Nine London schools were named on Monday as new “attendance hubs” as the Government attempts to tackle the truancy crisis that has taken hold since the pandemic.
The schools, which have excellent attendance records, will share their expertise with others in the capital that are struggling. It is part of a drive by the Department for Education launched on Monday to improve school attendance.
Nationally, 18 new attendance hubs were announced — meaning half of them are in London. The Government will also expand a mentoring programme which sees trained “attendance mentors” working directly with the families of pupils who are not turning up to school.
More than one in five children in England are now classed as persistently absent from school. Before the pandemic, the figure was one in ten.
It comes as a poll by the Centre for Social Justice found almost one in three parents believe that the pandemic showed it is not essential for children to attend school every day.
Ark Priory Primary Academy in Acton was one of the primary schools named today as a new attendance hub, along with Galliard Primary School in Edmonton, Noel Park in Wood Green, Tidemill Academy in Deptford and Forest Academy in Croydon.
The secondary schools are Drayton Manor High School in Hanwell, Mulberry Academy Shoreditch, St Paul’s Way Trust School in Tower Hamlets, and the Hurlingham Academy in Fulham.
They will share practical ideas with other schools in England, including how to engage pupils with breakfast clubs and more extracurricular activities.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, pictured, said: “Tackling attendance is my number one priority. We want all our children to have the best start in life because we know that attending school is vital to a child’s wellbeing, development, and attainment as well as impact future career success.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Over the past decade we have seen the crucial support services that used to step in and tackle persistent absence eroded and it is immensely frustrating that the Government is only now slowly beginning to realise the impact that has had.”
