School Leader Attendance Monitoring Checklist (2026/27)

A checklist for school leaders and attendance leads who use the DfE's Monitor your school attendance tool. It helps you get the most from each report, plan your data reviews, and read the figures correctly using the DfE's data definitions for 2026 to 2027.

Which guidance it reflects

Written against the DfE's Monitor your school attendance: user guide, updated 3 September 2026, and the July 2026 edition of Working together to improve school attendance.

What's inside

• Part 1: using each report in the tool, including the dashboard, attendance patterns heatmap, year-to-date comparison, absence bandings, summary and similar schools reports, attendance and sickness returns, and leaver data
• Part 2: weekly, half-termly, termly and annual data reviews, and reporting to governors
• Part 3: the 2026 to 2027 data definitions, including which attendance and absence codes count, which are no longer valid, and how persistent and severe absence are calculated
• References and a disclaimer

Format: editable Word document, 3 pages.

General guidance for schools in England, not legal advice. Data definitions can change each year, so check GOV.UK for the current user guide.

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