Over the past few years, there has been a stark decline in attendance in schools as a combination of factors - such as poor mental health, rising anxiety and the cost-of-living crisis, which has made the price of fuel, public transport, uniforms and meals all increase - have all had a major impact.

It’s an issue we know well at Bradford Forster Academy, where 84 per cent of pupils come from the bottom 20 per cent of families with the most severely deprived circumstances and our attendance was down at 86 per cent in the 2022-23 academic year.

Therefore, improving attendance was a top priority last year and, led by our assistant principal James Boxell, we have seen a clear impact with attendance rising to 91.2 per cent.

This is what we did:

1. Data analysis

First, we implemented Monday meetings for all staff to put attendance at the top of the agenda at the start of each week.

In these meetings, we would reflect on the previous week’s attendance rates to understand what had happened and consider what we needed to adjust.

For example, if we noticed an increase in absences among our Year 10s following their mock exams and ahead of the summer holidays, we prioritised morning phone calls and home visits for this year group, clearly demonstrating our expectations for all pupils to attend school throughout the whole term.

We also used these meetings to look ahead at upcoming events in school that might affect attendance or even how the weather might play a part so we could get ahead of any issues.

2. Consistent and quick action

We also established an accountability system for all staff to ensure attendance procedures for all absences were always followed.

This included weaving attendance targets into staff appraisal objectives to showcase each person has a role to play. While the targets are different for each staff member, the targets keep everyone accountable and expectations clear.

The targets were particularly important for our attendance team, who were the first to register any absences. Each morning, the team, as well as the year managers, maintained a robust absence register and made calls to families within the first hour of the school day.

3. Parental engagement

Truly understanding the needs of our community was also key to supporting better attendance. One thing that became clear from some conversations with families was that they were sometimes struggling with transportation to get children to school.

To solve this, we arranged for children to be collected by our attendance team in the school minibus. While operating the minibus had to be factored into our budget, it had a huge impact on attendance for pupils who didn’t have reliable transportation.

We also moved community events, such as coffee mornings, to the school site rather than community centres to help families feel more comfortable at school.

4. Support for persistently absent pupils

For pupils with persistent absences, conversations with families to discuss the root causes and work together to find solutions were also key so we could build a bond of trust and work together.

For example, if they confided their child was anxious about coming to school, we looked to reduce this, whether it be coming in later when school was quieter or being collected by a trusted member of staff.

Temporarily reduced timetables were offered in some cases to help the school day feel less daunting for pupils struggling with anxiety or for families who were unable to adhere to normal pickup times.

These alterations were agreed upon with pupils’ families on a short-term basis for a maximum of six weeks and included a plan to support pupils back up to full-time attendance.

5. Wellbeing support

To further support mental health, we promoted wellbeing spaces for pupils who are feeling stressed or overwhelmed and need a calm area to unwind.

A member of our pastoral team would collect pupils from their classroom and help guide them to a quiet area of the school where they could rest and reset until they were ready to rejoin their peers.

For pupils struggling with more severe anxiety, we also employed a “soft landing” method where a staff member they are closest with greets them at the gate each morning and walks with them in.

Additionally, we set clear expectations for pupils on what good behaviour should look like throughout each day, such as during classwork time or teaching time.

This helped pupils have a better understanding of how they should behave while at school and what their daily routine would look like, which helped us motivate pupils to want to come to school and feel comfortable there.

Gemma Earles is principal of Bradford Forster Academy

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