quote, is support appropriate in this case? Is support appropriate in this case? Yes. And if the answer is yes, the school must keep supporting or issue a notice to improve first. A penalty notice is issued only if that notice to improve has failed. But if the answer is no, and the guidance's own example of no is a holiday and term time, then the penalty notice follows immediately.

And this means a fine for a holiday is designed to be quick. A fine for a child who cannot get through the door is designed to be last. Those are two completely different letters printed from the exact same template. Wow. That brings us to the send section, which is honestly the strongest part of the document from a parent's side. Go on, because this is the family who gets the 91 % letter and thinks, you know why the number is 91? We have the paperwork. We have told you.

Exactly. Well, paragraph 56 covers pupils with long -term physical or mental health conditions. or with SEND. It states, quote, their right to an education is the same as any other pupil, and therefore the attendance ambition for these pupils should be the same. But it explicitly adds that additional support may need to be provided. What is the list of support? Yeah. Because parents really need to know what they are entitled to ask for. Paragraph 58 lists what the school should do. It lists pastoral support. It lists adjustments to practice and policies.

It lists formal reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act where there is a disability. Right. And the guidance states these must be agreed by and regularly reviewed with the pupil and their parents. And it also lists a time -limited phased return. A phased return. Yeah. And the guidance provides its own example for this. It mentions a child with... Anxious feelings about school attendance. Agreed with the parents. Yeah. Regularly reviewed with the parents. Yeah. A phased return for anxious feelings about school attendance. Yes. So if you are getting the attendance letter and nobody has sat down with you to review this list, the school is behind its own guidance, not you.

That is so important. I also need to correct a common misconception regarding part -time timetables, and I'll use paragraph 66 for this. Please do. Part -time timetables are for very exceptional circumstances, and they must be in the child's best interests. They must have a clear ambition, review dates, a proposed end date, and the parent's agreement. Parent's agreement. Yes. I will read this next sentence slowly. A part -time timetable should not be used to manage a pupil's behavior. So the statement we are sending him home at 12 until he settles is not a plan.

It is the exact thing the guidance explicitly says not to do. Exactly. And here is the last honest line, because it is in there and you should hear it from us rather than find it on your own. What paragraph? Paragraph 136. Where all support and the right placement have been provided and severe unauthorized absence still continues, the guidance says it is likely to constipate neglect. Severe absence, 50%, unauthorized, after all the support. Yeah. That is the absolute extreme end of the process. Most families written into that sentence have never been offered half of what paragraph 58 lists.

Which is why knowing the list in paragraph 58 matters so much. Exactly. Well, we have one thing for you to try this week based on the guidance. Okay. If a letter has come, reply to it. Do not reply to argue the number. Reply to ask one question in writing. The question is, what support is the school putting in place, and when can we meet to agree it? Because that is the language from paragraph 134. Yes, and it changes which template the next letter comes from. And if no letter has come, ring in on the first morning of every illness to ensure an authorized session.

It is the single thing the guidance asks of you directly. It is the difference between an authorized session and an unauthorized session that counts towards the 10 -session limit. Very true. Let's finish with the four things off the drive. One, the letter comes from a document with no chapter for parents. Paragraph 9 says regularly means every day school is open except for illness or permission. Two, 10 % is the line. One day a fortnight. Crossing it triggers support rather than reaching immediately for punitive approaches. Three.

No doctor's note is needed for an ordinary illness. Ring in on day one. And if the school asks to meet about a repeated pattern, go to the meeting. Four. A term time holiday is ten sessions in a week, meeting the fine threshold on its own. The fine is 160 pounds or 80 pounds if paid in 21 days. The calculation is per parent per child. It applies twice in three years and then leads to prosecution. Well, everything is linked in the show notes. We are the trailer, not the film.

Safe trip in. See you at the gates.