In a second article based on his session at the Forum Attendance Matters conferences, Ben Whitney raises more questions about how we record attendance and respond to absence. He challenges us to consider whether attendance monitoring is currently fit for purpose.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, Ben Whitney emphasises the importance of the headteacher’s discretion and the need to examine context when making decisions and setting targets.

What can you do when all else fails? John Viner explains about the legal measures that local authorities can take and considers the value of the parenting contract as an alternative.

In this last article of the series, Ben Whitney considers the move towards welfare-based responses to non-attendance and wonders why the education supervision order isn’t put to better use.

The Supreme Court judgment is in and the Department for Education will be happy with it. However, we have not seen the last of the debate about school-time holidays. John Viner describes where we are now and what might happen next.

Ben Whitney gives his take on the recent Supreme Court ruling.

School attendance orders, prosecutions, penalty notices, parenting orders and contracts – what legal measures can schools and local authorities take? Ben Whitney guides us through the range of measures that can be used with parents.

This is the next article in a series which looks at the legal framework within which attendance and absence practice operates. Ben Whitney continues in this instalment by highlighting Regulations 9–15 and some aspects of the Education Act 1996.