When I became deputy head of Orchard Primary School in Hackney last year and attendance was below the national average of 95 per cent, the challenge for me as a senior leader was clear from the outset.
My belief has always been that in order to improve the educational achievement of children from disadvantaged areas, attendance is a critical issue that we need to crack first. For these young people, school is their only link to learning and, put simply, they have to be there.
I have seen first-hand the negative impact that absence can have on a child’s educational attainment. When I first joined, more than 80 per cent of the persistently absent children were significantly below the national expectations for their age.
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