Collaborating to Improve Attendance at Stour Vale
Matt Priest, Headteacher at Queen Victoria Primary School, explains how collaboration and shared initiatives across Stour Vale have led to significant improvement in attendance rates.
We all share the knowledge that consistent attendance is critical to the success and wellbeing of our children and young people. Attendance not only impacts academic achievement but also shapes the social and emotional development of our students. As an academy trust, we are committed to fostering a culture where every child feels valued and eager to attend school each day. To enhance our approach to attendance at Queen Victoria Primary School, we have benefited from the collaborative approach to attendance across the trust. The regular meetings for attendance officers and school attendance champions have helped us to share best practices, learn from one another’s experiences, discuss the challenges our schools face and implement solutions tailored to our context. Many of the initiatives we have introduced have been used successfully at various schools across the trust, including the attendance signage at Newtown Primary School and Olive Hill Primary School and the attendance awards used at Oldbury Academy and Moat Farm Junior School. Another significant factor has been the review of attendance in April 2024 where the school received constructive challenge from Executive Leader Lara Stone and Oldbury Academy’s Mandeep Thiara, to ensure we have remained focused on our goal of improving attendance as a school. The collaborative efforts have already yielded positive results where we have seen a significant upward trend in our attendance figures this year. For example, our overall attendance increased from 92.6% in Autumn 2023 to 94.6% in Autumn 2024. Unauthorised absence has also decreased from 3.5% in Autumn 2023 to 1.7% in Autumn 2024. Our ongoing collaboration within Stour Vale has been vital in driving significant improvements in our attendance data. By recognising the importance of attendance, sharing professional learning and engaging in meaningful reviews, we are laying the foundation for a brighter future for our children.
We all share the knowledge that consistent attendance is critical to the success and wellbeing of our children and young people. Attendance not only impacts academic achievement but also shapes the social and emotional development of our students. As an academy trust, we are committed to fostering a culture where every child feels valued and eager to attend school each day. To enhance our approach to attendance at Queen Victoria Primary School, we have benefited from the collaborative approach to attendance across the trust. The regular meetings for attendance officers and school attendance champions have helped us to share best practices, learn from one another’s experiences, discuss the challenges our schools face and implement solutions tailored to our context. Many of the initiatives we have introduced have been used successfully at various schools across the trust, including the attendance signage at Newtown Primary School and Olive Hill Primary School and the attendance awards used at Oldbury Academy and Moat Farm Junior School. Another significant factor has been the review of attendance in April 2024 where the school received constructive challenge from Executive Leader Lara Stone and Oldbury Academy’s Mandeep Thiara, to ensure we have remained focused on our goal of improving attendance as a school. The collaborative efforts have already yielded positive results where we have seen a significant upward trend in our attendance figures this year. For example, our overall attendance increased from 92.6% in Autumn 2023 to 94.6% in Autumn 2024. Unauthorised absence has also decreased from 3.5% in Autumn 2023 to 1.7% in Autumn 2024. Our ongoing collaboration within Stour Vale has been vital in driving significant improvements in our attendance data. By recognising the importance of attendance, sharing professional learning and engaging in meaningful reviews, we are laying the foundation for a brighter future for our children.