What are ‘ghost children’ and why is college attendance important?

Faculty is the very best atmosphere for pupils to discover in. Being in university helps retain small children safe and sound and supports them to reach their prospective, whilst remaining surrounded by teachers and friends.

That’s why we’re fully commited to tackling the factors triggering small children to pass up school. Below, we convey to you what you want to know about university attendance.  

What are ‘ghost children’?                                                                               

‘Ghost children’ is not an formal governing administration expression, but the media frequently employs it to refer to small children who are not on a regular basis attending school.

When the media refer to ghost small children, they may possibly suggest children of faculty age, who are not registered pupils at a university and not obtaining suitable education and learning, these as satisfactory house-education.

The media may possibly also include small children who are registered at faculty but are persistently or seriously absent.

What about young children who are persistently or severely absent?

Young children who are registered at a university but often fall short to flip up are formally referred to as currently being ‘persistently’ or ‘severely’ absent.

The school working day is break up in to two periods – just one session counts as a morning or afternoon invested in faculty. Pupils who have missed much more than 10% of school periods are persistently absent, although children who have missed additional than 50% of college classes are severely absent.

It’s encouraging that the variety of absent pupils has fallen considering the fact that the pandemic, but there is still perform to do. That is why we’re introducing measures to make improvements to college attendance.

What are we performing to enhance college attendance?

We’re supporting colleges to enhance attendance through a selection of initiatives, set out in our latest attendance strategy and steering. This features a new data visualisation software which would make it a lot easier for academics to analyse attendance, and the formation of an Attendance Action Alliance of nationwide education and care leaders who are doing work alongside one another to focus on the motives behind lousy attendance.

We’re now making on this through the enlargement of our Attendance Hubs programme. These are networks of educational institutions that share best apply and sensible assets with every other to assist drive up attendance rates. For instance, the Hubs could possibly aid schools to roll out automated text messaging to dad and mom when pupils have not confirmed up at faculty, or to increase the use of details to identify young children at possibility of lousy attendance.

On best of this, we’re growing our Attendance Mentors programme. Shipped by children’s charity Barnardo’s, the programme targets areas of the nation with the optimum ranges of pupil absence, with experienced mentors working straight with persistently and seriously absent youngsters and their families to identify barriers to attendance and assistance them back into faculty.

We’re also amassing proof to inform long run coverage on young children who are not registered at school or getting acceptable residence schooling. This will assistance us to identify finest observe and powerful means to make certain all little ones are obtaining an acceptable schooling.

Altogether, these actions will intention to enhance attendance, main to greater attainment and mental wellbeing among college small children.

Why is attendance critical?

Staying in faculty is significant to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and broader growth. Evidence shows that the college students with the best attendance all through their time in university gain the finest GCSE and A stage benefits.

Our analysis observed that pupils who carried out better each at the conclude of main and secondary school missed fewer days than those who did not complete as properly. For illustration, knowledge from 2019 demonstrates that 84% of Critical Phase 2 pupils who experienced 100% attendance obtained the predicted common, in comparison to 40% of pupils who ended up persistently absent throughout the important stage.

How is attendance for children who are dwelling-schooled calculated?

If you just take your boy or girl out of college to educate them at property, your neighborhood authority will get started producing enquiries as to irrespective of whether that education is acceptable.

At the moment, area authorities are inspired to preserve a file of youngsters in the region who are educated somewhere other than at a faculty. We approach to make it compulsory for nearby authorities to do this.

Although most dwelling instruction is of fantastic high-quality, this will support us spot and assist little ones where their instruction falls small, building sure all little ones have the chance to find out and thrive.