Tommy, a child classed as disadvantaged, was a persistent absentee, with attendance at 80 per cent.
He was missing the equivalent of one school day a week – nearly eight weeks a year. He constantly missed chunks of his learning, so found lessons confusing when he was in school.
However great the teaching was, or the interventions were to catch him up, he wasn’t there enough for it to have an impact.
In pupil progress meetings, Tommy was talked about a lot – the gaps in his learning and what to target next. However, to really help Tommy, the SLT and Tommy’s teacher should have been discussing how to improve his attendance. This was, after all, the root cause for his low attainment.
Working together
The Department of Education seems to be aligned to this thinking, with the release of Working Together to Improve School Attendance in 2022 and its subsequent updates.
Local Authorities are running attendance hubs, and everyone is engaging in the discussion. But what actually makes a difference in improving attendance, particularly for our most vulnerable groups?
I haven’t found a way to eradicate term-time holidays yet. Even with the increased fine and the constant reminders that ‘every day counts’, parents are still lured by the significantly cheaper costs and the promise of a quiet beach.
However, I have monitored when term-time holidays are most prevalent (after a half term) and put ‘unmissable’ events, such as sports day, in that week. I share the dates a year in advance, so parents think twice before booking a holiday.
Working Together states that schools should find ‘supportive routes to improve attendance’, and this is how I always start: a conversation with the parent and/or the child to establish why they are regularly absent or late. I share an ‘Attendance Matters’ booklet with parents, which includes NHS guidance as to when children should be off school for illness.
If a child is regularly absent with illness, I discuss a referral to the School Nursing Service. Often, a conversation is enough, as it brings the issue to the parents’ attention. They may not have realised that the odd day off here or there was adding up.
Why your ELSA is so important
Emotional School Based Avoidance has rocketed in primary schools since COVID. With parents working from home more than ever before, and our excellent awareness of mental health, children who find school difficult are often ending up staying at home.
The Working Together guidance explains that you have to ‘make schools a place pupils want to be.’ For these children it is two-fold: reasonable adjustments and excellent emotional provision.
The ELSA at my school is phenomenal. For many children, knowing she will be there to greet them, that they can take some time to acclimatise to school before going into the classroom, and that she will check-in with them, gets them through the door.
Schools also have to find a way to make their offer unmissable.
After a holiday and a week or more being on his own schedule, the thought of school did not always fill my son with joy. However, his infant school strategically placed a dress up day, visitor or trip on the first day back after every break. This was the incentive he needed to get back through the gates and I am sure is a big reason why his attendance has always been excellent.
Checking the stats
The need to keep track of trends in attendance can’t be underestimated.
As well as regularly monitoring all the pupils of my school, I often have teachers at my door starting their sentence with, “I’ve noticed that…”
They take note that a pupil is often out of school on the day they are at their mum’s, or that a child is always off on the same day as a sibling. It is why attendance must be everyone’s business.
How have we tackled the attendance of our most vulnerable groups?
Practical strategies
Firstly, by building relationships and making the parents realise we want to work with them, and that it is because we have the best interests of their child at heart. I’ve often had to accost a parent on the playground or by their car, as they might also have anxiety around school.
We regularly invite experts in anxiety or similar conditions into school to share tips and provide support for our parents. We’ve run a Monday morning breakfast club to help start the week positively for specific children.
We create attendance plans alongside the children in KS2 and ask them what would help to improve their attendance or punctuality. Their ideas are insightful and the plan motivates them.
Lateness is as big an issue as absence. For children who regularly arrive late, they miss the sense of belonging that being in class in time for the register brings. They often arrive flustered and anxious. Again, we tackle this through conversations and transparency – telling parents why punctuality matters.
Tackling poor attendance starts with understanding and support, but with anything important, there comes a time when enforcement is needed. Attendance contracts, as detailed in Working Together, are a great way to formalise expectations and hold parents to account.
I am also regularly in contact with the attendance support team at my local authority in order to navigate the different scenarios that present themselves. They provide me with a wealth of knowledge, which allows me to put the right procedures into place at the most appropriate time.
This includes knowing when to take the bold step of unauthorising an attendance without medical evidence. Sometimes, decisions around attendance can be tough and unpopular. But ultimately, I am always making them with the child’s best interests at heart.
Laura Dobson worked for many years as a teaching and learning adviser for a large company and local authority. She now provides consultancy and training in all areas of English.
