Articles
Transition and securing good attendance
After two academic years interrupted by lockdowns, Joanne Sierzega identifies how schools can help pupils transfer successfully.
Information gathering by Ofsted
Emma Meadus, headteacher at Coppice Valley Primary School, shares her experiences of a recent Ofsted virtual information-gathering visit and what inspectors wanted to know about attendance.
Parents with poor mental health
Sam Garner gives advice to schools on supporting parents with a mental health condition, to ensure the well-being of the student.
Attendance matters more than ever
The roles and priorities of Ofsted might be changing but this should not reduce the importance of attendance. Tony Powell reminds us how crucial attendance is, with or without Ofsted.
Separating attendance and absence management
For some schools, the past year has enabled greater insight into the distinctions between attendance and absence management. Victoria Franklin looks at the differences and what we have learnt about them since March 2020.
Supporting EYFS children: One year on
Emma Meadus describes the impact of a disrupted year on our youngest children and her school’s plans to support them into 2021/22.
Attendance: Building Back Better
How can we repair the damage done whilst also improving on what came before? Matt Bromley provides advice for schools and their attendance officers as they take stock and rebuild for the future.
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In this article, we look at how to identify cases of persistent absence, how to assess why it might be occurring and what interventions can be made to support the pupil in improving attendance over time.
This article is based on our experience at CSAWS and will hopefully provide some information, advice and guidance for school staff. As a team of experienced attendance and welfare officers, we frequently work with children, parents, families and schools with cases of school refusal and we are aware of the challenges this area of work presents.