It is well documented that school attendance is a major issue. We at Creative Education Trust are no different, with too many pupils missing too many days of school.
As such we have made attendance a critical priority. We have implemented numerous strategies to tackle this, and they are starting to have a positive impact.
Overall attendance has risen by over 2 per cent this academic year compared with the same time last year, and attendance in December (historically our worst month) increased by over 4 per cent. Persistent absence is also down by nearly 8 per cent year-on-year.
So, what have we done?
1. A trust-wide responsibility
The first step was to ensure all staff understand that attendance is part of their responsibilities.
To do this, we made improving attendance a performance management objective for all staff. This is not linked to pay/progression but about demonstrating ownership of attendance as part of any staff reviews.
For example, they might update on how many phone calls home they’ve made, how many “we miss you” postcards they sent to pupils, or they might update families on how many sessions pupils are from hitting targets.
This ensures attendance is woven into the entire culture of all schools and the trust.
2. Dedicated attendance teams
We have also created “attendance improvement teams” in every secondary school.
These were previously formed of two people but have been doubled to four so there is more capacity to implement attendance strategies, with the new roles as follows:
- One attendance improvement manager/director who oversees the team and reports into the relevant senior leader.
- Two attendance improvement leaders who implement attendance policies, work with students, parents and staff to identify barriers to attendance and monitor progress.
- An attendance improvement coordinator who does admin support, such as overseeing rewards, data analysis, home visit scheduling and so forth.
We have also invested heavily in the training of these colleagues and sought input at a national level from a Department for Education attendance adviser to help us follow new guidance.
3. Consider statistical anomalies
As noted above, data analysis is now an important part of our focus, too.
For example, we noted that the percentage of disadvantaged children absent would increase on a non-uniform day. So now we give heads the discretion to manage these events as they wish - perhaps a “wear what you want day” rather than a Christmas Jumper Day.
We have also looked at attendance on days when there has been heavy rain or sub-zero temperatures and wondered if low numbers meant children lacked suitable coats or umbrellas. As a result, we have given out hundreds of items to help make getting to school easier.
That isn’t going to improve attendance by 10 per cent, but it might help avoid a small number not attending on certain days - and it’s the right thing to do.
4. Rethinking rewards
Rewards and competitions are often used to boost attendance but we have adapted how we use them.
For example, saying “attend 100 per cent for the whole term and you’ll go on a trip” sounds good, but was demotivating for pupils who had a genuine absence in the first month of the term and so had no chance of recognition of future attendance.
Now we focus on weekly and monthly rewards where the slate is wiped clean at the end of a shorter time period so pupils have new opportunities to gain recognition for attendance.
5. That Friday feeling
We also noticed a higher rate of absences on a Friday. As such, we have made attending on Friday worth more reward points than on Monday to Thursday.
We have also listened to what will get pupils to school on Fridays, from offering pancakes and waffles for breakfast to reviewing the timetable so core subjects take place on a Friday to ensure pupils know it is a day of equal importance to any other in the week.
6. Attendance robots
For pupils who are persistently absent, perhaps if recovering from surgery or with severe anxiety, we use “attendance robots” that allow them to beam into the classroom from home so the transition to returning to school is smoother and less daunting.
7. Family matters
We can’t improve attendance without the support of parents and carers. To help with this we have increased our home visits, which has helped to develop better community relations and support our safeguarding teams.
We have also funded parent workshops led by external organisations to help our families understand and address some of the reasons for absence. It’s important that we are honest about not having all the answers, and there are organisations better able than us to help certain families.
We know there is more to do but it is pleasing to see that what we have done is having an impact, and we hope to continually improve attendance across all schools.
Luke Bowers is director of performance at Creative Education Trust
