Schools with high absences that can demonstrate they are doing 鈥渁ll they reasonably can鈥� to raise attendance will be judged 鈥渇avourably鈥� during inspections, Ofsted has said. The watchdog has published a that aims to clarify its position on attendance, as higher levels persist post-pandemic. Government data shows 22.3 per cent of pupils missed more than one in ten sessions last year. The overall absence was 7.2 per cent in the week-starting October 16, much higher than pre-pandemic norms. Ofsted said it remained 鈥渧ery concerned about the effect this will have on children鈥�. The inspectorate said schools 鈥渉ave a vital role in improving attendance but not all factors influencing attendance are in their control鈥�. Because of this, 鈥渢here cannot be an arbitrary attendance percentage that all schools need to reach鈥�. But it added that many factors were within schools鈥� powers, 鈥渁nd it is right to expect them to do all they reasonably can to achieve the highest possible attendance鈥�. 鈥淚f a school can demonstrate they are doing this, we will judge it favourably, even if its attendance numbers are lower than previously.鈥� Schools would 鈥渘eed to demonstrate they are moving towards pre-pandemic levels of attendance or higher, even if they remain a distance away from their overall ambition鈥�. 鈥淗owever, if a school is not doing all that can reasonably be expected, we may still have concerns.鈥� Ofsted also pointed out that the highest attendance rates were linked with the best outcomes at all key stages. 鈥淓ven missing small amounts of education can mean a child misses important sections of the curriculum and may therefore struggle to learn concepts that are built on what they missed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about the academic opportunities. There鈥檚 value in the whole school experience.鈥�