Personalised textual content messages to folks could possibly be used to assist enhance faculty attendance charges, as lecturers wrestle to re-engage youngsters and their households after the disruption of Covid, based on consultants.
Lee Elliot Main, professor of social mobility on the College of Exeter, mentioned there was a “nationwide persistent truancy disaster” in England, with considerably extra youngsters now lacking classes in contrast with earlier than the pandemic.
A spread of measures, together with household liaison employees and attendance officers, are already in place, however trials the world over recommend textual content messaging dad and mom could possibly be an efficient and low-cost method to spice up attendance, mentioned Elliot Main.
In a submission to the Commons training committee, which has launched an inquiry to search out options to the pupil absence disaster, Elliott Main and his co-author, Andy Eyles of College Faculty London, mentioned proof on learn how to cut back persistent absenteeism was weak.
They referred to as for analysis to develop evidence-informed approaches and confused the necessity for “real non-hierarchical, mutually respective relationships with dad and mom” that require time to develop.
Faculty employees already use textual content messages routinely to maintain their father or mother physique knowledgeable, however Elliott Main is proposing the usage of extra personalised messages on the again of a broader effort to construct deeper relationships between faculties and households.
“The the explanation why so many youngsters haven’t returned to highschool is various and sophisticated, however most troubling of all, some households seem to have misplaced their perception that attending faculty recurrently is important for his or her youngsters,” he mentioned.
“I’m satisfied that creating school-parent engagement plans can be a possible game-changer encouraging extra youngsters to attend faculty and enabling them to be higher ready to study in school rooms.”
Current analysis by FFT Datalab discovered {that a} third of 15-year-olds have been persistently absent from school rooms in England in the course of the present faculty yr.
Pupils from deprived backgrounds – primarily these eligible without spending a dime faculty meals – have been notably vulnerable to absence. Half of deprived year-10 pupils have been reported as persistently absent, lacking at the very least 10% of college time, almost double the speed of different college students in the identical yr group.
Geoff Barton, the final secretary of the Affiliation of Faculty and Faculty Leaders, mentioned: “Any methods to enhance attendance should be fastidiously thought of, notably the monetary price to varsities and the influence on employees workload. In actuality, this isn’t an issue faculties can clear up on their very own. They require the assist of oldsters, native authorities, and funding from central authorities.”
A Division for Training spokesperson mentioned: “We’re decided to proceed driving up attendance and are providing focused assist for kids who’re recurrently absent.
“This contains working with faculties, trusts, governing our bodies, and native authorities to maintain youngsters within the classroom, in addition to offering steerage for faculties on how finest to speak with dad and mom.”
