School attendance

School attendance means that children have both a right and an obligation to attend school. Sometimes the term "attendance obligation" is used instead of "school attendance." This means that almost all children must attend school from the autumn term of the year they turn six until they complete Year 9. Here you will find information on how the schools in Ludvika Municipality work to ensure student attendance.

School attendance is crucial for students to succeed academically and to experience a sense of participation. It is important to promptly address any absence, regardless of the cause, to act quickly and to have well-known and functioning routines.

Schools should counteract absence by systematically promoting attendance. A good learning environment, early interventions, collaboration, and individual adaptations are key elements in this work.

Preventive and promotive work within the unit includes analysing students' absence at individual, class, and subject levels to identify any clear patterns. This helps in deciding for both short and long term interventions.

According to the Education Act, students are required to attend school on all school days during the academic year. Trips should be planned for the regular holidays.

Registering a student’s absence provides the opportunity for early detection of potential difficulties and allows for attendance-promoting efforts to begin at school. If the absence becomes worrying or problematic, thorough registration and analysis enable other relevant services to provide appropriate support.

The Attendance Ladder´s five steps

Step 1 Identified absence

Guardians report a student’s absence. In case of unreported absence, the school contacts the guardians. The mentor/class teacher registers late arrivals to lessons.
Guardians receive an SMS upon the first late arrival or absence each school day. If a student falls ill during the school day, guardians are contacted.

Step 2 Absence regardless of cause

If a student’s absence is around 10% of the guaranteed teaching time or the student has concerning sporadic absences within the last two months, the school will call a meeting with the student, guardians, and school.

An analysis of the student's registered absences is conducted, and discussions with the student and guardians regarding the reasons for the absence take place. Agreements are made to strengthen the student's attendance at school. A follow-up meeting is scheduled.

Step 3 Problematic school absence

If a student’s total absence over the last two months exceeds 20% of the guaranteed teaching time or the student has concerning sporadic absences, the mentor/class teacher will, after consulting with the guardians, refer the case to the school’s Student Health Team (principal, school psychologist, counsellor, special education teacher, school nurse) regarding problematic school absence.

The principal may decide to start an investigation into the problematic school absence and notify the head of school operations. The investigation will include four parts:

• Analysis of the student’s registered absences (valid and invalid)
• An investigation into the need for special support (if not already in place)
• A socio-educational assessment by the counsellor
• A medical assessment by the school nurse

The school consults with the student and guardians on several occasions during the assessment. Based on this, different measures are decided upon, which are followed up and evaluated. If necessary, a report to social services is made.

Step 4 Follow up

The Student Health Team at the school unit follows up and evaluates how the agreed measures have worked. Are new measures needed? Is there a need to cooperate with others, such as social services and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (BUP)?

After about two months, the principal summarizes the student’s current situation. The head of school operations reviews the summary and contacts the principal to follow up on the school's efforts regarding the student's attendance.

Step 5 School attendance report

If school attendance does not significantly improve, the principal files a school attendance report with the head of school operations. The head of school operations reviews the case summary and calls a meeting with the guardians and possibly the student (depending on age), along with the principal and a representative from the school's Student Health Team.

The purpose is to identify the need for further measures and to inform the guardians of their obligations according to the Education Act. Joint efforts are decided upon, and a new follow-up meeting is scheduled.

If a student does not attend school, the municipality's most stringent measure is to impose an order on the student's guardians to fulfil their obligations. This order can be accompanied by a fine.