23.4% of UK students were persistently absent in May 2023, meaning they had an attendance of under 90%. This equates to 1.8 million students. Tracking attendance to identify students at risk has never been so important due to the increasingly high levels of school absence.
Interestingly, absence rates are 20% higher on Fridays. This has been coined the ‘Friday effect’, which could be down to parents working from home, elongating holidays or less stigma surrounding having Fridays off.
School absence figures are also being drastically increased by the prevalence of suspensions and exclusions. As of 2022/23, there were 9,376 permanent exclusions in UK schools; an increase of 2,881 permanent exclusions from the previous year.
The last UK academic year produced the highest recorded annual number of suspensions and permanent exclusions.
This data reflects that an increasing number of students could be at risk.
Impacts of Student Absence
Time spent outside of the classroom can be extremely damaging to a student’s grades. One study found that 10 class absences reduce course grades by 17-18%, and also reduce the chances of college enrolment by 2%.
Missing out on crucial learning time can have academic repercussions. It can also prevent a student from developing social and emotional skills.
Just under half of parents claimed that their child’s social and emotional skills worsened when they were absent from school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Classrooms are pivotal in a child’s understanding of how to behave and understand others. Schools teach young people how to function in society.
Perhaps the most worrying repercussion of student absence is exposure to dangers. Young people could be unsafe in their home lives or elsewhere, for example they could be involved in anti-social youth groups. A media statement from The Centre for Social Justice states:
“These [absent] pupils are disproportionately likely to be vulnerable and in desperate need of support, but are currently slipping through the net, with potentially lifelong consequences.”
Tracking attendance to identify students at risk is crucial to the lives of young people. Pupils can’t reach their full potential if they are persistently absent. For many students, the quality of their future relies on attending school and staying on track.
“Education is the passport to the future, and attendance is the stamp that gets you there.” – Malcom X
How ECINS Can Help
Tracking attendance to identify students at risk is vitally important to the safety, welfare and success of students. ECINS systems facilitates wraparound student support and provides staff with the appropriate tools to identify vulnerable students and take action. With ECINS, fewer vulnerable students can “slip through the net”.
CMM
The Case Management Module makes tracking attendance and identifying at-risk students an efficient process. It allows appropriate staff members to view a student’s case notes and gain a well-rounded understanding of what that child has experienced. For example, learning that a child has been involved in criminal activity allows staff to take action and intervene when that child is increasingly absent. Administrative load is reduced; staff don’t have to seek out information because it is all there on the system.
Information uploaded onto the CMM enables staff to visualise data in charts and graphs, gaining deeper insights into student statistics. For example, the CMM could present the attendance of individuals, certain groups or entire cohorts across a time frame of their choosing. Having relevant data on student attendance allows at-risk students to be identified and the relevant actions to be taken.
All data has ensured privacy due to the ECINS lock-down system. Only those with suitable access permissions can view a students’ extensive case history. ECINS guarantee confidentiality.
SEM: Attendance Tracker
The ECINS Student Engagement Module gives student access to a variety of features to support their learning and welfare:
| · Attendance Tracker | · Mood Tracker | · Chat Function |
| · Help & Advice Documents | · Calendar | · Task Setter |
The Attendance Tracker enables students to take greater responsibility for their absences. Students can scan QR codes to prove that they have attended classes, working particularly well for additional lessons such as after school sports or revision sessions. The attendance tracker incentivises coming to class and allows students to recognise that they are responsible for their attendance.
ECINS’ Mood Tracker and Chat Function give trusted staff members insight into students’ personal lives and potential reasons for absence. For example, a student may report being scared on the mood tracker and write an entry about having a dangerous home environment. Excluding this child if they misbehave is not the answer, so staff can understand what course of action can be taken with the child’s safety in mind. At risk students can make themselves known via SEM.
Moreover, at-risk students also have access to Help & Advice Documents. These resources can guide vulnerable students onto a better path by giving them information about better decision-making and how to reach out to staff.