Case Study: Northfleet Technology College

School attendance is a cornerstone of educational success and personal development. We all know that it is essential for academic achievement, social and emotional growth, and the development of positive habits. Addressing barriers to regular attendance and fostering a supportive environment to ensure that all students can succeed has become increasingly more challenging in the last few years.

At NTC we are a nurturing and inclusive community and use many inclusive methods when working with our families. Attendance we know is best addressed early on and with the addition of A Star Attendance into the community fold, we have been able to identify and intervene even earlier than we used to as well as free up time spent on admin.

A Star has been a welcomed addition to our own attendance tracker and student data base of information.

We pride ourselves on knowing our students which assists us when working with families to address the barriers and as parents and guardians play a crucial role in promoting regular attendance, communication is vital and so A Star letters have been pivotal in ensuring the right families are communicated with and most importantly communicated with early on.

Relationships are crucial in the initial stages of addressing attendance barriers, so we adopt a whole school approach to addressing attendance. Through our community system, we encourage all our Learning Coaches to raise awareness of student’s attendance with them weekly and be the first port of call to identifying and communicating any concerns with the family. It is crucial that families feel supported and it is through this relationship building that often many potential persistent absentees are identified and supported. Early intervention is definitely the key to success.

Where further intervention is required, and parents are invited in, we always establish the barriers together, and collectively set realistic targets for improvement through a 2-week monitoring plan, we also access several programs and interventions that provide support for families, such as health services, counselling, and transportation assistance. This has made a big difference in addressing those potential persistent absentees and regardless of parental attendance we meet and work with the student, sending home the agreed actions.

Through our communities, we also acknowledge good attendance through our rewards assemblies, however we are keen to promote improved attendance, acknowledging and rewarding at the end of the year students who have overcome their own personal barriers to get into school as well as students with continued good attendance.

A Star has certainly reduced the amount of time spent on admin and increased the time we are able to invest in families. It is this investment along with clarity in information sent that has enabled us to reach out to more families and remove more barriers.

Reference Details 

– Sarah Tinker Deputy Headteacher, Northfleet Technology College, Kent