On this weblog submit, faculties throughout the nation share a spread of their approaches to extend attendance ranges amongst their pupils, with a give attention to the transition between lessons, yr teams, and help when transferring to a brand new faculty.
Diane Henson, Headteacher – Wheelers Lane Know-how Faculty
We’ve got varied methods to maintain kids engaged over the summer season and to be prepared for varsity in September. We expect you will need to construct the very best basis doable over this era, to be able to preserve excessive attendance over the yr. A few of these approaches embody:
- Transitional help to maximise attendance and wellbeing in September. Visits are made to main faculties in the summertime time period to talk with all college students, however particularly susceptible college students who could discover the transition to secondary faculty tougher. A digital transition can be shared with all incoming college students together with a digital tour of the brand new faculty. That is significantly vital because it signifies that college students can view the structure of the varsity as many instances as they like over the summer season, to ease any considerations about discovering their approach round.
- We’ve got techniques in place to determine college students susceptible to persistent absence previous to the top of time period, and we create a plan for every of those pupils. Beginning this earlier than the summer season break encourages positivity, energetic engagement and strengthens the sense of group for the summer season and past. This additionally means we’re in the absolute best place to start out supporting pupils from day one of many new tutorial yr.
- We start selling our October celebration and awards night previous to breaking apart for the summer season. The main focus is on celebrating success – each tutorial, for normal attendance and in addition for work finished to help the local people. The English school additionally units a studying problem over the summer season holidays to assist college students put together for his or her work once they return.
Michelle O’Dell, Attendance Intervention Supervisor – John Taylor Multi Academy Belief
We’ve got a programme of managing attendance for these making the transition from yr 6 to yr 7:
- In assembly with our secondary faculties, we ask faculties to meet with any pupils/dad and mom who had been persistently absent at main (our transition knowledge assortment format asks for particular person pupil knowledge) to set expectations. We’ve got a plan for these pupils and have affordable changes in place at first of the educational yr to help good attendance.
- We additionally ask secondary faculties to give attention to Yr 7, to set the ethos and expectations of the varsity from the outset. Colleges have been requested if any Yr 7 pupil is absent for 4 days or extra throughout the first 4 weeks of the yr, that we expedite our graduated response, and conferences with the pupils happen if this threshold is met.
- Colleges are additionally requested to set clear expectations earlier than the top of time period for any pupils in any yr which might be already susceptible to persistent absence and implement help from the primary day of the brand new time period. We encourage them to observe the attendance of those pupils and have a plan to help their attendance if required.
Matt Rooney, Principal – St Giles Particular Academic Faculty
Learners at our college have a broad vary of wants, and all have an Training Well being and Care Plan (EHCP). We imagine that ‘no goals are out of attain’ and to assist pupils attain their goals they need to attend faculty as a lot as they’re probably in a position. Our help contains:
- Hyperlinks with earlier faculties and transition: We all know that beginning, transferring faculties or class teams is usually a large deal, so now we have a 7-step transition plan which permits us construct a bespoke bundle across the wants of every learner and their households. We additionally begin conversations with the learner’s present faculty or setting as soon as placements are required, and attend EHCP annual opinions and particular multi-agency conferences. We work collectively to grasp attendance patterns over time and the methods which were profitable, which helps us all to hit the bottom operating.
- Focused help: Some learners will want ongoing help all through the varsity yr to maintain attendance excessive. Lecturers and our household liaison staff work with households and different companies to create plans to enhance and maintain attendance. We even have common structured conversations with households to deal with particular considerations or challenges and work onerous to de-stigmatise social care and early assist, that means referrals are made on the earliest alternative.
- Working with the NHS to cut back absence: A lot of our kids have complicated medical circumstances, are extra inclined to frequent sicknesses or have common appointments with well being professionals. Working with them, we now host various clinics and facilitate routine exams resembling blood or weighing in class. We even have a Remedy Hub for native NHS remedy providers, that means learners have direct entry to speech, physio and occupational therapists in class for someday every week. Each initiatives imply kids don’t have to overlook a day or half-day of college to attend appointments, which has considerably improved attendance.
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