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“Disadvantaged pupils are more likely to miss school. The latest national statistics showed 33.6% of pupils who were eligible for free school meals were persistently absent in Autumn 2021, compared to 20.0% of pupils who were not eligible.”
Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils Inquiry
“As Children’s Commissioner, I have made school attendance one of my top priorities because children tell me how much they value their education and want to be in school. Every day counts: when children miss school, it’s not just about missing lessons, it’s also about losing valuable moments spent with their friends and teachers.”
Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner
“Tackling attendance is my number one priority. We want all our children to have the best start in life because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment as well as impact future career success.”
Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary, February 2024
“The pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 4 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment. ”
Working together to improve school attendance guidance
New Guidance on tackling school attendance will become statutory from September 2024. The new measures mean that schools will have to share their daily attendance records with the DfE and Local Authorities. It will also set out a national framework for the use of penalty notices in an attempt to develop a more consistent approach, this will sit alongside an increase in the fine amounts for unauthorised absences.
This essential conference will bring you up to date on all of the proposed changes, when to expect them and what they will look like in practice. It’ll help you prepare for what you need to do now, to stay ahead of regulation change and ensure you are able to take a fresh look at your whole school approach to improving school attendance.
Who should attend?
Headteachers, Assistant Heads, Deputy Heads, Attendance Leads, Heads of Year, Education Welfare Officers, School Business Managers, Pastoral Leads, SENCOs and Designated Safeguarding Leads
This conference will enable you to:
Ensure you are completely up to date with all of the current and proposed changes in the area of school attendance
Implement the ‘Working together to improve school attendance guidance’
Be prepared and get your new school attendance policy in place
Understand the governments expectations in relation to data sharing
Improve your data recording procedures and put in place clear practices on regular analysis to allow for
identification of concerning patterns
Devise a plan for reengaging and supporting pupils who are persistently or severely absence
Work with the local authority to tackle persistent absence in particular cases of concern
Think strategically about school attendance so that you can embed a whole school culture that promotes the
benefits of high attendance levels
Understand the role of the attendance champion and the impact it could have for your school
Consider the additional support needed for disadvantaged pupils to improve their attendance rates
Work effectively to improve attendance for children with anxiety based school avoidance
Consider how you engage with parents and the community on school attendance, looking at problem areas for 2024 and how to approach them