DfE Attendance campaign ‘moments matter, attendance counts’

Thank you for your continued effort and hard work around attendance. The latest unvalidated data for the academic year 2022-23 demonstrates clear green shoots in attendance improvements, especially in primary schools.

To help schools and local authorities continue to meet this incredibly important challenge, the Government has launched a national attendance communications campaign aimed at parents and carers that will run until March 2024.

The attendance toolkit is available for schools detailing the campaign, ways you can support it, and valuable resources which can be used to help create a warm welcome to school for children, young people and families over the Spring term.The campaign will feature media partnerships, radio advertising and social media influencers to promote the importance of school attendance and the value of a school day.

The campaign reflects feedback from schools and local authorities. It aims to primarily reach those parents whose children are taking preventable odd days of absence or “avoidable absence”, rather than those who face greater barriers to attendance, such as pupils with long term medical conditions or special educational needs and disabilities.

The campaign forms one part of the DfE’s wider strategy to increase attendance, which also includes clearer expectations for schools and local authorities built around a ‘support first’ approach

While the importance of learning and the legal obligation to attend are core reasons for children to be in school, the campaign will remind parents of the wider holistic benefits for children’s wellbeing and happiness, such as the development of friendships and access to extra-curricular opportunities.

Thanks in advance for supporting the campaign throughout the Spring term.