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Attendance and persistent absence analytics

Turn attendance data into actionable insight

Attendance figures show what is happening. Purple helps explain why.

Purple helps schools, trusts and educational organisations move beyond attendance percentages to understand absence drivers, attendance risk and long-term attendance patterns. Analyse attendance, persistent absence, severe absence, attendance gaps, absence reasons and attendance journeys within one connected platform.

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Why attendance matters

Attendance is the measure. Understanding drives change.

A percentage only tells you where attendance is today. Purple helps teams uncover the patterns, risks and improvement opportunities beneath it—so they can decide what to do next.

From signal to improvement

94.6%

Attendance

Risk

12 pupils · PA risk

12 pupils ·

PA risk

3 cohorts ↓

Context

Vulnerability · behaviour · provision

Action

Support · monitor · evaluate

Improve

Recovering · narrowing · reducing

Explore attendance through the questions that matter

Start with the question you need to answer and see how Purple brings the relevant evidence into view.

Questions Purple can help answer

Identify attendance concerns before they become persistent

Monitor attendance patterns, persistent absence, severe absence and lost learning time in one place, helping leaders spot concerns early and target support before attendance deteriorates further.

Purple attendance ladder grouping pupils by attendance level and comparing each band with the previous year.

Questions Purple can help answer

Identify attendance concerns before they become persistent

Monitor attendance patterns, persistent absence, severe absence and lost learning time in one place, helping leaders spot concerns early and target support before attendance deteriorates further.

Why Purple

From feature to support. One connected story.

Purple helps teams ask better questions, connect evidence and decide what should happen next.

What is happening?

Attendance, absence and persistence.

Who is affected?

Year groups, vulnerable pupils and cohorts.

Why is it happening?

Absence reasons, attendance behaviours and underlying patterns.

What should happen next?

Provisions, support and evaluation.

Purple attendance dashboard on a laptop, showing attendance trends, year-group comparisons and pupil filters.

Attendance equity

See who is being left behind.

Purple makes gaps visible so teams can focus support where it is most needed.

Attendance risk pathway

Identify risk before absence becomes persistent.

Purple makes each change in attendance visible early—so the right conversation and support can start before a pattern becomes entrenched.

One pupil · one connected journey

Good attendance

Stable and on track

96.8%

Positive trend

Emerging concern

A subtle drift appears

93.7%

Review feature

Persistent absence risk

Risk is becoming clear

89.4%

attendance

features

Provision

Proactive support begins

Attendance review + family contact

Review in 10 days

Improved attendance

Progress becomes visible

95.2%

Risk reduced

Individual to trust view

From one student to the whole trust

Start with the detail around one student. Then zoom out through class, year group and school patterns to a strategic trust-wide view — all through the same connected attendance dataset.

One connected attendance story

Individual student

Amina M

Year 8 · Pupil Premium

89.4%

Attendance this year

↓ 3.8pp in six weeks · review needed

See the reasons, history and support behind one student’s percentage.

Zoom out

Class

28 pupils

↓

→

Year group

6 classes

↓

→

School

1,182 pupils

Same data · wider context

Trust overview

12 schools at a glance

92.1%

Trust attendance

Schools to review

School 01 96.2%

School 04 94.1%

School 08 92.2%

School 12 88.9%

Compare variation and focus support where it matters most.

One pupil. One school. One trust. The same connected attendance story.

Related features

Keep the whole attendance story in view.

Behaviour & suspensions

Connect behaviour patterns with attendance movement.

Inclusion & vulnerability

Understand vulnerability indicators and equity gaps.

Provision tracking

Turn attendance insight into coordinated support.

Impact evaluation

Evaluate which attendance strategies are working.

Go deeper on what attendance data shows.

Attendance

Why the fastest-improving schools look beyond absence

Short absences, broken weeks and the patterns that show up before persistent absence does.

Read the article

Attendance

What the DfE’s attendance analysis means for schools and trusts

How short absences, appointments and local context help schools recognise attendance patterns earlier.

Read the article

Attendance

What attendance data is really telling schools

Looking past the headline percentage to the groups and patterns underneath.

Read the article

Turn attendance data into earlier action.

See how Purple helps teams spot patterns, focus support and understand which responses appear to make a difference.

Book an attendance demo

Free personalised demonstration

Tailored to your attendance goals

No pressure or obligation

Attendance, made actionable

Turn attendance data into earlier action.

See how Purple helps teams spot patterns, focus support and understand which responses appear to make a difference.

Book an attendance demo

Free personalised demonstration

Tailored to your attendance goals

No pressure or obligation

Attendance, made actionable

Turn attendance data into earlier action.

See how Purple helps teams spot patterns, focus support and understand which responses appear to make a difference.

Book an attendance demo

Free personalised demonstration

Tailored to your attendance goals

No pressure or obligation