Pupils repeatedly absent from school to get one-to-one mentors
Stoke-on-Trent, Salford and Knowsley are the areas selected for them
Pupils who are persistently absent from school are going to be assigned new one-to-one mentors in a fresh bid to improve school attendance.
The government is rolling our new plans to support pupils to drive up rates in schools and to improve pupils’ attainment and welfare.
The Attendance Mentors Programme, delivered by children’s charity Barnardo’s, will see trained mentors work directly with 1,665 persistently and severely absent children and their families across Stoke-on-Trent, Knowsley, Salford and Donacaster to understand and overcome the barriers to attendance and support them back into school.
The plans also include the expansion of so-called Attendance Hubs with nine new lead hub schools.
Practice shared by hubs may include rolling out automatic text messaging to parents where pupils do not attend school and using data effectively to identify children at risk of poor attendance and in order to intervene early.
Schools Minister, Nick Gibb said:
“Though pupil attendance is continuing to recover, the pandemic has still had a real impact on pupil absence in school.
“That is why we’re expanding some of our most important attendance measures today – including the attendance hubs and mentoring programmes, to ensure children have the best chance of receiving a high-quality education.”
Emma Ramsay, Assistant Director of Barnardo’s North, said:
“We are very excited to have confirmation from the Department for Education that Attendance Mentor pilot is being expanded into the four new areas after our pilot in Middlesbrough.
“We are looking forward to working with schools, local authorities, families and pupils who face challenges with school attendance in Doncaster, Salford, Stoke on Trent, and Knowsley.
“We are passionate about helping pupils overcome the barriers they face, and are sure these areas will benefit significantly from the service.”
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