Strengthening attendance monitoring in Peterborough: Introducing Studybugs alongside Wonde

Peterborough City Council is committed to ensuring that every child receives the best possible education. A key part of this commitment is improving school attendance, particularly for vulnerable children. To strengthen our approach, we are introducing Studybugs as an additional attendance collection service alongside the Department for Education’s (DfE) Wonde tool. This decision is rooted in our statutory duties and our wider mission to safeguard and support children effectively. The tool comes at no cost, with no future financial commitment for any schools or education settings and there isn’t anything to introduce to staff or parents. The process requires your agreement and 5 minutes of your MIS administrator’s time

Why use Studybugs in addition to Wonde?

The DfE’s national attendance collection service, powered by Wonde, provides valuable data at a national and local authority level. However, Studybugs offers a more bespoke and responsive service tailored to the specific needs of Peterborough's school and local authority teams.

Studybugs is designed to help local authorities meet their statutory responsibilities across attendance, exclusions, admissions, and safeguarding. It enables real-time tracking and alerts, providing local authority officers with crucial insights that facilitate timely interventions and multi-agency responses.

Signing up to Studybugs automatically fulfills a School’s /Academy’s duty to inform the Local Authority about:

• Suspensions
• Part-time timetables
• 15 day illnesses

Aligning with statutory guidance

Our approach is underpinned by key statutory guidance:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE, 2024) – Reinforces the importance of schools knowing where their pupils are and acting on attendance concerns as a safeguarding matter. Studybugs provides instant visibility on absences, allowing early intervention for at-risk children.
• Working Together to Improve School Attendance (DfE, 2024) – Establishes that local authorities must use data intelligently to identify patterns of poor attendance and intervene early. Studybugs enhances our ability to do this by integrating real-time absence reporting with school and parental engagement features.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE, 2023) – Sets out the local authority’s duty to ensure effective safeguarding arrangements. Studybugs’ secure communication features enable swift escalation of concerns between schools and safeguarding partners.
• Statutory Duties on Attendance, Exclusions, and Admissions – Studybugs supports Peterborough City Council in fulfilling these legal obligations by providing reliable, live attendance and absence data, which informs our decision-making in relation to enforcement, inclusion, and pastoral support.

The benefits of Studybugs

By complementing Wonde with Studybugs, Peterborough schools and the local authority will benefit from:

• Enhanced Safeguarding – Immediate alerts when children are absent without explanation, helping to identify potential safeguarding risks sooner.
• Improved Communication – A direct, secure platform for engagement between schools, families, and local authority teams.
• Better Attendance Monitoring – More granular and real-time data, allowing for earlier and more targeted interventions.
• Multi-Agency Support – Integration with safeguarding and social care services, ensuring a holistic approach to attendance and wellbeing.

Data security and compliance

Ensuring the security of pupil data is a top priority. Schools can be assured that sharing data with the LA, using Studybugs as the data processor, is safe and fully compliant with data protection regulations. Peterborough City Council has conducted a comprehensive Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) in collaboration with Studybugs to ensure that all necessary safeguards are in place.

Precautions taken include:

• Encryption and Secure Storage – Studybugs uses industry-standard encryption protocols to protect data in transit and at rest.
• Strict Access Controls – Only authorised users with legitimate roles can access data, ensuring compliance with GDPR principles.
• Regular Audits and Compliance Checks – Continuous monitoring and review processes are in place to maintain security and compliance.

Next steps

Peterborough City Council will work closely with schools to ensure a smooth implementation of Studybugs, alongside continued use of Wonde for national reporting. Local Authority Services will use the information to improve the efficiency of multiple services, including the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, Attendance team, Admissions team, Virtual School and Social Care teams.

We appreciate the ongoing dedication of Peterborough's headteachers and school leaders in prioritising school attendance and safeguarding. By leveraging the strengths of both Wonde and Studybugs, we can ensure that every child in Peterborough has the best chance of accessing education, remaining engaged, and achieving their full potential.