Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
3
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
The Department monitoring daily school attendance is a welcome step, but further monitoring is needed to identify and support those children not receiving a formal education. We have repeatedly called for a register of children not in school and were glad to see it in the Schools Bill. Although the …
Government response. The government remains committed to introducing local authority registers for children not in school and will legislate at a 'future suitable opportunity' while continuing to work on improving non-statutory registers.
Department for Education
4
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
We urge the Government to deliver on its commitment to introduce a register of children not in school to be fully operational for the 2024/25 academic year. We therefore expect the Government to include a suitable legislative vehicle in the next King’s Speech, if it has not already availed itself …
Government response. The Government remains committed to legislating for a register of children not in school but will do so at a future suitable opportunity, not confirming a specific legislative vehicle or the 2024/25 deadline.
Department for Education
10
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
We recommend the Department instruct schools and local authorities to explore methods of support for pupils and families before the use of fines or prosecution, ensuring that legal intervention is a last resort only. The Department should be more explicit about this in its revisions to the guidance ‘Working together …
Government response. The Government states its guidance already promotes a 'support first' approach but will use the inquiry's evidence to inform future regulatory or legislative changes for a national framework on fines, and remains committed to legislating for statutory guidance when parliamentary …
Department for Education
12
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Although we heard that attendance mentors do work with families in circumstances when their work with the child exposes a wider set of issues, it is imperative that they conduct this work for all pupils with whole-family support at the forefront, as highlighted by best practice by School-Home Support. As …
Government response. The government's response acknowledged the value of timely attendance data and the progress of the daily data pilot, rather than addressing the recommendation to ensure whole-family support is central to the attendance mentor programme.
Department for Education
13
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Given a major driver of low attendance is low income, it follows that measures to tackle child poverty should be considered in the Department’s approach to improving attendance. The Department should make an assessment of the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals and adjust if necessary, ensuring all children in …
Government response. The government deflects the recommendation by welcoming the Committee’s recognition of timely attendance data and the progress of the daily data pilot, rather than addressing the call to assess Free School Meal eligibility and child poverty.
Department for Education
14
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
We welcome the offer of breakfast clubs and the Holiday Activities and Food Programme for pupils with higher levels of disadvantage. This measure can be used to support attendance, and may already be doing so, but there is a lack of evidence as the Department does not require schools or …
Government response. The government's response discussed the link between persistent absence and home education, rather than addressing the recommendation for measuring the impact of breakfast and holiday clubs on school attendance.
Department for Education
15
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
We recommend the Department require local authorities to report on school attendance levels for pupils who have attended a breakfast club or holiday club. If a significant impact can be demonstrated, the Government should consider this in future funding decisions.
Government response. The government deflects the recommendation by focusing on the linkages between persistent absence and home education, rather than addressing the call to require local authorities to report on attendance at breakfast or holiday clubs.
Department for Education
17
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
We recommend the Department commission research to test the link between sports- based interventions and improved attendance. As part of this, the Department should look to the third sector for effective practice examples.
Government response. The government responded by outlining its existing 'Working together to improve school attendance' guidance from May 2022, rather than committing to commissioning research on sports-based interventions and attendance.
Department for Education
18
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
The provision of enrichment activities available for pupils has declined in recent years, with £1 billion less spent on youth services than a decade ago. We heard sports-based activities provided by third sector organisations is just one example of enrichment that has been used as an intervention to improve school …
Government response. The government deflects the recommendation regarding an enrichment guarantee by discussing existing guidance, ‘Working together to improve school attendance,’ issued in May 2022, which focuses on a 'support first' ethos and attendance expectations.
Department for Education
20
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Absence rates in special schools have always been significantly higher than in mainstream educational settings. We understand the SEND cohort have higher absences for legitimate and unavoidable reasons, thus making comparisons with other cohorts difficult. We recommend the Department take greater care when reporting these statistics to avoid unhelpful comparisons.
Government response. The government's response detailed a new burdens assessment undertaken in Spring 2022, which is unrelated to the recommendation about taking greater care when reporting special school attendance statistics.
Department for Education
21
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Attendance and engagement should be seen as key metrics of educational outcomes for SEND pupils in specialist settings. However, the Department should take specific barriers into account when developing these metrics and ensure that they are not expected to behave identically to peers in other settings.
Government response. The government discussed a new burdens assessment from Spring 2022 and how local authorities are already delivering expectations, rather than addressing the recommendation to develop specific attendance and engagement metrics for SEND pupils.
Department for Education
27
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
The Department should also lead a cross-government assessment of the scale of mental health difficulties amongst pupils, and review the current provision of support available in schools and outside of them. The Government should conclude this review and report its findings by Summer 2024. There then needs to be significant …
Government response. The government discussed the Department's monitoring of local authority support and their role in attendance, completely sidestepping the recommendation for a cross-government mental health assessment and CAMHS review.
Department for Education
29
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
As part of reforms to the guidance on attendance, the Department should introduce a mental health absence code, and set clear thresholds for its use.
Government response. The government's response detailed the 'Working together to improve attendance' guidance, focusing on its 'support first' ethos and the use of legal interventions, but did not address the recommendation to introduce a mental health absence code.
Department for Education
32
Conclusion
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Transport and uniform costs were identified as barriers to school attendance, especially with recent increases to the cost of living. Although the Department provides extra support to low-income families, such as help with transport costs, it is clear from our evidence that families are not widely taking up these programmes, …
Government response. The government welcomed the committee's support for attendance mentors and related models, but did not provide the requested data on the take-up of transport cost support for low-income families.
Department for Education
33
Recommendation
Seventh Report - Persistent absence and…
Deferred
Ultimately, pupils from low-socio economic backgrounds should not be prevented from receiving an education due their financial situation, and this should be considered a priority for the Department as the cost of living continues to rise. We recommend the Department review its framework for supporting low-income families in meeting the …
Government response. The government welcomed the Committee’s support for its existing expansion of attendance mentors and acknowledged the importance of individual and whole-family support, rather than committing to a review of financial support for low-income families.
Department for Education