Improving Whole School Attendance and Punctuality
(DFE, Working together to improve school attendance, May 22)
Improving attendance to support the achievement, development and life chances of all learners is a national priority.
- How well are you are promoting the benefits of high attendance to stakeholders?
- How effectively you are addressing barriers to attendance?
- What impact is your attendance and punctuality strategy having on learners? What needs to change?
SSAT’s Attendance and punctuality programme provides everything you need to:
- Undertake a detailed, rigourous review of practice
- Develop, refine, and communicate an effective attendance strategy
- Proactively identify, prioritise and implement actions that will make the most difference to learners
- Establish successful approaches to improving attendance through collaboration and engagement with stakeholders
Improving whole school attendance cards
Download examples of some of the core questions.
Who is the programme for?
Schools, trusts and local authorities in all phases.
What’s involved?
SSAT’s audit tool provides a clear, comprehensive structure for the programme.
The audit focuses on 7 key areas for improving attendance. These include strategy, leadership, systems, monitoring, intervention and parental engagement.
Stage 1: School self-audit
This initial stage is best completed by involving a small group of key individuals responsible for leading this aspect of the school’s work.
- Use the audit tool to examine, discuss, reflect on and rate practice.
- Return your completed audit template to SSAT.
Stage 2: Online meeting
Confirm the date for your 3 hour online meeting with an SSAT Education Lead. The school lead will set the agenda for the meeting, building in the opportunity for the SSAT Education lead to speak to key staff.
The meeting creates time to:
- Gain fresh, independent perspective on practice, process and systems
- Highlight issues, explore solutions and ask questions
- Receive verbal feedback on your school’s current and planned approach to improving attendance and punctuality
Stage 3: Follow-up report
- A report detailing the findings on the meeting will be returned to the school within 10 days.
- The report will highlight areas of good practice and suggest areas for further development.
- Participants will also receive a summary report presenting providing insights into the key findings, conclusions and recommendations form the array of evidence-informed reports that have been published about pupil attendance and punctuality since 2019. The report includes five ‘best bets’ for strategies that have the best impact.
Summary of Policy and Research on Attendance and Punctuality
This research summary presents an overview of the key insights, findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the array of evidence-informed reports that have been published about pupil attendance and punctuality to school since 2019.
Timescale for completing the programme:
Our only requirement is that the whole process is completed within six months, after which no refunds will be issued.
The audit tool can be purchased separately
Accompanied by a set of self-assessment criteria, based on SSAT’s well-respected Framework for Exceptional Education, the detailed audit process provides an objective framework against which to rate your current practice as beginning, developing, embedding or transforming, and provides structure for subsequent development.
Audit tool Price
£129 plus VAT – Members
£179 plus VAT – Non-members
Key information
Full programme:
£1,075 + VAT (member schools)
£1,290 + VAT (non-member schools)
Audit tool only:
£129 + VAT (member schools)
£179 + VAT (non-member schools)
Discounts are available for groups of schools and MATs completing the programme together.
