Working Together to Improve School Attendance (2024) will now be fully established and embedded within your provision. But what next?
As the first term comes very quickly to a close this Christmas, we have a perfect opportunity to review and assess our interventions, plans & what we have encountered and plan our next steps moving into the spring. Look at what the impact of interventions are? Do further changes need to take place and is good attendance becoming part of the whole-school community.
A range of new codes were introduced from C2 for part-time timetables to the full range of Y codes. Now is a good time to quality assure and review the coding in your registers and ask the following questions:
- Are the correct codes used?
- Are reasons flagged against the codes?
- Is there an increase in the number of particular codes?
- Are patterns and trends emerging in your data?
- Is data being shared across your school?
This data will inform your next steps, allow national and local comparisons, and place your school in a local and national context. This user guide provided by the DFE will show you how.
Now is also the time to begin the review process with your families and students. It is likely that regular check-ins and reviews are taking place through home visits and weekly phone calls for those pupils with concerning attendance. Attendance is as we know an on-going process – meet with pupils and families to review attendance plans and parenting contracts, review early help assessments and look to next steps.
- Gather the Voice of the Child and the Voice of the Parent
- Ask are interventions working?
- Identify any further reasons for non-attendance you can find as to why children are not attending- consistently re-enforce school expectations and share your findings
- Secure additional support – what else can be done? What further support is needed? Think creatively!
- Support where support is needed and challenge when challenge is needed
- Reward pupils appropriately both at a whole school level and those individuals striving to improve & celebrate the small wins.
Whatever you are doing during the end of term one remember to focus on trusted relationships, building a rapport with your parents and pupils. Remember one size does not fit all and collaborate with honesty and respect. We are not setting up to fail so listen, challenge when appropriate and provide understanding.
One Education’s Pupil Attendance & Safeguarding Team are also available to support schools to review interventions and scrutinise your data. This could also include information, advice and guidance on individual cases, support in developing effective school policies and family liaison casework. Please contact us to discuss how we can support your school with improving attendance.
