The new Ofsted framework's emphasis on whether pupils achieve, belong and thrive is forcing leaders to interrogate the relationship between attendance and achievement in a far more meaningful way.
We know that a student can achieve 100% attendance without being genuinely engaged in their education; they can be physically present but cognitively passive. They can complete work without building the cognitive architecture that sits behind it. Equally, persistent absence can be a symptom of disengagement rather than simply the problem itself. This doesn't mean adopting the reductionist approach that 'poor attendance results from poor teaching' as the causes of absence can be incredibly complex: family circumstances, health, anxiety, SEND, transport, socio-economic factors and a whole range of other influences. However, there is certainly a great deal we can do to motivate learners: allowing them to feel successful, or at the very least capable of achieving success, being the most significant factor of all.
In one of my previous schools, PASS data illuminated a common perception amongst learners: they did not know how to be (or to even feel confident about being) successful learners. Interestingly, some of the students who expressed this lack of confidence in their potential for success were those whose data suggested they were well placed to excel, so what was going on?
Just like the reasons for poor attendance, the reasons sitting behind these feelings of inadequacy were complex: some students felt expectations were too high, others did not know how to engage in particular subjects; some felt the teacher did not praise them, others felt they did not have the requisite skills for success, and so on. The important takeaway was that their perception of themselves as learners was not necessarily aligned with the reality of their potential.
This raises some uncomfortable but crucial questions for us as educational leaders to consider:
What does the experience of being in our school actually feel like for a learner?
Is our curriculum coherent, intellectually demanding and appropriately challenging?
Do pupils experience genuine success, and understand why they have been successful?
Are we explicitly teaching the knowledge, habits and strategies that allow pupils to become increasingly autonomous?
Do pupils understand why what they are learning is important/relevant/intriguing?
Do our classrooms cultivate curiosity, or merely compliance?
And perhaps most importantly: do our pupils see themselves as successful learners?
There is no one approach to such an issue, but a combination of the following is a great place to begin:
Candid, open, ongoing dialogue with staff.
A well-structured CPD programme that goes beyond simply listing pedagogical strategies in a one-size-fits-all manner, to exploring how to engage, motivate and support students.
The creation of a shared language of learning.
A student programme, aligned with staff development, that explicitly teaches pupils how to learn.
A PSHE curriculum that develops pupils' understanding of themselves, their confidence and their sense of agency.
A genuine willingness to listen to students and, crucially, to respond to what they tell us.
A curriculum designed around carefully sequenced knowledge and concepts, giving students the 'conceptual baskets' in which to store and connect what they are learning.
The new Ofsted framework will hopefully encourage us as educational leaders to give students better reasons to walk through the gate, and more confidence to succeed when they do.
#Education #SchoolImprovement #Attendance #TeachingAndLearning #Curriculum #Ofsted #EducationalLeadership
