An evaluation of inspection reports on primary school attendance

Background All schools in England are subject to regular national inspection by the Office for Standards in Education ( Ofsted), using published and transparent criteria. The resultant reports are in the public domain. Purpose The purpose of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the comments on attendance issues within inspection reports. Sample The sample comprised 200 reports produced by Ofsted following school inspections during 2003. Design and methods The comments on attendance issues in the reports were analysed using seven variables: overall school grades awarded for attendance, positive and negative features of the school noted in the report, the effects of term-time holidays, management and leadership issues and the socio-economic profile of the school. Results and conclusions There were five main findings, namely the use of the category of 'unauthorized absence' was used inconsistently in some schools; a challenge was posed by parents taking pupils out of school for term-time holidays; the reports appeared to make minimal allowance for background characteristics such as socio-economic profile, location or pupil intake; the overall average score awarded for attendance was lower than for any other of the aspects of the school assessed; and the inspectors interpreted the government's targets for school attendance literally, not taking into account mitigating circumstances.