School attendance

The council is working with schools to encourage pupils and their parents to make attending school every day a priority, in an attempt to bring attendance back up to above 95% across the county. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic school attendance has decreased by 5%, on average, in primary schools and 10% in secondary schools. 

• Why is school attendance so important?

  Schools offer so many opportunities to meet a young person’s social, emotional and educational needs and poor attendance can ultimately reduce opportunities for children and young people in the future and increase the risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training).

   

• What are the council doing to improve attendance?

  The council has consulted with young people about this issue, and they have been a driving force in designing a new campaign to encourage families, children and young people to put attendance to school at the centre of their thoughts, and to remind everyone of what there is to gain through good attendance to school. The main messages are Strong Attendance for a Bright Future and #MissSchool#MissOut.

   

  This is in addition to the support the School Inclusion Team offer to schools, pupils and their parents. 

• What are you hoping to achieve through this campaign?

  We want to see attendance take centre stage again, and for families and their children to aim high. We are mindful of the very sensitive and difficult circumstances that can prevent some young people from coming into school on a regular basis and support is always there to help in these circumstances, however overall attendance needs to improve. 

   

  95% as a target sounds high however that still allows for six days absence in the school year if it is needed due to illness and this target is achievable for the majority of young people. We want to see attendance improve so that every young person in the Vale is engaged with their school and their learning and can flourish in life by taking advantage of all the opportunities that schools offer. 
  
  

• What support are you providing to schools, pupils or parents?

  Our School Inclusion Team work closely with schools to improve attendance by working with families and young people to overcome any issues that have become barriers to attending school and celebrate those pupils who have maintained good attendance.

   

  We are asking schools to amplify the key messages in this campaign and have provided each school with vinyl banners to display outside their main entrance and a digital toolkit to support this campaign.