To receive an update on school attendance and absenteeism for the preceding academic year.
Minutes:
The Director: Education & Skills and the Service Delivery Manager: Achievement & Enrichment presented a verbal update to Committee on school attendance during the last academic year and the Council’s response to improving school attendance across the Borough.
Nationally, there had been a focus on children’s attendance at schools following concerns from the Children’s Commissioner for England that a fifth of children are regularly absent from school. Data showed that 19.2% of pupils in England had been recorded as persistently absent from school in the Autumn and Spring terms of the 2023/24 academic year.
Further data presented to the Committee showed that the West Midlands had an overall absenteeism rate of 6.9%. In the last year, 18.1% of pupils had been recorded as persistently absent and 2% of pupils had been recorded as severely absent in schools in Telford and Wrekin with an overall absence of 6.4%. At the time of the meeting, Telford and Wrekin schools were below regional average for severely absent pupils and the average for persistently absent pupils had decreased.
National figures for the 2023/24 academic year indicated that primary schools had a 94.5% attendance rate and 90.9% attendance rate for secondary schools. Telford and Wrekin schools attendance rate had been recorded as slightly higher than the national average.
In August 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) published updated statutory guidance on working together to improve school attendance to help schools, trusts, governing bodies and local authorities maintain high levels of school attendance and improve consistency of support. Members were informed that the updated guidance outlines the roles and responsibility of schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities in maintaining high levels of attendance in schools with an emphasis on building strong relationships with families, understanding and addressing barriers to attendance and promoting a whole-school culture that values high attendance.
As part of the updated guidance, schools are encouraged to undertake accurate record keeping and regular data analysis to help identify patterns of absenteeism and support families to overcome barriers of non-attendance including supporting pupils who may be struggling with mental or physical health issues and those identified with special educational needs.
The Council had continued to work collaboratively with schools and academies in the Borough to improve school attendance through the following practices:-
Following the presentation, Members posed the following questions:-
Did the figures include instances where children were excluded by schools for reasons such as wearing the wrong shoes or other policy violations, or were these cases recorded separately?
The Service Delivery Manager: Achievement & Enrichment confirmed that attendance figures included any pupil who had missed lessons, including those excluded for uniform violations. Previously, pupils may have been sent home for not wearing the correct uniform, but under the new guidance, schools were now encouraged to find alternatives to exclusion such as keeping a surplus of uniforms to provide for children in need. Members were also advised that the Council had promoted a pre-loved uniform scheme to help foster a school culture that supports sharing uniforms ethically. This approach had aimed to shift behaviours away from shaming and would allow parents to seek assistance with travel or uniforms.
Given my background in school attendance and data analysis for 700 schools across the UK, I have noticed issues with national statistics. The data is collected from AM and PM sessions, with AM data taken up to 15 minutes into the morning tutor period. In some local authorities, if a child is late within 5 minutes, they receive a U code and are marked absent for the whole morning. There is often a discrepancy between lesson attendance data and statistical data. Was the Council or the government planning to set a standardised time before the U code is used to ensure fairness across schools, and will lesson attendance be analysed correctly to provide accurate attendance data?7
The Service Delivery Manager: Achievement & Enrichment confirmed that as a local authority governed by statutory guidance, there had been a significant change around attendance codes. The Council had recently conducted additional term briefings for schools following the implementation of new attendance codes to ensure that one school was not interpreting them differently from another. Members heard that whilst the system may not be perfect, one of the key pieces of work during termly attendance visits had been to use these visits as a basis for starting discussions with schools.
Mental Health services had long waiting lists with assessments for children taking up to 3 months. There was no statutory requirement for schools to have a school counsellor. What had been done to help reduce waiting times and enable children with mental health needs access to schools?
The Director: Education & Skills reassured the Committee that the Council had recognised that children’s mental health support in schools was a national issue and advised that the Council were currently awaiting the introduction of the new Mental Health bill from Local Government.
Was the 10 by 10 initiative having a positive impact on school attendance?
The Service Delivery Manager: Achievement & Enrichment advised that schools in the Borough had been very committed to the 10 by 10 initiative. Schools had been regularly asked to look at proportional representative to identify which pupils were accessing the activities on offer. Members heard that the Council had undertaken several projects around attendance including supporting pupils at risk of persistent absence by offering further sessions around music and sports. Schools regularly assess activities to ensure they are focused on topics pupils enjoy.
What were the Council doing to educate parents on the importance of children attending school?
The Service Delivery Manager: Achievement & Enrichment advised that often parents make the decision not to take their child to school. The Council’s early help offer is key in understanding families and recognising what barriers exist. Members were informed that a recent Early Help conference found that language barriers could had occasionally prevented children from accessing services in school and recognising this has allowed a more coordinated approach for schools to signpost parents to resources such Live Well Telford. Members also heard that may school offices have telephones that parents can use to call services when needed and Pastoral Support teams were able to assist with day-to-day life, not just school-related issues.
Members noted the presentation.