Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 68
68
Accepted
Paragraph: 277
Reinforce school-pupil-parent partnerships to improve pupil behaviour and attendance, especially for SEND pupils.
Conclusion
The Department needs to reinforce the importance of positive and effective partnerships between schools, pupils and parents in addressing and improving pupil behaviour and attendance. This is particularly important for special educational needs and disabilities pupils who represent an increasing proportion of pupils.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the critical nature of school, pupil, and family relationships for behaviour and attendance, stating that existing statutory guidance, support for SEND pupils, and resources like Behaviour Advisers and a parent guide already reinforce this importance.
Paragraph Reference:
277
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Tackling absence and providing safe, calm and supportive classrooms is at the heart of the Department’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. This government firmly believes that every child and young person should know that success can belong to them. We agree that the relationships between schools, pupils and families are critical to improving behaviour and attendance. Our newly statutory Working together to improve school attendance guidance sets out clear expectations for all parties, starting with a “support-first approach”. Parents have a responsibility to send their children to school. Schools and trusts have a responsibility to create welcoming, engaging and inclusive spaces for pupils. This includes working with families to rebuild the child’s sense of belonging. We understand that children with additional needs face greater challenges with their attendance at school. Across the sector, work is being carried out to provide support for children with SEND and we know that parents have struggled with getting the right support for their children, particularly through a long and difficult EHCP process. We aim to rebuild confidence in the SEND system through partnership. Data suggests there is considerable variation in school level practice. Working in collaboration with the national Attendance Ambassador Rob Tarn and the sector, the Department has released an attendance toolkit to help schools identify the drivers of absence and adopt effective practices in improving attendance. To complement this, our Attendance Hubs work to share best practice across the sector so that the schools who have made strong improvements in attendance can share that learning with their colleagues - be it resources, systems, leadership or approach. Alongside this, the Department’s £10 million Behaviour Hubs programme pairs schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) with exemplary behaviour practices with partner schools or MATs who want and need to improve behaviour in their setting. The programme is flexible and non-prescriptive, with tailored support and a team of six Behaviour Advisers responsible for overseeing programme development and design and supporting delivery. The Behaviour Advisers bring experience from across the school sectors, including alternative provision and special schools, providing broad representation of all schools and their specific needs. It is for schools to develop their own approaches to engaging parents that are best suited to the local context of the school and individual families. Although there is no longer a statutory obligation to have home-school agreements, some schools use them successfully as a way to engage parents. A home-school agreement could cover, for example, the practical ways that each pupil’s parents could support their child’s learning. A guide for Parents on School Behaviour and Exclusion is also available which outlines the role of parents and the school in ensuring pupils understand how to behave well, which includes any detail on reasonable adjustments for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).