School attendance has not recovered to the level it was at before the COVID-19 pandemic.

To support the recovery, the Scottish Government published revised attendance guidance. Education Scotland has also undertaken work on improving attendance. Some of the themes of the support include:

• approaches centred on young people
• intervening at an early stage
• using attendance data more effectively
• working jointly with schools, families and partner services

In this inquiry, the Committee aims to understand:

• how schools and councils are implementing guidance

• whether it is leading to improvements
• how schools identify and respond to persistent absence
• how multi-agency working is supporting individual pupils
• how schools and councils are sharing effective practice

The Committee will take evidence on this inquiry in November 2026.