DfE performance tables are published today. This year, they are more detailed than ever, covering everything from Key Stage 2 results to average teacher salary, from amount spent on resources to absence rates.
Here’s an overview of absence rates for Moortown Primary compared to other primary schools.
(Don’t get confused: we often talk about attendance rates – the higher, the better. The performance tables refer to absence rates, so the converse is true – the lower, the better.)
The absence rate for Moortown Primary is 4.1%. This compares well against the average across England’s primary state-funded schools (4.8%) and Leeds (4.7%).
I’ve gone through the table and noted the absence rates of 11 other primary schools in the area, chosen in a relatively random way other than schools which are nearby. Moortown Primary comes about half-way up the list. It’s great our absence rates are lower than national and Leeds averages. What we need to keep working on is improving attendance against similar schools nearby…
- if the absence rate of Gledhow Primary and Alwoodley Primary is 4.0%, could our attendance improve by a small amount more to match their figures?
- if Talbot Primary’s absence is 3.6%, should our absence rate be lower than 4.1%?
The attendance tables also include figures to show persistent absenteeism – the percentage of pupils in a school who have particularly high absence. For Moortown Primary, the figure is 2.8%. This is much better than national (3.6%) and Leeds (3.5%) rates. Last year, the 2.8% was made up six pupils. To put this into context, we can account for four of these children – we know they had / have specific reasons:
- medical conditions where absences are backed up with full medical evidence and / or medical professionals being in frequent communication, or
- other very specific reasons, again, backed up at every stage of absence by communication and evidence from parents and other professionals.
Parents / carers of the other two children could not provide us with any reason for the absences. Under stricter, clearer guidelines, parents / carers of these children would be fined – £60 per child, per parent. So far this school year, we have passed on to the local authority two instances of extended and unauthorised term-time absence.