Graphical Testing - Attendance - The 3-18 Education Trust

The 3-18 Education Trust: Implementation of the Graduated Approach to Attendance

How to read this table

Each tier is cumulative. Universal provision is the foundation for every pupil. At each tier above, staff deliver everything described below plus the additional expectations listed, so an item stated once at a lower tier applies at every tier above. The key adult — form tutor (secondary) class teacher (primary) — holds the whole child at every tier; Movement between tiers is decided at the school’s weekly Belonging meeting and may be triggered automatically by attendance: below 96% (around 5–10 days absent) at Monitoring; at risk of persistent absence at 90.1–92% (around 10–18 days) at Targeted; and persistent absence (attendance of 90% or below) and severe absence at Specialist, reflecting the national priority on tackling persistent and severe absence. The approach is support-first: barriers are listened to and removed in partnership with families, and legal intervention is used only where support has not succeeded. Read this document alongside the Trust’s Attendance Policy and the DfE’s Working Together to Improve School Attendance (2026).

In-class Expectations

SPECIALIST

Teachers and form tutors (primary: class teachers) are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Support a bespoke, gradual reintegration in line with the pupil's plan, ensuring work is accessible and every return to school is welcoming.
Ensure work is available for students to access from home where needed to keep the link and their sense of connection with school.

TARGETED

Teachers and form tutors (the key adult) are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Ensure the pupil's Inclusion Plan (attendance targets) and agreed adaptations shape daily practice, and give a warm welcome on every return.

MONITORING

Teachers and form tutors are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Be aware of which pupils have early or emerging absence (attendance below 96%, or around 5–10 days absent) and watch their attendance and engagement closely, remaining curious about the barriers.

UNIVERSAL

Teachers and form tutors (primary: class teachers) are expected to:

Take an accurate attendance register at every required session and follow the school's day-to-day absence follow-up process without delay.
Hold weekly attendance check-ins with all pupils during form time, promoting positive accountability and celebrating good and improving attendance.
Maintain a welcoming, relational classroom so pupils want to attend, underpinned by the Belonging Framework.
Notice and respond to early signs of disengagement or emerging absence, remaining curious about the barriers a pupil may face.

Out-of-class Expectations and Processes

SPECIALIST

Key staff, coordinated by the attendance lead, are expected to fulfil lower-tier expectations, plus:

Create part-time timetable and bespoke reintegration plan to support a return to school — time-limited and regularly reviewed.

Coordinate outreach, increased Education Welfare Officer (EWO) involvement, mental health support, and online tutoring where a pupil cannot yet attend.

Work with the LA support team and multi-disciplinary partners; where absence is due to health or SEND, ensure S19 duties are met.

Where the pupil has an EHCP/GSP, the SENDCO ensures statutory SEND processes are met and that attendance is addressed within the plan.

Where support has been offered and has not improved attendance, consider legal intervention as a last resort in line with statutory guidance.

TARGETED

Teachers and form tutors (the key adult) are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Co-produce the pupil's Inclusion Plan (attendance targets) with the pupil and family, remaining the consistent link for the child and selecting targeted support from the inclusion platform menu.

The assigned keyworker is expected to:

Provide targeted support and oversight, gathering the whole-child picture across every strand — not attendance alone.
Undertake daily attendance checks and safe-and-well checks (for example after five days' absence, in line with the policy).

The inclusion lead / attendance lead is expected to:

Support the key adult; involve the EWO and coordinate targeted support around identified barriers to attendance.
Where absence is linked to anxiety or emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), put SEMH interventions and a supported, graduated reintegration in place.

At the weekly Belonging meeting (attended by the Head of Year / House — primary: phase lead — and overseen by a member of SLT):

The Inclusion Plan is reviewed on APDR cycle, and step-up or step-down is decided.

MONITORING

Teachers and form tutors (the key adult) are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Have an early, supportive check-in with the pupil (and parents or carers where helpful) to understand the reasons for absence and any emerging barriers, keeping the response light-touch and relational.
Encourage and warmly welcome attendance, noting any patterns so a fuller picture is available if absence continues.

UNIVERSAL

Teachers and form tutors are expected to:

Follow the school's first-day and same-day absence procedures, contacting home for any unexplained absence.

Heads of Year / House (primary: phase leads) are expected to:

Provide oversight of year or house attendance and sustain the whole-school attendance culture with families.
Review attendance information at the weekly Belonging meeting to identify any pupil who may need monitoring.

The school's Strategic Attendance Lead/officer is expected to:

Communicate key attendance messages to pupils and parents and ensure registers and absence follow-up are accurate and timely.

Monitoring of Outcomes

SPECIALIST

The inclusion lead / attendance lead and the strategy meeting are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Assess progress against the reintegration plan (and any EHCP / GSP targets where these apply) each cycle, reviewing with external partners, with oversight held by the strategy meeting and by a member of SLT at the weekly Belonging meeting.

TARGETED

Teachers, the keyworker and the inclusion lead / attendance lead are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Review progress against the Inclusion Plan's attendance targets each cycle, using Deesha's whole-child dataset (attendance, behaviour, learning, wellbeing and safety).
Seek the pupil's and parents' views and adjust provision accordingly, with the review overseen by a member of SLT. Support is always offered before any enforcement.

MONITORING

Teachers and form tutors are expected to fulfil all lower-tier expectations, plus:

Keep the pupil's attendance under closer review and note whether the additional focus is helping. Entry/exit from Monitoring may occur automatically as attendance drops below 96% (around 5–10 days absent).
Where attendance is not improving, consider other strands of belonging and their possible impact.

UNIVERSAL

The attendance lead and inclusion leads are expected to:

Track whole-school, cohort and individual attendance, absence and punctuality data through the Belonging Framework, drawing the full picture together via Deesha at school and trust level and benchmarking against national figures.

The attendance officer is expected to:

Ensure communication for any daily absence is received from parent/carers and

Provision and Interventions

SPECIALIST

As below, plus the following for pupils who are persistently absent (90% or below) or severely absent, named explicitly. Intensity scales with need:

For pupils newly or moderately persistently absent: a focused attendance support plan, an attendance-officer relationship, and active barrier removal.
For the most entrenched or severely absent pupils: a part-time (reduced) timetable and bespoke reintegration plan; outreach; increased EWO involvement; mental health support; online tutoring.
Local authority attendance support team and multi-disciplinary support for the family.
Legal intervention as a last resort where support has not succeeded

TARGETED

As below, plus the following for pupils at risk of persistent absence (90.1–92%), named explicitly and selected from the Inclusion Plan platform menu:

Inclusion Plan with attendance targets; an assigned keyworker; daily attendance checks and safe-and-well checks.
EWO / attendance officer involvement; targeted support around identified barriers.
SEMH interventions where anxiety or EBSA is a factor — for example ELSA, Drawing and Talking, and EBSA reintegration support;
Rag-rated timetable
Use of inclusion bases within school for key lessons.

MONITORING

As below, plus a flavour of the additional provision typically drawn on at this tier:

Early check-ins to understand the reasons for absence; increased parental communication.
Enhanced monitoring and oversight by Heads of Year / House.
School-level early help where a wider family or contextual need is emerging.
[School-specific monitoring provision.]

UNIVERSAL

Representative universal provision (not an exhaustive list), underpinned by the Belonging Framework.

Whole-school culture that celebrates good and improving attendance; welcoming, relational classrooms.

Weekly form-tutor attendance check-ins; whole-school house system and buddy system.

A clear attendance policy and consistent rag-rated absence follow-up.

[School-specific universal provision to be detailed by each school.]