'Wrong to use Al for school attendances'

Schools will be expected to meet the attendance targets by the end of the year

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ALL schools will be set individual targets powered by AI for attendance, the Government has announced in its latest bid to tackle the absence crisis.

Headteacher unions have criticised new targets as the “wrong way to go”, and said they will create “another burden” for schools “without actually solving the issue it is supposed to address”.

The minimum improvement target a school is given will be based on attendance levels achieved by schools with similar circumstances - including deprivation, location and needs of pupils.

Schools will receive their targets as soon as possible as part of AI reports they already have access to, and will be expected to meet them by the end of the year.

Targets will not be published and schools watchdog Ofsted will not be able to access them.