Barriers to learning can be difficult to break for students, but this demonstrates the importance of attendance in school. So, why is attendance so vital for students?
Some students may not be attending school for a variety of reasons such as mental health issues or being school-phobic.
“Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.”
Breaking learning barriers is crucial for student development, otherwise, little or no progress will be made, leaving a student in a sense of abandonment.
Improved grades can be achieved when students attend school and learning barriers can be broken when appropriate support is in place. Recent Department for Education research found that:
“Pupils with no absence are 2.2 times more likely to achieve 5+ GCSEs A*- C or equivalent including English and mathematics than pupils that missed 15-20% of KS4 lessons.”
In addition to this, missing education can result in other factors for students becoming an issue. For example, the risk of mental health and wellbeing rising due to the fear out of missing out on education.
When pupils engage with their education they can become involved with activities that can benefit their self-improvement. Public Health England reported that:
“pupils engaging in self-development activities (including sport, physical activity) achieved 10-20% higher GCSEs”
Low attendance leads to safeguarding issues and risk of exclusions
Furthermore, when students do not attend school it can lead to external exposure and dangers that could lead to serious consequences, ultimately putting a child at risk. Research by the Department for Education found:
“60% of all permanent exclusions happen in Year 9 or above, with one quarter of all permanent exclusions in Year 10.”
Exclusions could lead to neglect at home, risks of underachieving in life and also being exploited by radicalisation or gangs and county lines.
As educators, we should treat exclusions as a last resort due to the cost and also disadvantages it puts on the student. When students remain in education, including alternative provision, it provides the learner with the opportunity to reach their full potential. Furthermore, a new study shows:
“Pupils excluded from school at 12 are four times as likely as other children to be jailed as adults.”
This establishes the importance of keeping children in education and out of trouble. Students who are school-phobic or not attending for their reasons could seek the benefits of alternative provision sites like EDClass.
EDClass can help provide support to students and raise attendance
EDClass offers one-to-one support and monitors students’ attendance to ensure they are working and in a safe environment. EDClass can help deliver tips and strategies that can boost students’ attendance and simultaneously improve attainment levels.
If a student needs help they can ask and if there is a safeguarding concern it will be dealt with swiftly. Take a look at this EdTech Impact review on the benefits of EDClass:
“EDClass can be used for students who are at risk of exclusion. It also helps in attendance as it’s easy to see when students have logged in, how long they’ve spent learning and which lessons have been completed. It saves time for attendance staff, as they don’t have to fill out a register every day.”
If you would like some more information on how EDClass can help you and your students remain focused on their education then please call 01909 568 338, send an email to mail@edclass.com or book a free trial here.
