New guidance for school leaders on the RISE (regional improvement for standards and excellence) attendance and behaviour hubs programme, its benefits and support, and how to join, has been published by the Department for Education (DfE). You can read about it and sign up on their website, here.
Tag: Attendance
New minimum attendance expectations
The DfE annonced new minimum attendance expectations on 12 November. A letter from Olivia Bailey MPMinister for Early Education and Minister for Equalities has been posted, addressed to governors. In it she states "Every day at school counts. Even a few missed days can have a lasting impact on a child’s learning, wellbeing, and future … Continue reading New minimum attendance expectations
Pupil absence in schools in England
The latest data set for the academic year 2023/24 has been released. The headline finding is that overall and persistent absence decreased from 2022/23 to 2023/24. You can view the details in full here. Alongside this youn can also view details on pupil attendance in schools in the current academic year so far on the … Continue reading Pupil absence in schools in England
Education Committee question Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood appeared before the Education Committee on 15th January. You can watch a video of the meeting here. Amongst other things, they spoke about: National funding formula under review; Academy changes will introduce a pay ‘floor, but no ceiling’; ‘Improving Education Together’ partnership aimed … Continue reading Education Committee question Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
Legislation breaks down barriers to opportunity for all children
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 December 2024, The Bill sets out seven key ambitions: Making a child-centred government Keeping families together and children safe Supporting children in the care system to thrive Cracking down on excessive profit making Driving high and rising standards for every child Removing barriers … Continue reading Legislation breaks down barriers to opportunity for all children
Impact of school closures in Key Stage 1
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published a report on the impact of school closures in Key Stage 1 on attainment and social skills of pupils in Year 4 and Year 5 in academic year 2023/2024, using a longitudinal observational study that followed a group of children who were at the very start of primary … Continue reading Impact of school closures in Key Stage 1
Experts urge the Government to prioritise mental health for better school attendance
Place2bE, NGA and a number of other agencies have co-signed an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education calling for the Government to tackle the attendance crisis by prioritising inclusion, enrichment, mental health, and special educational needs support. You can read the letter in full on the Place2Be website, here
Free breakfast clubs in schools
An article by the Institute for Fiscal Studies looks at the issue of school breakfast clubs and analyses Labour's promise to expand provision to all primary schools. Some of their conclusions are: breakfast clubs can be a cheap way to provide nutritional support to children; breakfast clubs have been shown to boost grades; breakfast clubs … Continue reading Free breakfast clubs in schools
Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence
In the 2022-23 academic year, 22.3% of all pupils were persistently absent. ImpactEd Evaluation launched Understanding Attendance, a national project helping schools and trusts to identify the underlying drivers of pupil absence, and the first report from this project "Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence from over 30,000 young people in England" … Continue reading Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence
Education: the fundamentals – Eleven facts about the education system in England
In December 2023 the Education Policy Institute published a report summarising the current status and some future trends for education in England. They identified eleven facts, as follows: Fact 1: England performs well against international comparators. Fact 2: Around 40 per cent of the disadvantage gap at age 16 is already evident by age 5 … Continue reading Education: the fundamentals – Eleven facts about the education system in England
Government school attendance campaign criticised by parents
A recent BBC News report highlights criticism of the government's new push to get attendance figures up, quoting the issue that for some children at least, not attending school is due to underlying issues such as OCD, ADHD and autism, where there is insufficient support for the children in school. The report quotes Ashley Fulwood, … Continue reading Government school attendance campaign criticised by parents
Major national drive to improve school attendance
The DfE is focussing on driving up school attendance, partly in the face of the recent Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) report based on polling by YouGov which found that nearly three in ten parents (28%) surveyed agree that the pandemic has shown it is not essential for children to attend school every day. Less … Continue reading Major national drive to improve school attendance
Briefing on school attendance in England
The Children’s Commissioner talked to hundreds of children who are regularly absent from school. Children aren’t absent from school because they don’t want to learn. They are desperate to learn yet everyday thousands of children find themselves without the support that they need to engage in education. Last year, over 1 in 5 children were … Continue reading Briefing on school attendance in England
NGA Manifesto for Schools and Trusts
The NGA has published its new manifesto, "From Classrooms to Communities: A Manifesto for Schools and Trusts." This comprehensive document outlines key challenges faced by schools and academy trusts in the UK and presents a set of proposals aimed at addressing these issues.Included in the manifesto are the following topics: Staff Wellbeing and Recruitment Estates … Continue reading NGA Manifesto for Schools and Trusts
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