Covid

Covid: School attendance data collection to go weekly from October

Schools will be asked to submit Covid-19  attendance data to the government on a weekly rather than daily basis from October, it has been announced.

The educational setting status form, which has provided the government with information about attendance and Covid-related absences throughout the pandemic, will reopen for the autumn term on Thursday.

In an email sent to education leaders by the Department for Education and seen by Schools Week, schools were asked to continue to submit daily attendance data throughout September in order to “monitor attendance in schools and colleges after the summer break”.

attendanceHowever, from Friday, October 1, the form will move from daily reporting to weekly. The DfE said this would reduce the time schools and colleges spend completing it.

The email states: “At this point, all schools and colleges will have settled into the new term”.

Schools are currently asked to complete the form by 2pm each day.

The DfE said the change would be kept under review and “should the national situation require, daily reporting will be reinstated”.

Elsewhere the email informs leaders that changes have been made to the attendance data form to align it with the latest guidance for schools and colleges. These changes do not impact how the form is completed.

The set of sub-codes, which were introduced last year for schools and colleges to record non-attendance related to coronavirus, have also been updated.

Code X03 and X04 which relate to a pupil self-isolating due to a potential contact with a confirmed Covid case inside or outside of school respectively are “not applicable” for the next academic year.

This follows a change to the rules last week which means under-18s no longer need to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a confirmed Covid case.

In October, Schools Week revealed the government closed an attendance reporting loophole by requesting all schools submit data on Covid-related absence, rather than those which were partially or fully closed due to an outbreak.

Latest education roles from

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Solihull College and University Centre

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Navigating NPQ Funding Cuts: An Apprenticeship Success Story

Last year’s NPQ funding cuts meant that half of England’s teachers faced costs of up to £4,000 to complete...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all

Our EFA programme has been proven to help schools achieve better GCSE results, as evidenced by the EEF. Find...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building capacity in family support to tackle low school attendance 

Persistent and severe school absence impacts children, families, and communities—especially in disadvantaged areas. School-Home Support’s Attendance Support and Development Programme...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Covid

DfE Covid lockdown party may have gone on past 1am

Staff swiped out of Sanctuary Buildings 34 times after 10am on night of party, 8 times after 1am

Samantha Booth
Covid

Long Covid teachers join forces to sue ministers

About 85 teachers in the UK have expressed an interest in joining the action

Lucas Cumiskey
Covid

Williamson ‘considered resigning’ over ‘panic’ Jan 2021 school closures

Former ed sec tells Covid inquiry he did not have 'complete autonomy' over closure decisions, and claims his advice...

Freddie Whittaker
Covid

Covid: ‘Williamson threw schools under the bus’

Inquiry hears former education secretary opposed face masks in schools to avoid 'surrender' to unions

Amy Walker

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *