Management of School Attendance in the UK

Abstract

Prior to 1997, managing school attendance was the sole responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Since devolution, responsibility for school attendance has resided with each of the four UK-wide administrations. These are the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England; the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED); the Northern Irish Department for Education (NIDE); and in Wales, the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS). Since then, each of the four administrations has begun to develop different policy directions over the management of education in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Within each of the four countries, different management approaches to school attendance has evolved between 1997 and 2007. The focus of this article is on describing these four different approaches until 2007, the present position post 2007, while attempting to compare, contrast and evaluate some of the potential outcomes of these strategies. It also seems increasingly likely that the future educational policy directions of the four national governments will continue to diverge, possibly leading to new legislation which will mean that policies on school attendance will differ significantly in the years ahead.