Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Conduct an audit of local authority support for persistent absence and assess EWO funding impact.
Recommendation
The Department should conduct an audit of support provided by local authorities to tackle persistent absence. As part of this, the Department should make an assessment of the impact of providing funding for Education Welfare Officers through schools, compared to centrally funding such roles. (Paragraph 47) Government Interventions
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states it is already closely monitoring local authority support for attendance through a team of advisers working with every local authority, reviewing their approach and supporting plan implementation, and notes the significant change in LA roles since 2014.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
27. The Department is already closely monitoring support provided by local authorities. The role of the local authority in attendance has changed significantly from that of the pre- 2014 Education Welfare Service. While core functions have been retained, the ‘Working together’ guidance also sets clear roles and responsibilities for schools for the first time. where the barrier to attendance is school based, which is the significant majority of cases.
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