The strategy focuses on two key priorities: continuing to foster a nurturing, inclusive school culture, and ensuring engaging learning opportunities, including a diverse range of courses at Key Stage 4. The underlying principle is that pupils are more likely to want to attend school with the right culture and an interesting and engaging curriculum.
Specific strategies include:
Building and maintaining relationships: The school is a safe, secure and nurturing environment, where positive relationships are prioritised. A behaviour working party re-wrote the school’s Positive Behaviour Policy with a clear focus on ensuring a proactive culture that fosters these positive relationships and an understanding of the factors that affect pupil behaviour. The evidence-based practice such as emotion coaching techniques and trauma informed awareness underpin the positive behaviour policy. The simple yet effective rules of ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ are embedded throughout the school community. Regular staff training includes explaining the importance of how staff interact with pupils using the 5Cs approach, where staff are expected to be calm, consistent, clear, confident and compassionate when speaking to pupils. Alongside this, pupils are explicitly taught the importance of developing personal values such as kindness and empathy through a Character and Culture programme.
Promoting attendance: Through assemblies and form tutor sessions, the school emphasises the importance of daily attendance as a cornerstone of academic success and personal growth.
Robust monitoring and interventions: The school has a comprehensive monitoring system to identify attendance patterns early. Tailored interventions, including one-on-one support and family engagement, are key in addressing specific attendance challenges, particularly for vulnerable pupils. Key staff work as a team to create support plans that are individual to the pupil. This is regularly monitored through focused meetings with key staff. The school’s Family Engagement Officer (FEO) works closely with the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to support families in a caring and sensitive manner, often providing outreach support within the community. As the EWO/FEO works with partner primary schools, practices are consistent throughout the cluster.
Curriculum Innovation: Recognising the diverse needs and interests of the pupils, the school expanded its curriculum in Years 10 and 11 to include a mix of GCSE and vocational subjects. The curriculum offer is designed to engage pupils in learning and align with their interests and career aspirations. The school feels that this has a profound impact on attendance for both year groups.