Government will use AI to set minimum attendance targets for schools to meet this year in the latest bid to crackdown on absence.
The targets will not be published, nor shared with Ofsted.
But schools that fail to meet the new attendance expectations will be referred for support through regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams.
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced today schools will be set the ‘attendance baseline improvement expectations’ from this month.
The target will be set through an AI-generated report considering things like location, pupil needs and deprivation levels.
But general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders Pepe Di’lasio urged the government “to understand the realities in schools rather than issuing yet more diktats dreamt up in Whitehall”.
He said many factors are contributing to absence are beyond school control, adding: “Setting them individual targets doesn’t resolve those issues, but it does pile yet more pressure on school leaders and staff who are already under great strain,” Di’lasio added.
How will targets work?
Each school will be given “minimum attendance expectations” for 2024-25 “from this month”. This year’s targets will be on a “test and learn basis”.
Government said “progress will be interpreted thoughtfully given attendance levels can sometimes be hit by local ‘shocks’.”
Each school will get an “attendance baseline improvement expectation” report, which will be based on schools’ circumstances – including location, pupil needs and deprivation.
This will be “AI powered”, and “aim to help lift the floor on school performance, as part of a ladder of progress helping schools and wider services back to Pre-Covid levels of attendance –without capping ambition”.
Leaders will also be given examples in their report of similar schools in the region with better attendance “offering further insight to drive improvement”.
Schools Week has asked the DfE whether top schools will be informed about being named in struggling school’s reports.
RISE support – no Ofsted involvement
Government said the targets will not be published externally or made available to Ofsted.
Instead, targets will be used to provide support through RISE behaviour and attendance hubs.
The government plans to open a total of 90 hubs, reaching 5,000 schools and giving targeted support to 500 settings. The scheme is spearheaded by ambassadors Tom Bennett and Jayne Lowe.
There are already 21 hubs operating since September, with 36 more open from today. Schools Week has asked for the list of the new hubs.
Meanwhile, schools will also be given ‘best practice toolkits’ targeting transitional moments between primary and secondary school, and Year 7 and 8.
Crochet and cooking classes
King’s Leadership Academy Warrington, is one of the best practice examples in the new toolkit.
A government press release added the school “creates an environment where all children can belong and thrive with weekly enrichment sessions where pupils choose activities including crochet, gardening and sign language”.
Another best practice school, CHS South in Manchester, “encourages strong starts to secondary school by creating a sense of community with parents and pupils” with family cooking classes in the summer before year 7.
The target strategy is part of the government’s drive to get attendance levels back to pre-pandemic levels.
While overall and persistent absence rates have fallen in the past year, severe absence levels have risen.
‘The wrong way to go’
But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT, said: “The reality is that schools are already working tirelessly to improve attendance, with many going way above and beyond what should be expected of schools every single day.
“The government issuing them with yet more targets will not help them with that work and is the wrong way to go.”
Both leadership unions have called for better resources to be made for schools to understand the barriers to attendance.
It is also just the latest expectation placed on schools. That includes new expectations for behaviour and parental engagement in the upcoming schools white paper, as well as post-16 study and new careers education targets. Last week it also said schools would be judged on enrichment benchmarks.
But education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “We can only deliver opportunity for children in our country if they’re in school, achieving and thriving.
“That’s why I want every school to play its part in getting attendance back to – and beyond – pre-pandemic levels.
“By working jointly with schools to set individual targets, we’re tackling variation head-on. Our best schools already have a brilliant approach to attendance, and now we’re driving that focus everywhere so that all children are supported to attend school and learn.”
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