Issue - meetings

To receive a report from Jo Fear, Service Manager Admissions.

Jo Fear, Head of Admissions and Attendance highlighted the key points from the report which included information on Enfield’s Education Welfare Service, impact of the pandemic on attendance and Enfield’s response, attendance data pre and post pandemic as well as the White Paper and new non-statutory guidance on improving attendance.

Members extended their thanks for the clear layout of the report and then commented as follows:

1.    In response to Members questions regarding the Enfield Education Welfare Service, officers advised that Enfield has an established team of Education Welfare Officers who work in partnership with schools, agencies and families across the Borough offering a holistic approach to improving school attendance. In addition to carrying out the Local Authority’s (LA’s) statutory duties, the Service also offer a traded element to Enfield’s academies and free schools.

2.    Cllr Erbil requested an explanation regarding the use of penalty notices (PN) by schools and how these were applied. Officers provided a detailed response and advised that term time leave of absence for holidays is problematic and this year schools have been encouraged to issue PNs where holidays are likely to be the reason for non-attendance.

3.    Cllr Thorpe said he was heartened to see attendance improving following the pandemic. However, he noted that the data was disproportionate amongst certain ethnic groups and asked what was being done to address this. Officers provided information on the initiatives in place to address this issue which included coordinating an Attendance Forum, school drop-in sessions as well as engagement work with community groups to encourage attendance.

4.    Cllr Sampson felt that during the pandemic Covid was being used as an excuse for absence and often these absences were not recorded by schools. Officers acknowledged that the drive on attendance wasn’t as tight during the pandemic as schools had been faced with a very difficult and challenging time. Even if there were ‘suspicions’ with regards to absence it was not always possible to follow these up due to varying factors including lack of staffing. However, educational welfare was still taking place during this time to positively support parents and help them engage with the Public Health Team to discuss any concerns and worries they may have had about sending their children to school during the pandemic.

5.    Cllr Grumi asked if there was any corelation between a request for authorised absence being refused, but it being taken anyway. Officers advised that they had been unable to collect this data but agreed that it would be useful to match up and ‘tease out’ some of these issues.

The Chair thanked Officers for their informative update.