Role of the attendance officer
Attendance officer working practices: Finding a new path
0Joanne Sierzega asks how we can engage and work with children,parents and families in a meaningful way in the present circumstances.She outlines the challenges and considers how they can be overcomewhilst also keeping in touch with whole-school policy. Summary There are many challenges currently facing the attendance officer and new and amended ways of working are needed.Maintain some general good practice points whilst adapting your methods of working.Consider your usual methods and find adaptations that are compatible with school and safeguarding policy. Officers are facing many challenges in addressing the non-attendance of children since the return to compulsory school attendance…
Managing attendance: Picking up the threads
0How can attendance officers begin to identify attendance issues andaddress them after a period of confinement and enforced absence?Victoria Franklin reflects and considers the way forward. Summary Attendance officers have experienced a shift in culture.They have had to develop a different role during the pandemic.Now it’s time to focus again and put into place procedures for monitoring some key groups of children. On 23 March 2020, schools were shut to all but two distinct groups of children. All other children outside of these groups remained at home in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result of enforced absence, the…
How to listen so that young people feel supported
0Improving your listening skills can make a huge difference to pupil engagement. In this article, Dr. Pooky Knightsmith provides us with ten suggestions to help ensure that students feel genuinely listened to. Summary It’s important to ensure that you focus completely on the student when they are talking to you.Summarise what they’ve said and ask meaningful questions.Avoid judgement, stay calm and take care of yourself too. Enabling a student to feel heard is one of the most important gifts an adult can ever give to the students in their care. When students know that the adults around them will take…