An academy trust has rolled out 鈥淔OMO Fridays鈥 to boost attendance 鈥 running incentives including a “golden ticket鈥 scheme with prizes such as laptops at the end of the week. Friday attendance at the nine-school Two Counties Trust in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire has since gone up 1.5 percentage points. The scheme started as 鈥渇eel-good Fridays鈥 at Friesland School, where leaders noticed absence was higher on Fridays, as is the case nationally. 鈥淲hatever we did in terms of punitive measures鈥t just wasn’t impacting [attendance],鈥 said Craig Patterson, the school鈥檚 head. Attendance boost biggest on Fridays Instead, the school decided to pack Fridays with fun, incentive-led schemes that allowed pupils to win prizes such as a laptop or day out. Attendance has risen from 89.9 per cent last February to 90.7 per cent this February. The increase has been biggest on Fridays. The idea, said Patterson, was to make Fridays 鈥渢he day children want to be in school鈥. Under Friesland鈥檚 鈥済olden ticket鈥 scheme, staff give out 10 tickets to pupils throughout the week, 鈥渇or upholding our values, for being polite, for holding doors, for saying good morning鈥. The system runs at points of the year when attendance is lowest, such as November and the second half of January. On Friday lunchtime, Patterson mans a station in the school hall where pupils deposit their golden tickets, selecting which of three prizes they would like to win. This month, the prizes are a JD Sports voucher, a laptop or a donation to a charity. Pupils can request music, and Patterson said many relished the opportunity to chat. Every class then watches a live-stream as the winners are drawn. 鈥楶roud stickers鈥 Friesland also runs 鈥減roud stations鈥 and 鈥渟cholar of the week鈥 schemes that reward academic achievement. Teachers are asked to hand out five 鈥減roud stickers鈥, for good work. On Friday breaktime, pupils can exchange these for a prize in the school hall. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got 1,200 students, so around 300 a week come and queue,鈥 said Patterson. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got music playing 鈥 a really nice atmosphere. 鈥淭hey show [us] their work and they explain why they’re proud. We sign them a little certificate that they take home, and then they get a small prize 鈥 a pen, or a chocolate bar, or Friesland-branded water bottle.鈥 Every week, teachers also nominate a 鈥渟cholar of the week鈥 who has 鈥渄one something of note, tried really hard, or produced an excellent piece of work鈥. Patterson announces the nominees and winners each Friday morning. Pupils cheer and are 鈥渞eally engaged and invested鈥 in the process. Winners then leave their tutor group and go to the hall, where they walk along a red carpet lined with clapping staff to receive a certificate. What impact is it having? According to , attendance at state secondary schools averaged 91.2 per cent during the week commencing February 3 this year, meaning attendance at Friesland is still below average. 鈥淭his is not a panacea,鈥 said Patterson. 鈥淲e’ve still got so much work to do, but it is making an improvement.鈥 Similar initiatives have been rolled out at the trust鈥檚 other eight secondaries, under 鈥渇ear of missing out (FOMO) Fridays鈥. Trust-wide, attendance has increased in the past year by 1 per cent on Mondays to Thursdays, and 1.5 per cent on Fridays. Among pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, Friday attendance has increased by 1.8 per cent. Wesley Davies, the trust鈥檚 chief executive, agrees attendance was far from 鈥渁 fixed problem鈥, but FOMO Fridays were 鈥渁 firm stepping stone鈥. What is the effect on teachers? Patterson said he was 鈥渕indful鈥 of the schemes 鈥渏ust giving teachers more to do鈥. But the reward schemes are not onerous, and give staff the chance to 鈥渄o something joyful鈥. 鈥淭he way I sold it to teachers was, why did we become teachers? Did we become teachers to give out corrections or to complain about students who aren’t in [the right] shoes? We want to inspire people.鈥 It also reduces work long-term 鈥渂ecause if we’re not doing these things, getting children to school, teachers are going to end up with more workload, catching children up, and doing absence phone calls鈥. A separate scheme is aimed at boosting staff attendance. Towards the end of each half-term, pupils are encouraged to fill out appreciation notes for staff. In the final week, when staff attendance often drops, those in school are given a 鈥済olden envelope鈥 containing notes of thanks.
Gemma Perez 3 March 2025 Catching children up is the child鈥檚 responsibility. It鈥檚 dereliction of duty by the SLT and Trust to not impress on the students the need for them to be proactive in catching up. It is also an administrative task to make attendance phone calls home. This school is trying it on with their staff.