Research has found that school attendance has decreased over the past two years. One of the most significant factors cited is deteriorating partnerships between schools and parents
Former head teacher and consultant for the Confederation of School Trusts, Duncan Baldwin, and Ali Guryel, Executive Chairman and CEO of Bromcom, discuss how schools can better engage with parents to foster a more supportive culture and to tackle the persistent attendance problem.
Since the relaxation of restrictions on schools imposed during the height of the pandemic, there have been concerns about an increase in the proportion of pupils with high levels of absence. Most schools (70%) have seen an increase in pupil absences over the past two years, post-pandemic, according to a survey of 498 UK schools conducted by Bromcom and Schoolzone.
No single silver bullet: Tackling school attendance at its core
From our conversations within the sector, there’s general agreement that the damage done by the pandemic to children’s mental health and well-being, the relationships between schools and parents and the overall culture of school attendance will take years to fix. There’s also consensus that there is no single silver bullet for the problem.
A major contributing factor is term-time holidays, The research found that 68% of schools have seen an increase in absence due to holidays taken in term time. Whilst a new national framework is to be introduced by the DfE in August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will increase to £80 from £60 per child for five or more days of unauthorised absence. Of the schools surveyed, 80% said the increase will make no difference, and families will continue to book holidays during term time.
Also, many schools have seen a drop in attendance on Fridays, when some families choose to have a long weekend. This prompts schools to believe that parents’ perception is that children no longer need to go to school every day and that the strong partnership between home and school has deteriorated significantly.
Creating a mindful approach towards school attendance
This parental disengagement is becoming a huge concern for school leaders, making it even more important for education providers to adopt a mindful approach.
One secondary school told us that possibly the most impactful driver of the absence problem is the “seismic shift” in many parents’ attitudes to schools. However, where possible, schools must demonstrate a genuine desire to understand families’ concerns, often with increased sensitivity and care, but also act with professional curiosity and conviction to remove barriers to learning and reduce absence.
A tool that is being implemented by schools to tackle the persistent attendance problem is technology. The research found that 74% of schools agree or significantly agree that their MIS provides the reporting tools and data to help track and manage student attendance.
Parent portals within a modern cloud-based MIS can provide real-time data on a child’s attendance via a web browser or app and can make an enormous difference in the quality of communications and parent satisfaction. This transparency helps parents stay informed and encourages them to take an active role in ensuring their child attends school regularly. It can help address the parental disengagement we are seeing and allow for improved academic outcomes and increased satisfaction among students, parents, and staff alike.
Engaging with parents to foster a supportive culture
Parents and carers are granted access to attendance, behaviour, assessment and student reports, letters, and all-important documents. They can also manage payments for all kinds of school activities, from lunches to school trips. Crucially, any potential truancy problems can be detected early and prevented. Through their portal, parents can access real-time attendance history and current lesson data. They are also kept up to date as to the attendance of their child for any period, and they can see any potential areas for engagement with their child or the school.
Parent engagement is vital to improving attendance, and fostering positive attitudes towards school policy is likely to result in consistent student attendance. Schools are going to need to rebuild a supportive culture to strengthen relationships, but they are also going to need accurate data to keep them on the right track.
Staff in schools do amazing work to encourage and support their pupils to attend well. They are united by the common problems they face, their pragmatism, their dedication, and their recognition that on their own, schools can only make so much difference. What will make a difference over time will be the dedication of schools and trusts in rebuilding relationships, restoring confidence, raising expectations, and using their systems and data in increasingly innovative ways.
The full findings of the survey can be found in the whitepaper entitled ‘Solving the post-pandemic school attendance crisis’, which has been co-authored by Duncan Baldwin, former head teacher and consultant for the Confederation of School Trusts and Ali Guryel, Executive Chairman and CEO of Bromcom.
