What is 'attendance record' used for?

[mylifemykids]

I applied for DS (reception) to have some time off for a holiday in school time. It has been authorised but there was an extra box on the form which gave me his attendance record to date. Is this important? What do they actually use the attendance record for? Do they have inform the authorities if it goes below a certain %?

He hasn't had much time off (3 days due to a stomach bug I think) but because they haven't been in school for long it does look quite bad already at 94% and I'm panicking now thinking the authorities will get involved after this extra time off for a family holiday!

Attendance is reported to the LA at the end of every week in my area. Schools are also judged on attendance by OFSTED.

It usually has to go to about 85 per cent. Appointments also count as time off.

As a stick for Ofsted to beat you with!

In our Ofsted last week, the only category we were to be satisfactory in was attendance (rest was good/outstanding). Unsurprisingly, it's now one of our Ofsted targets - and the one that is hardest to address.