Dr Raj’s Three- Step Plan to Stamp out Absenteeism

Government research into school absence shows that targeted intervention with pupils persistently absent from school has led to 20 percent drop in the number of pupils missing a fifth or more of lessons, since spring 2006. With school absence shown to be 0.27 percent higher with girls rather than boys and almost 50 percent higher with children with special educational needs compared to their peers, a targeted approach from parents along side schools and Local Authorities is vital.

The national Every Lesson Counts campaign has enlisted Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Raj Persaud, to help advise parents on the best ways in which to tackle attendance problems with girls and children with special educational needs. 

“Success, isn’t based on making dramatic changes,” says Dr Raj. ”Simple steps are often the most productive. The key is to identify the triggers and implement simple patterns of behaviour to set good, consistent routines for the future.”

“Start by talking to class teachers about the roots of any problems,” advises Raj. “They have the expertise and the personal knowledge of children to help begin to resolve problems.”

With this in mind Dr Raj sets out his three-step action plan to stamp out these causes of absenteeism.

Battling girls’ school absence:

• Relationships with school friends are key to girls and these friendships are major factors in good school attendance. The more children miss school the more they fall behind and lose these relationships leading to feelings of isolation when they do turn up. Support your daughter’s friendships and involvement in sports and extra-curricular groups, so that school becomes a social event. This will encourage your daughter to become part of a peer group in school rather than a peer group that regularly does not attend school.
• School absence, which might at first be relatively infrequent, can rapidly accumulate. Stay strict on even infrequent absence and show your daughter that attending school is a priority to you and is key to her future success.
• Feeling overwhelmed by homework or school activities can rapidly become a barrier to attending school. Talk to your daughter about the school day and week, not only will your interest encourage success but you can also look for ways in which to help her stay organised and prepared for each day.

Help kids with special educational needs improve attendance:  

• Communication between parents and teachers is key to making sure that children with special educational needs attend and enjoy school.  Start a school diary with your child and share this with schoolteachers. This will help you and your child to keep track of progress made and any changes to routine that you need to help with. It will also give you a starting point for conversations with teachers about any arising problems.
• Establish solid routines in your family that reinforce to children the importance of regular school attendance. Pack bags the night before and plan with children what is going to happen the next day. Talking through the day in this way with your child will also unearth any underlying problems your child may have.
• Remember that the school is there to help you. Parents’ who have unhappy memories of school or struggled with learning difficulties themselves at school, may be reluctant to approach teachers for help. If you are having problems discuss them with a member of staff. Open communication will prevent an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude developing which will only worsen the problem.

If a child misses just one day a week, over the course of their school career they will miss two years of schooling. The Every Lesson Counts campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of regular attendance and to help schools, parents and children implement simple working practices to cut out absenteeism. For more details about the campaign and sources of further information and help visit www.direct.gov.uk/everylessoncounts.

For more information please contact Miriam Laverick or Gemma Hutchison at Geronimo Communications on 020 7299 8785 or 0207 299 8753

Notes:

• The DfES report found at: www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000718/index.shtml
• This is a new Statistical First Release reporting on absence in maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies during 2005/06. It is based on pupil level absence data collected for the first time via the Schools' Census. This release provides information on the levels of absence (authorised, unauthorised and overall) by type of school; absence rates by pupil characteristics (such as gender, free school meal eligibility, ethnic group and special educational needs); the percentage of pupils by number of days absence; as well as summary statistics on persistent absentees (the percentage of absence these pupils account for, their characteristics; and the number of schools where the percentage of persistent absentees falls within certain ranges.
• Dr Raj Persaud is Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley NHS Hospitals Trust
• DfES figures published 11January 2006 show that unauthorised absence in secondary schools fell to 1.20% in the last academic year compared with 1.23% in the previous academic year
• Between 22 April 2006 and 1 September 2006, 4,861 penalty notices were issued to parents
• Over the same period over 3200 Parenting Contracts were agreed with parents to support them tackling absenteeism