Reducing persistent absence

Section 3: Identifying how data can most effectively be used to inform actions

Guidance on data collection and analysis to improve attendance. Links to various supporting documents including a PowerPoint of average earnings by highest qualification (GCSE, A Levels, degrees) in English regions.

Attendance advice for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children

This advice gives information for parents and carers of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and those who work with them in schools and local authorities. (DCSF ref: 00891-2008FLY-EN)

Guidance for academies

This area identifies effective practice that academies may wish to adopt when considering attendance policy and practice.

Actions and outcome

Outline of the outcomes achieved and how the school intends to maintain its success and improve other areas of concern.

Intervention

Description of the intervention involved in the impact of a fast track prosecution pilot on a group of Year 10 students whose absence was greater than 20 per cent, including: attendance targets were agreed with each pupil and parents; court dates were booked; parents reminded that if targets were met court cases could be withdrawn.

Outcomes and future plans

Overview of the outcomes and future plans from a fast track prosecution pilot on a group of Year 10 students whose absence was greater than 20 per cent, including use of fast track in other secondary schools across the county to help promote early intervention where robust recording systems exist. 

Brief description of the intervention

Details of what is being done to address the school's issues, such as: all pupils were banded according to their attendance; tutors were given colour-banded class lists with simple lists of expected actions by identified staff.

Outcomes and future plans

Outline of the outcomes achieved and how the school intends to maintain its success and improve other areas of concern.

Brief description of the intervention

Information about the intervention, which included using the Learning Support Unit (LSU) as a hub for learning, identifying pupils so that home visits could be made and timetables personalised, entering the LSU manager into the NPSLBA programme and investing more in LSU resources.

Outcomes and future plans

Details of the impact on results and the next steps, which include identifying pupils lower down the school to work proactively with all age groups and their families.

Intervention

Description of the intervention involved in using Attendance Panels to fast track to prosecution, raising the profile of attendance with parents and providing the school with a focused approach to address matters of poor attendance.

Outcomes and future plans

Description of the outcome of the intervention involved in using Attendance Panels to fast track to prosecution, raising the profile of attendance with parents and providing the school with a focused approach to address matters of poor attendance.

Children's services support for attendance

Children's services procedures should be addressed as a first step in strategically approaching attendance improvement.

Children's services attendance strategy document

The children's services attendance strategy should outline the vision of the children's services, explaining the role that all members of the community have in improving attendance and reducing persistent absence and promoting attendance.

Proactive interventions

Children's services have a key role in helping schools in identifying and addressing key priorities, which are informed by rigorous and robust data analysis, to ensure all pupils are able to engage in all the opportunities offered to them.

Parental responsibility measures

School-level intervention should always precede referral for external support services. However, children's services have a legal obligation to consider parental responsibility measures in some circumstances.

Children's services engagement with key partners

Review of attendance practice

Children's services should use the strand-specific self-review tool for attendance and appraise their own performance/situation accordingly.

Identifying how data can most effectively be used to inform actions

Guidance for the senior leadership team within children's services to avoid being 'data rich' but 'information poor', and tools to help gain a clear understanding of their attendance profile.

Data analysis tools

Children's services should also analyse the data to determine whether absence is greater in certain groups of pupils. It therefore should analyse absence by special educational needs (SEN), ethnicity, gender, academic progress, and so on. The tracking of vulnerable groups is very important.

Target setting and proactive interventions

Children's services should use robust baselines to support the target-setting process. On an annual basis, all schools must set an overall absence target and children's services must set a target to reduce the percentage of pupils in secondary schools with persistent absence.

Data linking attendance to attainment

Attendance has an impact on attainment, and children's services should understand the impact on pupil attendance within their LA.

Key factors that motivated the intervention

The key factors that motivated the intervention involced in a case study focusing on implementing planned intervention to improve the school attendance of pupils falling below 90% identified through termly register screening in Stanley Primary School.

Brief description of the intervention

A brief description of the intervention from a case study focusing on implementing planned intervention to improve the school attendance of pupils falling below 90% identified through termly register screening in Stanley Primary School.

Outcomes and future plans

The outcomes and future plans from a case study focusing on implementing planned intervention to improve the school attendance of pupils falling below 90% identified through termly register screening in Stanley Primary School.

Intervention

Description of the intervention involved in using Penalty Notices to improve the attendance of school pupils with unauthorised absences in Stoke-on-Trent which has areas of high deprivation and low employment. The long-term goal is to change parental attitudes to education.

Outcomes and future plans

An overview of the outcome of the intervention involved in using Penalty Notices to improve the attendance of school pupils with unauthorised absences in Stoke-on-Trent which has areas of high deprivation and low employment. The long-term goal is to change parental attitudes to education.

Brief description of the intervention

Details of what is being done to address the school's issues, such as: two support staff working in the schools Learning Support Unit (LSU) attended an initial restorative justice training event; the LA Behaviour and Attendance consultant was able to identify funding for 12 other staff members to receive the same training; all support staff now use a common restorative vocabulary with each other and with pupils when resolving conflicts.

Outcomes and future plans

Outline of the outcomes achieved and how the school intends to maintain its success and improve other areas of concern.