AI-driven reports that government said would help bring attendance “back to – and beyond – pre-pandemic levels” have been suspended just days after they were launched.
Last Wednesday, ministers announced every school would be issued with attendance baseline improvement expectation (ABIE) reports based on their circumstances, including location, pupil needs and deprivation.
The documents contain attendance targets and the names of other high-performing schools in similar circumstances – both of which are generated using AI.
But now the reports are no longer able to be viewed, following complaints the results were inaccurate.
‘Temporarily suspended’
Headteachers and trust CEOs told Schools Week on Friday that they noticed discrepancies in the data provided.
Nigel Attwood, a headteacher in Birmingham, said the attendance figures stated in his report were incorrect, adding: “It’s embarrassing [for government]. We’ve got all the information under the sun for attendance [already], why do we need something else?”
In a briefing to leaders on Friday, the Confederation of School Trusts said the new reports had “been temporarily suspended”.
“We know that some leaders had cited apparent inaccuracies in the data, so it is possible the ABIE data has been taken down for that reason, although the DfE has not confirmed this.”
A trust boss also questioned the reliability of the reports’ school comparisons, as one of their academies, located in an area with grammars, was being benchmarked against others in local authorities without selectives.
A deputy head of a standalone academy in the north east also said they had four similar schools listed – which he said was based on similar metrics and geography.
But all four schools were part of large academy trusts, with the nearest more than five hours away. One had schools in London.
Targets ‘not an accountability measure’
The government said last week the targets set in ABIE reports would be “indicative” this year. “Official” ones will be sent next September.
They are “not an accountability measure and will not be used for intervention”. However, schools “may receive an offer of additional support to improve” if they fail to meet the expectations.
It also urged leaders to contact the similar schools identified in their reports that have higher attendance figures.
Officials suggested they ask “how they set a positive attendance culture, track data, communicate the importance of attendance [and] work with families to identify and remove barriers to attendance”.
Reports ‘currently down’
But the DfE confirmed on Friday the “reports are currently down”. It expects them to be available this week.
However, it did not say what went wrong.
When the government unveiled the reports, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “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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