Whole school policy
Working hand in hand: A whole-school approach to safeguarding and attendance
0Securing good attendance is a key issue for schools at the best of times, but particularly now. Steve Burnage looks at how addressing attendance can be built into a whole-school approach that recognises the difficulties families may be experiencing. Summary Ofsted outlines successful practice when it comes to attendance.The circumstances which parents find themselves in can make a crucial difference to how they support their child when it comes to attendance.How to engage these parents and work cooperatively with them to improve attendance is everyone’s business. The Ofsted publication Securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence (February 2022) outlines that…
A five-point plan for successful attendance management
0From policy to practice, planning a strategy for school attendance is an essential part of the attendance manager’s job. In this article, Matt Bromley outlines five stages in the process to improve attendance. Summary Consistency in applying policy is essential.Parents should be encouraged not to condone absence.Once data is analysed, it must be acted upon. There are myriad reasons why some pupils cannot or will not attend school, or only do so sporadically. Many of these reasons are outside of a school’s direct control. Although articulating a theoretical target of 100% attendance is understandable, in practice it is rarely possible…
Early intervention: raising attendance in primary schools
0Barry Archibald looks at the impact of poor attendance on achievement of pupils and strategies for raising attendance in primary schools.