New attendance rules, and fresh data on the riskiest transition in the SEND system. What changed this term, and what to do if things are already slipping.
Schools went back in the first week of September. For a lot of SEND families, that date carried more weight than a fresh pencil case — it was the moment last year’s struggles either got a proper second chance, or started repeating themselves. If you’re a few weeks in and things are already slipping, two things are worth knowing: the DfE’s updated attendance guidance clarifies how schools should handle attendance difficulties, and new data shows exactly where SEND support is most likely to quietly slip — the move from primary to secondary.
On 9 July 2026, the Department for Education updated its statutory attendance guidance. Schools, trusts and local authorities have to have regard to it — it isn’t just advice they can shrug off. The changes that matter most for families whose child struggled last year:
National secondary school attendance in 2026, against 94.6% at primary — and Kent’s persistent absence rate remains above the national average. Regular absence disrupts learning continuity and reduces the daily visibility that helps schools notice emerging needs early. Source: DfE attendance statistics; Kent attendance analysis, 2026.
If your child has just started Year 7, there’s a second, less talked-about risk worth knowing about. New analysis of the Department for Education’s own January 2026 census data shows a consistent pattern: a disproportionate number of children with an EHCP move from mainstream school into a special or alternative provision setting specifically at the Year 6 to Year 7 changeover — more than at any other point in a child’s schooling.
It isn’t hard to see why. A provision map built up carefully over years in a primary school doesn’t automatically travel with a child. A secondary SENCO meeting a Year 7 for the first time in September is starting from whatever paperwork made it across — and if that paperwork is thin, out of date, or was never really translated into a working plan in the first place, support can quietly downgrade before anyone notices.
The EHCP attainment gap by the end of secondary school in England — the widest gap of any pupil group measured. Source: Education Policy Institute, SEND Annual Report 2026.
Not sure whether your child’s paperwork will actually translate into real support this term? A free 15-minute call is a good place to start, whether you’re dealing with attendance worries, a secondary transition, or both.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallWhether the issue is a rough previous year at the same school or a fresh start at a new one, the same thing helps: a clear, current, independent picture of how your child is actually doing — not a two-year-old report or a diagnosis alone. The Gap Analysis Assessment with School Liaison Service gives a new or existing school:
“The detail and advice that Lauren provides in her report goes above and beyond and has left me feeling supported in a way that I haven’t before as we take the next steps in helping my daughter.”
“Our son had a gap analysis done with Lauren and it was the best thing we could have done as now we know the reasons for our son’s constant struggles at school.”
Whatever this term brings — a rough attendance history or a whole new school — arriving with a clear, current picture of your child is never wasted.
Schools now rely less on medical evidence, can only use remote education as a last resort within a reintegration plan, can’t apply blanket leave-of-absence policies, and are expected to work to understand what’s driving absence before moving to enforcement.
Fresh 2026 analysis of DfE census data shows a disproportionate number of children with an EHCP move from mainstream into special or alternative provision specifically at the Year 6 to Year 7 changeover — more than at any other transition point.
Whether a recent annual review reflects their current needs, whether the new school has actually received and read the plan, and whether a provision map already exists or needs to be built from scratch in September.
This article is general information for parents about attendance guidance and school transitions. It is not legal advice.
“Arriving with a clear, current picture of your child is never wasted.”