NAfSA News
Public teasers
Short previews of official alliance notices. Sign in or join to read the full article inside the member platform — new accounts get a 7-day Professional trial, then free Community membership.
In case you missed it: attendance updates since the start of term
Since the start of term, several updates on school attendance across the UK have emerged, including the latest attendance figures for England, key survey deadlines, and the introduction of a new notification duty for local housing authorities. Wales sees fresh insights from a recent Estyn report on education welfare services tackling persistent absence, while Northern Ireland’s updated pupil absence data offers valuable benchmarks. Scotland maintains its current guidance framework with no new attendance updates yet. Full details and context are available in the latest NAfSA member article (Community membership is free for all.)
England’s 2026/27 attendance week is in Benchmarking & reports, and Welsh local authorities and consortia now show 2025/26
The latest news from NAfSA: NAfSA's data has been updated ready for 2026/27. England’s attendance benchmarks and Regional Hub now reflect the first week of the 2026/27 academic year, with overall state-funded school attendance at 95.34%. In Wales, maintained schools’ attendance figures run to 25/09/2026, showing 92.4% sessions present, while Welsh local authorities and consortia display 2025/26 year-to-date data on the Regional Hub. NAfSA has requested school-level attendance data from Welsh Government to enhance local insights. The full member article explores these latest updates and data nuances in detail.
Attendance round-up: data, winter health, and severe absence
This attendance round-up covers several key updates for schools, trusts, local authorities, and education authorities across the UK. Highlights include Welsh secondary attendance figures for 2024/25 showing slight improvement, England's first week attendance data for 2026/27, a DfE bulletin on winter health measures including vaccinations, the closure of a parliamentary petition on fixed penalty notices for unauthorised absences, and insights into severe absence rates in England. This overview is designed to help practitioners understand emerging trends and policy discussions. The full article with detailed analysis and resources is available exclusively to NAfSA members (Community membership includes access after the free trial).
Welcome to NAfSA — a 30-minute guide to the member platform
New to NAfSA or keen to understand the member platform better? Join a free 30-minute online briefing on Monday 28/09/2026 at 16:30 (UK time) to explore how the NAfSA platform is organised and where to begin after signing in. This session will introduce you to the UK-wide community, member tools, forums, professional development, and support networks essential for those working with school attendance. The full article and event details are available to NAfSA members (Community membership includes access).
Ask an Expert is open — three live questions on registers, leave, and Year 7
NAfSA's Ask an Expert service is addressing real attendance challenges from schools in England. Current live threads discuss tricky issues such as registering attendance on Friday afternoons, handling long-term absences after funerals abroad, and managing Year 7 pupils allocated places but who never arrive. Members can read these practical discussions, and Professional members may submit their own anonymised questions for the panel. The full article is available to NAfSA members (Community membership is sufficient after the free trial).
Welcome back — what’s new on NAfSA this term
September signals the return to a busy term for attendance teams across the UK. NAfSA has enhanced the member portal with clearer UK-specific language, optional tool introductions, and a new Ideas Hub Labs featuring a first look at the Termly Support Meeting Record for England local authorities. Members can also set custom thresholds on heatmaps to better prioritise attendance discussions. Explore these updates and more in the latest NAfSA News — full article available to NAfSA members (Community membership is the standard after the free trial).
Introducing NAfSA News — official updates in one place
NAfSA News has launched on our member platform, providing a single location for official alliance updates tailored to attendance practitioners across schools, local authorities, and allied roles in the United Kingdom. Articles are short, clear, and filterable by nation and topic, with optional links to resources and public teasers for wider sharing. The full content is accessible to NAfSA members — Community membership suffices following the free trial.