People Not Numbers: Dismantling Barriers to School Attendance
According to the Department for Education’s figures released in May 2024, rates of persistent absence in England stood at 19.8% for the 23/24 academic year. In Wales, the percentage of secondary school pupils who were persistently absent, as recorded in September 2023, had tripled since 2018*. And
in Scotland**, more than half of secondary pupils are persistently absent from school.
These numbers are incredibly concerning and school attendance is a deepening crisis affecting all of us. So what can we do to dismantle barriers to school attendance, so that every child, in every setting, can thrive and fulfil their potential?
In this piece, we explore:
- Factors behind rising levels of pupil absence
- Reframing the school attendance crisis
- Adopting a puzzle-solving mindset towards school attendance
- What do we mean by ‘family engagement’?
- Barriers to effective family engagement
- Family engagement as one way to address school attendance
- Harnessing the power of family engagement
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