Unions decry move, saying it will put more pressure on headteachers without tackling absence from classrooms
Blog Category child education
Blog description The UK’s Department for Education (DfE) has announced that every school in England will be given AI-generated attendance targets.
These targets are called Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectations (ABIEs).
The ABIE for each school is tailored using AI based on local factors — such as the school’s location, the needs of its pupils, and their level of deprivation.
The goal: reduce pupil absenteeism and restore attendance to pre-COVID levels.
To help schools meet these targets, the DfE will pair underperforming schools with “high-performing” schools that operate in similar socio-economic contexts, so they can share best practices.
Also, new Attendance & Behaviour Hubs (36 of them) are being expanded or launched. These hubs will provide on-the-ground support to schools
Importantly, the attendance targets will not be published publicly or used by Ofsted (i.e., school inspectors) for formal accountability.
Why this is being done
- The DfE says there is a national attendance problem: while attendance has improved recently, many schools are still below pre-pandemic levels, and about one-third of schools did not show any improvement in absence rates.
By using AI, the government believes it can set realistic but ambitious minimum improvement goals that take into account each school’s unique challenges.
The “test and learn” approach: for now, the targets are on a pilot/test basis for the 2024-25 year.
Concerns & Criticism
- Teaching unions and headteacher groups have strongly criticised the plan:
- They say it adds more pressure on already overstretched school leaders.
Some argue it does not address root causes of absence — such as mental-health issues, family problems, or deprivation — and just focuses on a “metric.
There’s concern about accountability without transparency: the targets are not shared with Ofsted or published, so some feel schools may be held to “invisible” standards without clear public reporting.
Some worry that an AI tool might not fully capture the complex, human reasons why students are absent, and may oversimplify school contexts.
Government’s Response / Rationale
- Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says attendance is critically linked to opportunity — “children need to be in school to achieve and thrive.”
The DfE emphasises that AI is a tool, not an enforcement mechanism: the targets are “minimum improvement expectations,” not punitive goals.
The pairing with high-performing schools, plus the behaviour and attendance hubs, are intended to give practical, peer-based support — not just demand results.
Significance / Impact
- If successful, this could raise attendance across many schools, which may improve learning outcomes and reduce the number of “severely absent” pupils (those missing a large percentage of school).
- It represents a growing use of AI in education policy — not just for learning, but for monitoring and planning.
- But there’s also a risk: if schools feel pressured by targets without getting enough support, or if the AI-generated goals are seen as unfair, this could lead to discontent, gaming of attendance data, or even burnout among school leaders.
Every school in England is to be issued with an AI-generated target for minimum pupil attendance, the government has announced, as part of its continuing efforts to tackle absence in the country’s classrooms.
Headteachers will be given the targets this month in an effort to boost attendance rates, which remain stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels.
Teaching unions, however, instantly dismissed the initiative, saying it would put further pressure on already overloaded school leaders.
“The reality is that schools are already working tirelessly to improve attendance, with many going way above and beyond what should be expected of schools every single day,” the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Paul Whiteman, said.
“The government issuing them with yet more targets will not help them with that work and is the wrong way to go.”
The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Pepe Di’Iasio, said: “We would urge the government to understand the realities in schools rather than issuing yet more diktats dreamt up in Whitehall.
“Schools already move heaven and earth to ensure that all their pupils attend regularly, but many of the factors that contribute to absence are beyond their direct control.
“Setting them individual targets doesn’t resolve those issues, but it does pile yet more pressure on school leaders and staff who are already under great strain.”
Attendance rates overall have improved in England, but official government figures published last month showed that severe absence rates – where pupils miss more than 50% of school sessions – were on the rise again, and according to the Department for Education one in three schools have shown no improvement.
“We can only deliver opportunity for children in our country if they’re in school, achieving and thriving,” the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said. “That’s why I want every school to play its part in getting attendance back to and beyond pre-pandemic levels.
The target a school is given will be based on attendance levels achieved by others in similar circumstances, including deprivation, location and pupils’ needs. Targets will not be published and will not be accessible to the schools inspectorate, Ofsted.
Schools will be supported to reach their targets by linking them up with high–performing schools serving similar communities and with similar needs, so headteachers can learn from best practice elsewhere.
“Our best schools already have a brilliant approach to attendance, and now we’re driving that focus everywhere so that all children are supported to attend school and learn,” Phillipson said.
Featured Image
Please include a short bio
Bridget Phillipson is the UK’s Secretary of State for Education and a Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South. She has been a strong advocate for improving school attendance, closing achievement gaps, and using evidence-based policy to support disadvantaged students. In her role, she has led national initiatives on behaviour, attendance, and curriculum reform.
Notes if any AI-generated attendance targets (ABIEs) are part of a broader government effort to reverse persistent post-COVID absenteeism.
Targets are customised per school, considering local factors rather than applying uniform national expectations.
The initiative includes support mechanisms, such as pairing low-attendance schools with high-performing counterparts and expanding Attendance & Behaviour Hubs.
Targets will not be public and will not be used by Ofsted for formal accountability, raising questions about transparency.
Critics argue that AI cannot fully account for complex human and socio-economic reasons behind pupil absence.
Teacher unions warn the policy may add pressure to school leaders without addressing underlying issues like mental health, poverty, and family instability.
The initiative represents a growing trend of using AI in educational policymaking—not just classroom learning.
Policy is currently being rolled out on a “test and learn” basis, meaning adjustments may follow based on feedback and outcomes.
About The Author
