Proven Ways to Improve Attendance: Your Real Attendance Policy
(N.b. if you band your students into these groups and look at their P8, you will see that the relationship between attendance and progress does not suggest attendance needs to be as high as these figures suggest).
Yesterday I shared the all singing all dancing attendance policy which will keep the Ofsted wolves at bay.
I showed you the EEF conclusion which suggested that, whatever you do, you will make little difference to attendance.
But there is some research which tells you what will make a difference - and this is the how we arrive at this new policy.
Attendance Policy: Prioritising Proven Strategies for Success
Introduction
At [School Name], we are committed to creating a positive and supportive learning environment where all pupils aged 11-18 can thrive and achieve their full potential.
High attendance is essential to that success, and this policy outlines our approach to managing and improving attendance, drawing on evidence-based strategies and guidance from the Department for Education (DfE).
This revised policy focuses on methods with demonstrated success in raising attendance, moving beyond self-reported data from interviews.
Key Principles:
Data-Driven Decision Making:
We will rigorously analyse attendance data to identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement.
This analysis will inform our strategies and interventions, allowing us to target support effectively. [1-11]
Early Intervention:
We will proactively identify pupils at risk of poor attendance and implement early intervention strategies to address concerns before they escalate.
This includes a robust first-day calling procedure and regular data monitoring to spot emerging patterns. [2, 4, 10, 12-17]
Collaboration and Communication:
We will work collaboratively with families, listening to and understanding their needs and concerns.
We will communicate clearly and consistently with parents about their child's attendance, using a variety of methods tailored to individual preferences. [18-30]
Targeted Support:
We will provide tailored interventions to address the specific barriers to attendance faced by individual pupils or groups.
This includes close collaboration with external agencies to address out-of-school factors impacting attendance. [15, 18, 31-38]
Consistent Application of Policy:
All staff members will be trained on the attendance policy and will apply it consistently and fairly, ensuring that expectations and consequences are clear to all pupils and parents. [1, 2, 6, 7, 39-42]
Proven Strategies for Success
1. Text Messaging Parents:
Regular text messages to parents can significantly improve attendance. [43, 44]
Messages should be personalised with the child's name and specific attendance data, avoiding generalisations. [16, 43, 44]
The content should highlight the impact of absence in terms of lessons missed, rather than abstract percentages. [45]
Schools should consider assigning a dedicated coordinator to ensure accurate and timely texting. [43]
2. Financial Incentives:
While potentially controversial, financial incentives have been shown to increase parental engagement in interventions designed to improve attendance. [46-48]
Careful consideration should be given to the ethical implications and long-term sustainability of this approach.
(My note - you should consider an experiment with financial incentives which are combined with loss aversion. For example - for PP students you might guarantee £100 to every student with 100% attendance (or doctor’s note for up to 5 days) per term. This could be a commitment to parents in a personalised letter on 1st of September that they are already entitled to £100, with news that cheques or bank transfers will be paid on 21st October to all parents whose child meets the threshold. Loss aversion has been shown to be twice as powerful as an incentive).
3. Engaging Parents in Learning:
Programs like "Parent Academy (see below*)," which educate parents about the school curriculum and encourage their involvement in their child's learning, have shown promise in improving parental engagement. [49, 50]
These programs need robust strategies to ensure high parental attendance and engagement to be effective. [46, 47, 51, 52]
4. Clear Communication about Illness:
Parents value clear guidance from schools about when children are too ill to attend. Consistent application of this guidance builds trust and can reduce unnecessary absences. [35, 53]
Schools should regularly share resources like the NHS guidance "Is my child too ill for school?" to help parents make informed decisions. [35, 41, 53]
5. Focus on Reintegration after Absence:
Welcoming pupils back after an absence and providing catch-up support is essential to build confidence and bridge learning gaps. [31, 54]
This could include providing lesson resources, buddy support, or one-to-one input.
6. Effective Use of Data:
Schools should regularly analyse attendance data to identify patterns, trends, and specific groups requiring targeted support. [1, 3-12]
Regularly sharing attendance data with tutors and staff can facilitate early intervention and targeted support. [3, 12, 40, 55, 56]
7. Collaboration with External Partners:
Building strong partnerships with local authorities, social services, mental health providers, and other relevant agencies is crucial to addressing out-of-school barriers to attendance. [4, 5, 15, 22, 26, 30, 32-34, 36, 37, 57, 58]
Joint action plans and regular communication between schools and external partners ensure a coordinated and holistic approach to supporting pupils and families.
Conclusion
This revised attendance policy reflects our commitment to using evidence-based strategies to raise attendance and ensure that every pupil at [School Name] has the opportunity to succeed.
We believe that by focusing on proven methods and working in partnership with families and external agencies, we can create a culture of high attendance that benefits all members of our school community.
*Parent Academy Intervention Summary
The Parent Academy intervention was designed to help parents support their children's learning at home.
The intervention included a series of classes for parents on English and mathematics.
Classes were delivered fortnightly by tutors with teaching experience.
The program also included an educational family trip.
The intervention was tested with two groups of parents: one group received financial incentives to attend the classes, while the other group did not.
The evaluation did not find evidence that the Parent Academy improved student outcomes in math or reading.
Attendance at the Parent Academy sessions was very low.
Only about 11% of parents attended all 12 sessions.
Offering financial incentives did increase attendance.
The average cost of the program was £641 per pupil per year for the incentivised group and £280 per pupil per year for the unincentivised group.
Parents who attended the Parent Academy reported that they had a better understanding of the school curriculum and felt more confident engaging with their children's learning.
Teachers reported that parents who attended the Parent Academy became better at communicating with teachers about their children’s schooling.
Some parents were more actively helping their children with their homework.
Some parents who had been considered ‘disengaged’ were seen to be more engaged with their child's education after taking part.
The evaluation suggested that the Parent Academy could be improved by providing more support to schools for engaging parents.