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schools in focus ATTENDANCE
teachers are or how impressive the facilities, attendance has always been a problem. But Ofsted will look at average attendance levels, punctuality and truancy when they make their judgement on behaviour and safety in your school – so it’s an important part of how you will be graded overall. Inspectors will assess your levels of authorised and unauthorised absence, but more importantly, they will want to know what you are doing to address low attendance if it has become an issue.
a THE RIGHT MESSAGE
Is attendance holding back your school’s overall performance with Ofsted? CarrIe ServICe looks at ways to increase attendance levels – and keep them that way
september 2013 \
www.edexec.co.uk
Parents looking for a prospective school to send their children will also be interested in seeing your attendance levels – and if you are undersubscribed or are a small rural primary school, admissions numbers could determine whether or not you remain open due to recent changes to primary funding. Sam Murray, head of advice and information at ace education and a school governor, believes attendance levels are an important indicator of pupil happiness and satisfaction and so can create a negative image of your school if they are not up to acceptable levels. “I’m a parent and I might think that if attendance figures are low then maybe children aren’t enjoying the school or they’re not engaged,” she says. “a school that has high attendance is probably delivering an engaging curriculum and creating a safe and happy environment. also, from a school’s point of view, it’s very important for achievement, because if you’ve got groups of pupils missing lessons then they are going to struggle to reach their targets.” ace education runs an advice line for parents looking for information and guidance about their child’s education and Murray has spoken to many parents whose children are being penalised for poor attendance. She says the list of reasons parents give for absenteeism is almost endless. “I speak to parents who have got very chaotic family lives and there are mental health problems or drink and drug problems. For them, getting their child to school, especially younger children, sometimes they can’t manage it; they can’t cope. Then there are children
ttendance can be a huge issue for some schools and can be the difference between getting a ‘good’ Ofsted rating or ‘requires improvement’. For some schools, no matter how talented the
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