A. My first question would be do you have a clear policy that explains how Year 12 and 13 non-attendance will be addressed? If not, this is something I would suggest that you consider putting in place. The national legislation and guidance on school attendance relates to pupils who are statutory school age. Year 12 pupils are not statutory school age, so this becomes a matter of the setting’s policies and procedures. While attendance for Year 12 pupils is not compulsory since 2014, all pupils are required to participate in education or training until their eighteenth birthday (Education and Skills Act 2008).
In the first instance I would advise that you arrange one-to-one support meetings with these pupils to explore what the barriers are to their attendance and how you can support them to continue with their course or transition to alternative education or employment. This meeting can be used to agree attendance targets, and actions, for both the young person and the setting, which will enable the pupil to meet these targets.
