£15 million drive to improve school attendance across the South West
The attendance mentor programme is now being expanded across the south west - including Somerset
A £15 million expansion of a scheme to help families with kids struggling to attend school has been announced by the Government.
It's after a successful pilot, with the attendance mentor programme now being expanded across the south west - including Somerset.
The scheme works with pupils and their families to find out why they're skipping school - and what can be done to help - in a bid to drive up attendance levels.
According to the Department for Education, it's claimed more than one million children and young people will be supported into regular education as part of a major expansion of the attendance hubs, which have already provided a range of tailored support to 400,000 pupils and their families to boost time in school since the programme's launch.
There will be 18 new attendance hubs, bringing the total to 32 which will see nearly 2,000 schools helped to tackle persistent absence.
These hubs are run by schools with excellent attendance that share practical ideas to those institutions which need help to boost theirs.
Wallscourt Farm Academy in Bristol, the Ridgeway School and Sixth Form in Swindon and the Croft Primary School in Swindon are existing attendance hubs in the South West.
It's hoped this extra cash will be used to support more than 10,000 persistent and severely absent pupils and their families, with trained mentors working in ten further areas from September 2024 - including in Somerset.
These areas are in addition to the existing pilot programme with Barnardo’s which is already operating in Middlesbrough, Doncaster, Knowsley, Salford, and Stoke on Trent.
'We want all our children to have the best start in life'
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan 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.
“I am hugely grateful to all our brilliant teachers, heads, and everyone whose worked with us to make the progress we’ve already made with 380,000 fewer children persistently absent.”
Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza said: "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. Every day 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.
“I very much welcome the government’s announcements today 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.”
Following a regional pilot in Bristol, a national communications campaign on the importance of attendance is also launching today (8 January) targeting parents and carers, under the strapline ‘Moments Matter, Attendance Counts’.
This campaign outlines the importance of attendance for attainment, wellbeing, and development as well as signposting to advice for further support.