Written evidence submitted by NAHT

 

This inquiry focuses on the issue of persistent and severe absence in schools, with a focus on supporting disadvantaged pupils. The inquiry aims to examine the issue of persistent and severe absence and the factors causing it and to assess the likely impact and effectiveness of the Department’s proposed reforms on attendance. The inquiry will also assess the impact of interventions such as breakfast clubs, free school meals, holiday clubs, and after school clubs on improving attendance for disadvantaged pupils, and will develop recommendations as to how attendance can be improved, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

 

This submission will seek to addressing the following bullet points:

  

  1. The factors causing persistent and severe absence among different groups of pupils, in particular:  
  1. Disadvantaged pupils  
  2. Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds  
  3. Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19 
  4. Pupils in alternative provision  

 

  1. How schools and families can be better supported to improve attendance, and how this affects pupils and families who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19.

 

  1. The impact of the Department for Education’s proposed reforms to improve attendance.  

 

  1. The impact of school breakfast clubs and free school meals on improving attendance for disadvantaged pupils. 

 

  1. The role of the Holiday Activities and Food programme and other after-school and holiday clubs, such as sports, in improving attendance and engagement with school. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. NAHT welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Education Committee inquiry

 

  1. NAHT is the UK’s largest professional trade union for school leaders.  We represent more than 34,000 head teachers, executive heads, CEOs, deputy and assistant heads, vice principals and school business leaders.  Our members work across: the early years, primary, special and secondary schools; independent schools; sixth form and FE colleges; outdoor education centres; pupil referral units, social services establishments and other educational settings.

 

  1. In addition to the representation, advice and training that we provide for existing school leaders, we also support, develop and represent the school leaders of the future, through NAHT Edge, the middle leadership section of our association.  We use our voice at the highest levels of government to influence policy for the benefit of leaders and learners everywhere.

 

Introduction

 

  1. For the purpose of this submission, the government definition of ‘persistent absence’ will be used.[1]

 

  1. Latest data shows whilst persistent absenteeism in primary and special schools reduced, there had been an increase in persistent absenteeism in secondary schools.

 

  1. Our submission looks at specific characteristics through various discrete groups, as indicated in the separate inquiry questions. However, each criterion does not necessarily exist in isolation.

 

  1. For example, a pupil who is persistently absent from school, may be from an ethnic group where absence is more prevalent, they may also have unidentified SEN and / or be in receipt of free school meals – each separate factor is more significantly represented in persistent absence.

 

Executive Summary

 

  1. Managing persistent school absence and the factors that influence it, is a complex and cross-sector challenge, not just for schools.

 

  1. Understanding the intersectionality of factors and characteristics of pupils most at risk of persistent absence is crucial in effectively reducing its impact.

 

  1. Sufficient funding is required within schools to ensure staff and resources can be deployed early to provide support and address the issues that risk non-attendance.

 

  1. Sufficient funding and resource are also required at Local Authority level and for wider support services, if meaningful progress is to be made in addressing the underlying issues.

 

 

 

The factors causing persistent and severe absence among different groups of pupils, in particular:  

  1. Disadvantaged pupils  
  2. Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds  
  3. Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19 
  4. Pupils in alternative provision  

 

Disadvantaged pupils  

 

  1. The latest general absence rate data for pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) was ‘10.4% across autumn and spring terms 2021/22, up from 7.2% in the same period in the previous year. This compares to 6.4% for those pupils who were not eligible for free school meals.

 

  1. ‘35.4% of pupils who were eligible for fsm were persistently absent across the autumn and spring terms 2021/22 combined, compared to 17.9% of pupils who were not eligible.[2]

 

  1. A 2020 Centre for Education and Youth / Nuffield report, ‘Disadvantage in early secondary school’ found the following:
  1. ‘There is a significant amount of evidence from the academic and policy literature to suggest that educational inequalities between disadvantaged pupils and their peers widen during the first three years of secondary school.
  2. ‘Based on pupils’ own self-reported outcomes, there is a gap in attitudes to school, perception of academic ability, occupational and university aspirations, peer behaviour and the home learning environment that widens significantly between pupils from richer and poorer households between the ages of 11 and 14.
  3. ‘Disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for FSM at any point in the last six years on entry into secondary school) have a higher rate of absence at the end of primary school and this gap increases over the first three years of secondary school compared to other pupils.’

 

  1. Financial pressures for families in receipt of FSM can create other issues, e.g. meeting transport costs, uniform costs and contributing towards extra-curricular costs. The perceived stigma can add to the barriers reluctant pupils face in attending school.

 

  1. Evidence suggests that rising absence in the first few years of secondary school presents an increasing risk of passing the threshold into persistent absence. This level of absence subsequently increases the risk of associated negative impacts upon the young person’s future life prospects.

 

  1. There is a risk that when young people feel a disconnect from the purpose of education, a loss of the sense of their own academic and wider progress, and little or no link within school learning to what they envisage their future selves doing, the motivation to attend school may diminish.

 

  1. The heightened focus upon academic attainment within school performance measures, and funding pressures, has helped drive a narrowing of the

 

 

curriculum (a curriculum upon which schools concentrate limited resources). It is, therefore, unsurprising that pupils who imagine a future beyond school outside an academic sphere, may feel less connection to their learning.

 

  1. School leaders of alternative provision often work with pupils who have found school attendance challenging. For a proportion of pupils, an adapted or adjusted curriculum, that better prepares them for their future life, enables them to reengage with their education and become more motivated to improve attendance.

 

  1. Preparing young people for adulthood, may not mean preparing every pupil for an academic or educational route post-school.

 

Pupils from minority ethnic background

 

  1. Around 1 in 5 pupils (20.5%) are eligible for FSM. Some ethnic groups are disproportionately eligible for FSM, indicating a higher level of deprivation in these groups. Black Caribbean (37%), Mixed White/Black Caribbean (38%) and Gypsy/Roma (47%) pupils are FSM eligible at around twice the national average rate. A majority (63%) of pupils of Irish Traveller Heritage are FSM Eligible.[3]

 

  1. For context, the variability in attendance levels across minority ethnic backgrounds is statistically significant. For example,
  1. Lowest persistent absentees:
  1. Highest persistent absentees:

 

  1. Professor Kalwant Bhopal, from the Centre for Research in Race and Education at Birmingham University has conducted research specifically with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and cites two main reasons for poor attendance and high dropout rates from education:

a.                  The sense of not feeling represented in the school curriculum

b.                  Regular experience of racism

 

  1. NAHT have previously called for fully funded mandatory school training around anti-racism. It is critical that connections are made between supporting schools in equalities, diversity and inclusion, and the impacts this can have upon attendance, standards and pupil achievement.

 

  1. However, in attempting to describe the educational challenges facing children from GRT backgrounds, NAHT recognise that it may suggest to some observers that this cohort of children is a homogenous, single community group.

 

  1. When scrutinising DfE’s attendance data there are differences between the specific community groups within the cohort described. For example, in data

 

 

for persistent absence by ethnicity and type of school, there appears to be a difference between the Gypsy / Roma groups and the Irish Traveller group in terms of the sector where persistent absence is least prevalent – primary schools for the former and secondary for the latter.

 

  1. NAHT believe any proposed recommendations on tackling persistent absence must reflect the unique needs of each specific community, as potential solutions may require nuanced approaches to be successful.

 

  1. Furthermore, when attempting to address educational issues facing specific groups, such as GRT communities, it is important to note the way in which one characteristic can intersection with another, such as gender, disability and sexuality, resulting in different experiences for different individuals.

 

  1. NAHT have been engaging with the DfE to explore improved approaches to pupils currently missing in education. Due to the nomadic nature of some GRT families, and the difficulties they can face engaging with relevant agencies as they move, pupils from these communities may also struggle to engage with local support services.

 

  1. Learning from schools that have successfully engaged with their minority ethnic communities will prove invaluable when seeking to address issues such as persistent absence.

 

  1. A key feature in successfully supporting pupils, including with issues of persistent absence, is the crucial role that sufficiently-resourced, non-educational services play.

 

  1. Like other vulnerable pupil policies, the most successful attendance / absence initiatives require a bespoke, closely co-ordinated multi-agency approach, including both education and welfare sectors. A particular challenge facing such cross-sector approaches, in terms of minority ethnic community, are the current funding pressures being faced by Local Authorities which, in turn, affects the quality and breadth of essential support services that can be provided.

 

Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19 

 

  1. Special educational needs (SEN) absence can be a complex landscape.

 

  1. 36.6% of pupils with an EHCP were persistently absent in this period, compared to 31.2% for pupils with SEN support and 19.9% for pupils with no identified SEN.[4]

 

  1. Again, intersectional characteristics show - 24.3% of pupils recorded as Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic group had SEN support in 2022, and a further 5.7% had an EHC plan – both higher than national average.[5]

 

 

 

 

  1. For significant numbers of pupils with SEND, additional resource is required to ensure they have a fair opportunity to meet expected standards in attendance, therefore, greater certainty for schools that such essential support is available (e.g. transport) is imperative.

 

  1. School leaders may still be left with difficult / complex decisions such as authorising leave of absence in term time for pupils with SEND. Requests for a leave of absence involve a range of reasons being cited by families. For pupils with SEND, this may mean that some understandable reasons for absence may be difficult to authorise under current guidance – also it will still count towards overall absence from school.

 

  1. There is some evidence, however, that persistent absence is a greater issue for pupils who have unidentified SEN, where existing support may therefore not meet the specific needs.

 

  1. Evidence also suggests that relationship-based approaches to behaviour challenges faced by some pupils with SEND (within mainstream), especially where staff have been able to access quality trauma-informed, relevant training, has assisted in supporting pupils to remain in school settings.

 

  1. Research into school absence and exclusion with recorded neurodevelopmental disorders, mental disorders, or self-harm undertaken in Wales, found the following:

‘…that having a SEN status decreases the odds of being absent or excluded, even if it does not remove the risk completely. Attendance and exclusion data, which are already collected by schools, could provide useful information about where to focus sparse resources. School-based mental health prevention strategies might also help to build resilience, enabling pupils to develop strategies for managing and improving their mental health and wellbeing, and to understand when and how to seek additional help.’[6]

 

  1. This same research suggests further evidence would assist in policy development.

‘Future research could further explore whether improvements in school attendance over time serve to reduce the incidence of mental disorders and whether the timing of diagnosis is an important factor in the risk for absenteeism or exclusions.[7]

 

  1. ‘To conclude, people up to 24 years of age who have mental or neurodevelopmental disorders or self-harm have poorer attendance at school than their peers who do not have disorders or self-harm. Exclusion or persistent absence is a potential indicator of current or future poor mental health that is routinely collected… and could be used to target assessment and early intervention.’[8]

 

 

 

 

 

How schools and families can be better supported to improve attendance, and how this affects pupils and families who are clinically vulnerable to covid-19.

 

  1. It is most important to have timely access to appropriate support services for pupils and families. This can include the support of LA attendance teams, but may also require integrated support from key services such as CAMHs and family support service.

 

  1. If the government is serious about tackling persistent absence, it must ensure that such services are appropriately funded and capacity in the specialist workforce is built so that all schools are able to access such support for their pupils as soon as it is needed.

 

  1. As with other areas, early intervention is vital when it comes to tackling the long-term effects of persistent absenteeism.   

 

  1. When it comes to improving attendance there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work for all pupils and families. It is first important to identify and understand the underlying causal factors and develop a strategy for addressing each.

 

  1. It must also be noted that many of the casual factors may lie outside the reach of schools to directly address.

 

  1. Schools will employ a range of different strategies based on their knowledge of their pupils and it’s important that policies allow for a balance between consistency (especially around expectations) but also flexibility in terms of support provided. 

 

The impact of the Department for Education’s proposed reforms to improve attendance.  

 

  1. As stated above, improving attendance requires a team, often multi-agency, approach. Accountability for good attendance cannot and should not sit entirely on the shoulders of individual schools and school leaders.

 

  1. There is a real danger that due to a lack of capacity in services, there remains too great a focus on the ‘challenge’ aspect of this work within guidance and not enough on support for schools and school leaders.

 

  1. Clearly, school leaders and their teams have a huge part to play in supporting good attendance, but they cannot do this alone and the answer to improving attendance cannot simply lie in shifting greater responsibility onto their shoulders.

 

  1. Equally, it is essential that all involved in providing support and challenge recognise the complexity and challenges involved in working with some families and pupils, and that the scale of that challenge varies greatly across the country. A crude and simplistic use of headline attendance data could easily obscure this crucial point and lead to inaccurate conclusions being drawn about the quality of a school’s work in this area. 

 

 

 

 

  1. NAHT strongly agrees with the DfE statement that ‘individual children’s barriers to attendance often go far beyond the school gates’[9] and we therefore support the assertion that, ‘the local authority and other local partners have a crucial role to play in ensuring all children can access the full-time education’.[10] We agree that there should be a level of consistency across the country when it comes to the provision of such services.

 

  1. However, we would reiterate our core message that simply setting out a list of minimum expectations or components will not in itself have the desired impact on addressing persistent attendance.

 

  1. LAs must be provided with additional resources to meet these requirements. Further thought needs to be given to the appropriate size and scale of LA attendance teams. Whilst this will obviously vary depending on the size of the LA, there needs to be further consideration given to how many early help support workers should be expected on a per school basis otherwise there is a risk that major geographical inconsistencies could remain.

 

The impact of school breakfast clubs and free school meals on improving attendance for disadvantaged pupils. 

 

  1. There is not a huge amount of specific research on the impact of breakfast clubs in terms of improving absence. What is available is often produced by breakfast club supporting organisations and is based upon school / leader / teacher perception, only.

 

  1. For example, Kellogg’s own research into their programme found that, ‘45% of schools felt that their breakfast club had improved attendance’[11]

 

  1. Magic Breakfast’s research was based on, ‘…a sample of 801 partner schools,’ it found that, ‘…81% of schools believe that child hunger has increased in their community in the last year and 94% believe poverty has increased. 76% of those same schools believe that breakfast club has improved attendance.’[12]

 

  1. However, it will be important to look at more objective and robust, independent evaluation of breakfast club programmes to be certain of the link.

 

  1. In terms of Free School Meals there is mixed evidence of impact on attendance, and frequently it can be difficult to ascertain what aspects of school programmes make the more significant impact. In one example, ‘…the FSM pilot not only provided some pupils with free school meals, but also included a range of supporting activities to promote the pilot, encourage the take-up of school meals and support healthy eating. The effects on attainment…indeed the impacts on diet and eating habits…could thus have

 

 

arisen through the provision of free school meals directly, through the wider activities that accompanied the pilot, or both.’[13]

 

  1. In a comprehensive review undertaken by DfE in 2013, the evidence was not found, ‘…results provide fairly conclusive evidence that the introduction of the FSM pilot had no impact on the percentage of school missed by pupils, whether the absence was authorised or unauthorised. As such, the increases in educational attainment discussed… must be due to improvements in productivity whilst at school, rather than to any increase in the amount of time spent in school.’[14]

 

The role of the Holiday Activities and Food programme and other after-school and holiday clubs, such as sports, in improving attendance and engagement with school. 

 

  1. There is some older research from the US which suggests, ‘…that good afterschool programs can improve school-day attendance (Huang, Gribbons, Kim, Lee, & Baker, 2000; Welsh et al., 2002). The sense of belonging, the connection to caring adults, and the academic enrichment that afterschool provides can make children more likely to go to school. Often though, improved attendance is a by-product of good programs, rather than a stated goal.’[15]

 

  1. However, there appears to be a paucity of robust research within England, or across the wider UK, that looks specifically at the impact of each the various initiatives upon absence, and particularly persistent absence.

 

Rob Williams

Senior Policy Advisor – NAHT

 

February 2023

 

 

[1] Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring terms (Autumn and Spring Term 2021/22)

[2] Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring terms (Autumn and Spring Term 2021/22)

[3] Outcomes by ethnicity in schools in England - 2022

[4] Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring terms (Autumn and Spring Term 2021/22)

[5] Special educational needs in England

[6] 7 8 Association of school absence and exclusion with recorded neurodevelopmental disorders, mental disorders, or self-harm: a nationwide, retrospective, electronic cohort study of children and young people in Wales, UK 2022

[7] 

[8] 

[9] Working together to improve school attendance - Guidance for maintained schools,  academies, independent schools, and local authorities - 2022

[10] Working together to improve school attendance - Guidance for maintained schools,  academies, independent schools, and local authorities - 2022

[11] An Audit of School Breakfast Club Provision in the UK: A report by Kellogg’s

[12] Magic Breakfast Partner School Survey 2022: Our year in numbers

[13] Evaluation of the Free School Meals Pilot Impact Report - Department for Education (DfE)

[14] Evaluation of the Free School Meals Pilot Impact Report - Department for Education (DfE)

[15] Building a Culture of Attendance: Schools and Afterschool Programs Together Can and Should Make a Difference!