Charities, a union, councils and academy trusts have formed a 鈥渉igh level research commission鈥 to look at pupil engagement in school, in the face of stubbornly low attendance rates. The commission has been set up by the and includes representatives of the ASCL leaders鈥 union, Confederation of School Trusts, Challenge Partners and 鈥渞epresentatives from a number of academy trusts and local authorities from across the country鈥. The group will survey more than 100,000 school pupils across the country at different points throughout the year to explore the 鈥渓inks between engagement, attendance and academic outcomes. National data , up from between 4 and 5 per cent before the Covid pandemic. One in five pupils misses the equivalent of an afternoon a week. The previous government , comprising ministers, education sector representatives and those from health, children’s social care and police with the aim of raising attendance. The new government has not yet said whether it will continue to function. The new commission wants to gather 鈥渢imely national data on student engagement that can act as a predictive tool for teachers and leaders tackling attendance, wellbeing and attainment gaps鈥. Is pupil engagement a signal of future attendance? The commission will be chaired by Challenge Partners co-founder Dame Sue John. Commissioners will serve under the research direction of Professor John Jerrim from University College London. The aim is to 鈥渄etermine whether student engagement 鈥 the level of commitment, involvement and emotional investment a student has with their school 鈥 is a powerful signal of their future attendance and attainment鈥. It will 鈥渆xamine the cognitive, emotional and behavioural factors influencing a child鈥檚 engagement鈥. If the level of engagement is an early warning signal, 鈥渢his may be a crucial missing piece of the puzzle needed to help drive positive outcomes for all students鈥. The commission will also examine staff and parental engagement and how it links to student data and school improvement. It already has 鈥渙ver 30 academy trusts and local authorities signed up to participate in the fully funded research project鈥. There is an opportunity for 10 more trusts or local authorities to join the group. ‘Showing schools the early warning signs’ Participating schools will begin to receive data and insights from early 2025, with 鈥渇ull analysis in the summer term鈥. The commission will publish a report on the study鈥檚 overall findings in May. Dame Sue John John, who worked on the London Challenge school improvement programme, said it was 鈥渃rucial we are seeking every possible solution to the ongoing attendance crisis in schools since the pandemic 鈥 students need to be in school every day in order to have the best possible chance to thrive in life鈥. 鈥淥ur work will show schools what the early warning signs are 鈥 the lead indicators that will help schools intervene before a disengaged student becomes an absent one. 鈥淲ith the right data, schools will be able to identify trends, allocate resources more effectively and tailor interventions to the specific needs of individual students.鈥 A DfE spokesperson said: 鈥淭o break down the barriers to opportunity across the country we must tackle the national epidemic of school absence, which remains stubbornly high after years of soaring rates of persistent absence. “Successfully treating the root causes of absence requires schools and local partners to work collaboratively in partnership with families.聽 They said the government was providing “access to specialist mental health professionals in every secondary school, introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary and ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs”. The commissioners Dame Sue John, Commission Chair and Executive Director of Challenge Partners Cara Ackroyd, Executive Principal, Outwood Grange Academes Trust Reena Bhogal-Welsh, Director of Education and Inclusion, Liverpool City Council Sarah Botchway, Director, London South Teaching School Hub Karen Bramwell OBE, Chief Executive and Executive Principal, Forward as One Academy Trust Dr Herminder Channa OBE, Regional Director, Oasis Community Learning Simon Corner, Principal of Wade Deacon High School and Director of Secondary Education for Wade Deacon Trust Jo Coton, CEO, NET Academies Trust Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive, Confederation of School Trusts Carol Dewhurst OBE, Chief Executive, Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust Tamsin Frances, Executive Director of People, Strategy and IT, Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust Rob Hardcastle, CEO of Hatton Academies Trust Carly Holliman, Deputy CEO, Eden Academy Trust Professor John Jerrim, University College London and The Engagement Platform (TEP) Laura Lewis-Williams, Managing Director, Challenge Partners John Loftus, Vice Principal at The Education Alliance MAT Margaret Mullholland, SEND and Inclusion Specialist, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Dame Nicola Stephenson DBE, CEO, Valour Multi Academy Trust James Townsend, Executive Director, the REACH Foundation Kully Uppal, Deputy CEO, Summit Learning Trust Dr Josephine Valentine OBE, CEO of Danes Educational Trust Dr Chris Wilson, ImpactEd Group Andrew Young, Co-Director, Pathfinder Teaching School Hub
Ch 5 October 2024 Will they be talking to parents and the children who struggle with attendance about what keeps children from attending? My experience is that many individual school staff are caring but there is no acceptance that the school environment is fundamentally stressful for many children. Until this is acknowledged any review will be pointless.
10 October 2024 I always find it interesting that when issues of behaviour, attendance, engagement, exclusion or neurodiversity are being reviewed, researched or commented on, there is very limited engagement with organisations who have decades of expertise in working with pupils with neurodiversity, EBSA (previously clinical levels of anxiety), multiple ACES, trauma, behaviour interventions resulting in non-exclusion. Instead, we have multitudes of academy trusts with limited to no experience. It feels like a political who鈥檚 who rather than a team of experts.