One in four children are persistently absent from school and new government guidance means attendance is a priority this term.
In this episode, we discuss why students struggle to attend school, the barriers they face, and effective approaches/strategies to help raise attendance.
We seek tips from children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and the Education Endowment Foundation, discussing the findings and recommendations from two school attendance research reviews.
We ask what secondary schools can do to support students who struggle to attend, including how to engage with families, with a range of practical ideas for short-term and long-term interventions.
This episode is hosted by Pete Henshaw, the editor of SecEd, and begins with an interview with Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, who earlier this year published findings and recommendations from an in-depth Attendance Audit.
The second half of the podcast features a conversation with Maria Cunningham, regional delivery lead for London and the South East at the Education Endowment Foundation, which also produced recently a research review focused on effective attendance interventions, and Jon Tait, the deputy CEO and director of school improvement at a multi-academy trust comprising of three large secondary schools and sixth form colleges in North Yorkshire.
To hear other SecEd podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'The SecEd Podcast' in your podcast streaming application of choice. Or visit www.sec-ed.co.uk/podcasts
For details about The SecEd Podcast, or to suggest future topics, email editor Pete Henshaw at editor@sec-ed.co.uk