The government is recruiting “attendance advisers” who will be paid up to £500 a day to work with local authorities and multi-academy trusts (MATs) on cutting school absence.
The advisers will support MATs and LAs with absence rates that are higher than average.
A Department for Education contract notice states that the move is aimed at minimising disruption to children and young people’s education “as Covid-19 becomes a virus that we learn to live with”.
It adds: “Our priority is to continue to reduce overall school absence as we recover from the pandemic.”
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The DfE is seeking applications from individuals with “credible leadership experience” in a local authority, MAT or school setting, who could provide evidence of supporting schools or local authorities with successful strategies to improve their attendance.
Attendance advisers to help cut school absence after Covid disruption
Applicants should also demonstrate a “clear understanding” of excellent practice for improving attendance, including using data to inform decision making and planning.
The contract is due to start in November this year and advisers will work with up to 10 local authorities “to support them to review their current approach to attendance and identify improvements”.
“Attendance advisers may also work with a small number of MATs to support in a similar way to review a MAT’s attendance strategy and implement a plan to improve,” the application form for the role states.
The form says that advisers will receive up to £500 per day before payroll and excluding VAT, giving five to 10 days of support to each local authority, with the overall time commitment between 50 and 100 days for the role.
“Applicants who are currently full-time employed by a school, trust or LA may be able to fulfil one of these roles via a secondment arrangement,” the form adds.
“This would need to be subject to a specific agreement between the Department and the applicant’s employer. Applicants will be expected to meet the time commitment set out above.”
