Tackling poor pupil attendance

We spoke to the principal education welfare officer (EWO) at Haringey Council and 5 of our associate education experts, Mark Trusson, Peter Slough, Marilyn Nathan, David Driscoll, and Jeremy Bird for this article.

EWS, Haringey Council http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/children-families/education/information_for_parents/supportingeducation/ews.htm

Strategies to improve attendance

Engaging parents

Ensure that all parents have a copy of the attendance policy.

This should include details of:

• The actions that the school will take at various levels of attendance
• The staff members who will be responsible for dealing with any parents whose child has an attendance level of between 90% and 95%

Your school could also:

Build a relationship between the school and parents of eligible pupils by holding coffee mornings