The government has named the 10 areas where attendance mentors will operate under a £15 million expansion of the scheme, but a trial will stop in the five areas already testing the programme.
Etio – previously known as Tribal Education Services – will take the reins of the scheme that has been piloted by Barnardo’s in five of the government’s 24 priority education investment areas since 2022.
From March, it will cover Nottingham, Walsall, West Somerset, Ipswich, Hastings, Blackpool, Norwich, Hartlepool, Portsmouth and Rochdale.
The three-year trial has been running in Middlesbrough, Salford, Doncaster, Knowsley and Stoke on Trent – but it will stop in those areas when the Barnardo’s contract ends later in the year.
It comes as schools grapple with high school absence rates. One in five pupils currently misses the equivalent of an afternoon a week.
Pupils on the programme are supported over a 12 to 20-week period with a plan developed by the mentor.
Pilot ‘showed improvements in attendance’
The Department for Education centred its announcement today on a £15 million expansion of the scheme to reach more than 10,000 persistently absent pupils over three years.
Schools Week revealed its plans last year.
The funding works out at about £1,500 for each pupil.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the investment would help thousands of children back into the classroom and marked an important step towards “truly turning the tide on persistent absence”.
The DfE said the pilot had “successfully supported pupils with a wide range of challenges, including low-level anxiety, special educational needs, poor attitude to learning and complex family circumstances”.
“The pilot evaluation showed improvements in individual pupils’ attendance, wellbeing, home routines, and engagement at school.”
The Youth Endowment Fund has also been appointed to oversee an external evaluation of the programme.
Etio, whose three-year contract will run from next March, has started recruiting mentors, who will offer one-to-one support to the youngsters.
Your thoughts