"The reality is that schools are already working tirelessly to improve attendance, with many going way above and beyond what should be expected of schools every single day, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Paul Whiteman, said. The government issuing them with yet more targets will not help them with that work and is the wrong way to go."
"We would urge the government to understand the realities in schools rather than issuing yet more diktats dreamt up in Whitehall. Schools already move heaven and earth to ensure that all their pupils attend regularly, but many of the factors that contribute to absence are beyond their direct control. Setting them individual targets doesn't resolve those issues, but it does pile yet more pressure on school leaders and staff who are already under great strain."
Every school in England will be issued AI-generated minimum pupil attendance targets this month as part of efforts to tackle classroom absence. Headteachers will receive individual targets intended to boost attendance rates, which remain below pre-pandemic levels. Teaching unions dismissed the initiative, saying it will add pressure on already overloaded school leaders and staff who are working tirelessly to improve attendance. Unions argued many causes of absence lie beyond schools' direct control and that additional targets will not resolve underlying issues. Official figures show severe absence is rising and one in three schools have shown no improvement.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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