8th January 2024
The Government has today announced new measures aimed at tackling persistent absence.
Commenting on the proposals to roll out additional attendance hubs and mentors Confederation of School Trusts Chief Executive Leora Cruddas CBE said: "CST supports the government’s campaign to improve school attendance, the roll out of attendance hubs and attendance mentors, announced today. However, this will not be enough to fix the crisis. The issues around school attendance are much more complex than perhaps they were prior to the pandemic, owing to a rise in mental ill health, a breakdown in support services, and the number of young people now living in poverty or destitution.
"These complex social factors mean we need a much more systemic response. And what we certainly need is a cross-government strategy and a cross-government commitment to child poverty reduction, and we don’t yet have that.
"2022 saw a significant drop across OECD countries in maths and reading since 2018. This is most likely due to the impact of the pandemic. While this is obviously very concerning, it is also evidence that schooling matters – hugely. This has important implications for the way we communicate to parents about the importance of school attendance.
"But going to school is not only about getting good grades. It is also about being with your friends, contributing to your sense of growing up and your wellbeing.”
In October CST launched a series of online seminars on attendance, highlighting research and best practice across the sector. Recordings of past seminars are available on the CST YouTube channel.Back to all press releases