Improving attendance – Why pupils want to attend Pontarddulais Comprehensive School.
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Information about the school
Pontarddulais Comprehensive School opened in 1982, with a Specialist Teaching Facility added in 2007 for up to 10 pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Located in a community with varied socio-economic backgrounds, pupils are drawn from a widely dispersed catchment area including urban areas, small villages and hill farms. There are currently 866 pupils on roll, around 16% are eligible for free school meals and around 20% are identified as having an additional learning need. The school’s vision of ‘Through inclusion, respect and resilience we will become better people and successful lifelong learners.’ supports the school’s motto of ‘Learn to live…live to learn.’
Context and background to the practice
Recognising the critical role attendance plays in pupils’ outcomes, in 2018 the school prioritised attendance as a driver for school improvement through a range of strategies. This initiative evolved from a basic understanding that attendance is not merely a matter of compliance but is intrinsically linked to pupil engagement, well-being and developing a sense of belonging. The school’s vision emphasised creating an environment where pupils feel valued, included, and excited about learning.
Description of the strategy
The strategy focuses on two key priorities: continuing to foster a nurturing, inclusive school culture, and ensuring engaging learning opportunities, including a diverse range of courses at Key Stage 4. The underlying principle is that pupils are more likely to want to attend school with the right culture and an interesting and engaging curriculum.
Specific strategies include:
Building and maintaining relationships: The school is a safe, secure and nurturing environment, where positive relationships are prioritised. A behaviour working party re-wrote the school’s Positive Behaviour Policy with a clear focus on ensuring a proactive culture that fosters these positive relationships and an understanding of the factors that affect pupil behaviour. The evidence-based practice such as emotion coaching techniques and trauma informed awareness underpin the positive behaviour policy. The simple yet effective rules of ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ are embedded throughout the school community. Regular staff training includes explaining the importance of how staff interact with pupils using the 5Cs approach, where staff are expected to be calm, consistent, clear, confident and compassionate when speaking to pupils. Alongside this, pupils are explicitly taught the importance of developing personal values such as kindness and empathy through a Character and Culture programme.
Promoting attendance: Through assemblies and form tutor sessions, the school emphasises the importance of daily attendance as a cornerstone of academic success and personal growth.
Robust monitoring and interventions: The school has a comprehensive monitoring system to identify attendance patterns early. Tailored interventions, including one-on-one support and family engagement, are key in addressing specific attendance challenges, particularly for vulnerable pupils. Key staff work as a team to create support plans that are individual to the pupil. This is regularly monitored through focused meetings with key staff. The school’s Family Engagement Officer (FEO) works closely with the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to support families in a caring and sensitive manner, often providing outreach support within the community. As the EWO/FEO works with partner primary schools, practices are consistent throughout the cluster.
Curriculum Innovation: Recognising the diverse needs and interests of the pupils, the school expanded its curriculum in Years 10 and 11 to include a mix of GCSE and vocational subjects. The curriculum offer is designed to engage pupils in learning and align with their interests and career aspirations. The school feels that this has a profound impact on attendance for both year groups.
Impact on provision and pupils’ standards
The implementation of these strategies has led to improvements in the following aspects:
Increased attendance rates: Attendance exceeds modelled expectations, a testament to the effectiveness of the strategies. Pupils attend not just out of obligation but due to a genuine desire to be in school. For 2022/23, the school was in Benchmark Quartile 1 at 92.6%, 4.1% points above modelled expectations. eFSM pupils’ attendance was 87.8%, which is 8.4% points above the national average.
Enhanced school culture and ethos: The nurturing ethos contributes to a sense of social inclusion and community. Pupils report feeling part of a supportive network, positively impacting their well-being and academic engagement.
Academic success: The broadened curriculum in Years 10 and 11 has led to increased pupil engagement. Pupils enjoy their learning experiences, leading to very strong performance in external examinations.
Career pathways: The diverse and inclusive curriculum has enabled pupils to begin charting their career paths early, with many building on their studied school subjects to plan towards achieving their future career aspirations.
Pontarddulais Comprehensive School’s approach to improving attendance is a blend of strategic monitoring, personalised support, curriculum innovation, and fostering a nurturing school culture. This holistic approach has not only enhanced attendance rates but has fundamentally improved the educational experience and outcomes for pupils.