Issue - meetings

Sarah Tregaskis, Head of School Services & Post-16 Education, present the report to the committee which contained further analysis following the report presented in April 2023.  Andy Danks, Delivery Lead - Attendance Service, continued by confirming that the report contained key elements of the service and gave an overview with the following points highlighted -

·        The national figure in relation to school absence is increasing, but Warwickshire is narrowing that gap with a slower increase.

·        There has been a significant increase in the figures for absence within Warwickshire, and it is important to note that absence from school is often a symptom of other issues, such as self-harm, the cost-of-living crisis or family illness.

·        The Committee noted that there is a new delivery model in place for monitoring school absence but at the moment, real time date is not available.  When that is in place, officers will have a much clear idea of the number of absences.

·        Some schools within Warwickshire have not yet signed up to the new delivery model but officers from the council are working with them to get them on board.

·        Part of the new direction is an understanding that absence and attendance is something that everyone should be working on.  Support from appropriate, multi agencies can make a real difference.

Following a question from Councillor Bill Gifford in relation to the link between absence and other issues, and how officers identify which comes first, John Coleman, Director of Children & Families Service confirmed that there is a strong link between the attendance team and children’s services and that officers have a clear objective to support children to attend school.  The early help team are also working closely with the attendance team to ensure support is available. 

Clarification was given that the figures reflect a small number of children not attending school more frequently, rather than more children generally not attending.  It was reiterated that often there is another, significant issue that is preventing attendance and that it is often much more than truancy.  The Committee noted that schools and officers do a lot of work with the families as well, not just the child/ren.

Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell asked for confirmation in relation to how many schools have taken up the new delivery model and if there was a difference between the number of the absence reported by families and the number of absences reported by schools?  It was confirmed that there are just over 80 schools within Warwickshire that have yet to sign up and that are being offered support to get them on board.  There are 69 schools that have not yet been contacted.

In relation to the question about how absences are reported by families in comparison to how they are reported by schools, the Committee was referred to the coding definitions in the report.  It was acknowledged that these codes do not always show the full picture and that they can be open to interpretation. 

Councillor Clare Golby asked how absence was recorded when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6