A for effort: government introduces national drive to improve school attendance
Authorities are aiming to double attendance hubs to support more than 1,000 schools and invest £15m into the mentor pilot programme.
As children returned to school this week after two weeks off for the Christmas holidays, driving up attendance has become a major focus for the government. Ministers have launched a series of measures that will help support pupils who particularly struggle to stay in education.
Previously, attendance hubs were established which provide a range of support for students and their families to bolster attendance rates – they are run by schools with excellent attendance scores and offer initiatives such as breakfast clubs and extracurricular activities in a bid to boost students engagement – however, the government have now announced that a further 18 will become available across six regions in England. This brings the total number of hubs to 32 in the country and will see almost 2,000 schools supported.
Against this backdrop the government have also announced they will be investing £15m, over the course of three years, into the expansion of the attendance mentor pilot programme. The scheme was created to assist severely absent pupils and their families.
The money that the government are pouring into the programme, which includes trained attendance mentors working in 10 areas across England from September 2024, should support 10,000 pupils.
Currently, the programme already exists in areas including Middlesbrough, Doncaster, Knowsley, Salford, and Stoke-on-Trent.
Gillian Keegan, education secretary, said: ‘The benefits of our success in raising education standards can only be when all children are in school.
‘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.’
One of the reasons the government are making such an effort to drive up attendance rates is because 89% of schools in this country are now rated as good or outstanding, which is up from 68% in 2010. In addition, this month saw England as ranked 11th in the world for maths, up from 27th in 2009 and in May, this country was named the ‘best in the west’ for primary reading.
‘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,’ Rachel De Souza said. ‘Everyday 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.’
The children’s commissioner added: ‘I very much welcome the government’s announcements…which include the recommendations made last year in my report on school attendance.
‘I am hopeful that these measures will arm local authorities and schools with real-time information about school absence rates and provide vital support for children who face barriers to attending school.’
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