a)     

Improving schools attendance for children was a national focus with Plymouth highlighting it as a key priority;

b)     

The Council’s school attendance campaign undertaken in 2023 did not land well. Learning had been adopted and a much more gentle approach called ‘The Strong Start’ had early indications of falling much better by Plymouth residents;

c)     

The message behind the campaign was to ensure children and families felt a sense of belonging in school;

d)     

Issues around attendance were about recognising and understanding why families chose to keep children away from school or why children did not feel that they could attend;

e)     

The attendance strategy and the place based plan were designed to tackle the underlying causes that impact school attendance.

f)      

2019 data for children attending schools in the west of the city indicated that they would achieve one grade below expectations. The most recent data was now indicating that they would achieve a third of a grade below expectations. The Council was aware that it had much further to go in supporting children who were experiencing disadvantage to achieve their potential;

g)     

Children who were experiencing disadvantage were more likely to move schools affecting their school attendance. Research evidenced that the first few weeks of the term were critical in how a child’s attendance pattern would formulate;

h)     

The Council was trying to change the messaging to children and families in relation to poor school attendance that the school valued them and wanted them part of their community and to provide the opportunity to develop relationships;

i)      

Plymouth was in line with national and regional benchmarking in relation to authorised absences but Plymouth had higher unauthorised absences that weren’t related to unauthorised holidays;

j)      

Early intervention and support work for children that have, or may have special educational needs or disability, needed to happen more, and earlier, to ensure children and young people engaged fully in their education at an earlier stage;

k)     

A parent survey to understand the factors of non-attendance at school would go live on 15 January 2025. This would inform the school attendance strategy and would also provide a clear understanding of what the barriers were for children and families;

l)      

Bullying was a significant reason as to why parents were electively home educating their children. The parent survey would be able to clearly advise if bullying was a prevalent theme for non-attendance at school;

m)   

The Council had robust procedures in reviewing children that were Electively Home Educated (EHE) within the boundaries of the Department for Education (DFE) guidance. The previous ILACS inspection identified this area to be positive for the Council;

n)     

Access and attendance officers would meet with schools to discuss children that were on part time timetables. Early Help link workers would also be present at those meetings to have joint planning sessions around those children.