A scheme using “local influencers” to share “positive messages” on attendance as part of a government communications push could be rolled out nationwide.
The Department for Education published its response to the education select committee’s report on persistent absence on Thursday.
While ministers outlined several plans to combat stubbornly-high absence, committee chair Robin Walker said “outstanding questions remain about whether the education and health systems are sufficiently resources to meet the rising tide of demand for SEND and mental health services”.
DfE has been piloting a daily attendance data collection, which scrapes schools’ registers to give real-time intel. Four in five schools already take part.
