Teach Primary Issue 18.7

The author is a headteacher in England. VO I C E S Falling attendance hits the headlines again Tackling the absence problem – are politicians and schools going about it all wrong? T he biggest buzzword over the last few months has been school attendance. The Conservatives wanted to improve it, Labour has announced that it is still at the forefront of their thinking, Ofsted has a sharp focus on it, and schools everywhere recognise the value of good attendance. The story of declining attendance levels begins with COVID and, to some extent, I can understand the argument that might be going on inside parents’ heads. Maybe it’s a conscious thought, or maybe it’s completely subconscious, but I reckon it’s definitely there: ‘If they can miss months and months of school for lockdowns, what does one day matter?’ I totally understand this sentiment. I understood the fury, too, when teachers went on strike: ‘Why, if it’s so important to be in school every day, can you go on strike and shut it completely?’ And I absolutely understand the lure of cheaper holidays. The markup on prices is ridiculous. My wife fancied a trip to Denmark and looked up flights for the May half-term next year. The cost was £500 per ticket. Two weeks earlier? £80. That’s hard to justify, and for many families, choosing to travel during termtime might suddenly make holidays and trips of a lifetime affordable. Returning to post-COVID attitudes, what does a week or two matter? That brings us to the solutions. Schools everywhere have tried various approaches. Certificates and rewards are popular but if a child falls ill, they don’t receive their award for 100 per cent attendance. This seems a little unfair. Or is everyone judged on a case-by-case basis? Consequences and fines for poor attendance and holidays taken are also enforced. However, with such a difference in holiday costs, the fine often works out considerably cheaper. So where is the deterrent for parents? The debate between carrot and stick usually arises, but in practice, neither seems effective. So how can we really effect change? I believe the only way is through a cultural shift. Education and school need to be valued more. The government’s new, tougher fines and punishments for parents may make a difference. The clearer specification of missed days on a rolling time scale and the associated consequences might act as a deterrent. However, this approach might not achieve what’s truly needed—a cultural shift in how attendance is perceived. The link between attendance and outcomes is clear, and it frustrates schools when they know what pupils could achieve, if only they were present more often. Persistent absence is where the real problems lie, and when speaking with parents about their children’s attendance, I often ask what they do for a living, and whether such levels of attendance would be tolerated in their workplace. They always respond with a resounding 'no'. The real work lies not in punishment, but in building partnerships with families—developing relationships, engaging with them, demonstrating the importance of school, and understanding why attendance may not be valued. All of these things require time and resources, which schools increasingly lack, meaning this will be a difficult issue to address effectively. There are often legitimate reasons for prolonged absences, so blanket rules cannot be applied universally. How can schools, on the one hand, strive to build these key relationships while, on the other, undermine them by issuing fines and prosecutions? It’s a challenging balance to strike. Efforts around attendance need to focus on the why . But that is sometimes the most difficult question to answer, and the one that takes most time to explore. No school wants children to be absent, we all want them there. But perhaps fines are too blunt a tool, where what’s really needed is humanity and support. TP “The real work lies not in punishment, but in building partnerships with families” @secretHT1 www.teachwire.net | 19