Attending school is crucial if students are to progress with their studies. Covid has hampered student’s education, but alternative provision can help and continue to educate those students who may not be in school.
According to figures from The Department for Education:
“fewer than 92% of pupils were present in classrooms on 16 September, with 59,000 absent with confirmed cases of Covid-19 and a further 45,000 off with suspected cases.”
Despite the massive reduction in numbers in comparison to the previous academic year, there are thousands still absent and missing out on education.
The impact Covid has had on the education sector has been drastic. The effect of attendance levels directly impacts attainment levels for students and results in thousands of days of learning lost. According to research:
“The overall absence rate has similarly remained at a worrying 4.7% this year. This represents 22 million days of learning lost. On top of this, a further 7.0% of school lessons have been lost due to Covid circumstances, this represents 33 million days of lost learning.”
In addition to this, due to the amount of lost learning, a generation of students have become at risk of being left behind with their development, which could impact their future selves.
Alternative provision can be offered as a viable option to ensure students are continued to be educated if they are not attending school. Students may be absent due to Covid, mental health issues or other reasons but alternative provision will maintain their attendance levels, ultimately leading to sustained academic scores.
SEND learners need just as much support
Learners with special educational needs can require extra support and some schools may not be able accommodate such learners whatsoever. The number of learners with special requirements has increased slightly and the education sector has had to adjust accordingly. According to the government:
“The number of pupils with SEN support has increased by less than 0.5% to 1,083,100.”
With alternative provision, SEND learners can learn at their own pace. When implemented with guided support, alternative provision has the potential to assist SEND learners and boost their ability levels. Removing the fear of attending mainstream school can allow SEND learners to learn in an environment they feel most comfortable with.
A recent report found that:
“the attainment gap is greatest for children with SEND compared with mainstream education pupils: with a 48 per cent difference in SEND pupils’ ability to reach the standard for reading, writing and maths at KS2 compared to other pupils.”
This significant statistic highlights why SEND learners desperately need support with their learning. Attendance for all learners and their progress is crucial and alternative provision sites like EDClass can help.
EDClass can help with your school’s attendance
EDClass provides a unique platform that offers a virtual learning classroom, allowing attendance levels to be maintained for a school.
Safeguarding within EDClass is paramount with the platform providing an alert button and sophisticated procedures in place to ensure student’s safety and attendance when learning.
EDClass’ aim is to provide students with a secure alternative provision that supports their educational needs while they are unable to make it into a mainstream establishment.
If you would like some more information then please call 01909 568 338, send an email to mail@edclass.com or book a demo here.
