Katie Beynon

1 week ago | ffteducationdatalab.org.uk | Katie Beynon

Schools can grant leave to pupils for the purpose of studying for public exams. The guidance (pdf) states that study leave “should not be granted by default once tuition of the exam syllabus is complete and should be used sparingly”. A reader of the blog wondered how consistently this type of leave is being granted. So we thought we’d take a look using data from around 2,500 of our Aspire Attendance Tracker secondary schools, covering around 450 thousand Year 11 pupils.

1 month ago | ffteducationdatalab.org.uk | Katie Beynon

In October 2016 the then Conservative Government announced that certain parts of the country were to be designated “opportunity areas”. These areas would share an extra £60m in funding, with their schools partnered with those in other parts of the country, and links developed with local businesses in the hope of raising children’s aspirations. There ended up being 12 of these, selected broadly by considering levels of social mobility, attainment and progress, and capacity to improve.

2 months ago | ffteducationdatalab.org.uk | Katie Beynon

When we last looked at absence at the end of Autumn Term, we found a slight improvement at secondary compared with the previous Autumn, and little to no change at primary. We did note though, that persistent absence among the youngest pupils, those in Reception and Year 1, seemed to have increased a little. Now that we’ve got data for the whole of Autumn and Spring Terms, we’re going to see whether these patterns held.

Jan 15, 2025 | ffteducationdatalab.org.uk | Katie Beynon

When we last looked at absence back in November, we found that there had been little change from the previous year at primary, and a slight reduction at secondary. In this post, we’ll see whether these patterns held for the rest of the term. With a full term of data under our belts, we’ll also take a more detailed look at persistent absence. As usual, data for this post comes from our FFT Attendance Tracker schools – around 6,000 primary and 2,500 secondary schools across England.

Nov 3, 2024 | ffteducationdatalab.org.uk | Katie Beynon

Since our last absence roundup, at the end of Spring Term last year, we’ve had a change of Government. The new education secretary has made clear her commitment to tackling high rates of absence in schools, enacting the previous Government’s plan to increase absence fines, and expanding the use of attendance support mentors. Now that we’re half-way through Autumn Term, let’s see if there’s any early good news.