Ipswich youth group 4YP welcomes school attendance scheme

Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson joined Ipswich MP Jack Abbott on Friday to announce a £15m expansion of a scheme.

The expansion will look to support 10,000 students and 10 areas that have recorded some of the worst attendance in the country.

Ipswich, alongside Nottingham and Blackpool are among the new areas that will benefit from the expansion.

Ipswich-based charity 4YP who provide a range of clinical and therapeutic services for young people with poor mental health and wellbeing, welcomes the introduction of this scheme. 

“The recent announcement that the school attendance improvement programme is to be expanded is welcome news for both young people and schools," said their CEO Gavin Stone.

4YP CEO Gavin Stone welcomed the announcement.  (Image: Contributed) The charity is supporting six primary and two high schools as part of the Department for Education’s Ipswich Priority Education Investment Area pilot.

Mr Stone added: “Our youth workers are specifically supporting pupils within the 80-95% attendance bracket, to improve their school attendance and reduce the likelihood of them becoming persistent absentees.

"We are already seeing the benefits of providing soft starts, breakfast and lunch clubs, one-to-one mentoring and, where deemed appropriate, counselling, on the attendance rates of pupils."

He added that while this is not the only factor that contributes to poor attendance, the scheme can help provide support for mental health services that children and young people may need. 

Ms Phillipson joined Mr Abbott in Ipswich last week to announce the scheme. (Image: Jack Abbott MP) Ms Phillipson had said this scheme will support and mentor students who have been persistently absent as well as children with SEND, poor mental health or other complex learning needs, in a bid to get them back into school.

Since 2022, the government has run the programme in five pilot areas which sees attendance mentors provide one-to-one support to persistently absent pupils.

The government says persistent absence across the country has increased since the pandemic, with around one in five pupils across the country currently missing 10% or more of school.

Last week, Chantry Academy was praised for its work increasing attendance over the last 12 months.

The academy, which is part of Active Learning Trust, said this is due to a combination of approaches including providing over 100 extra curricular activities and inspiring students in subjects such as maths and English and the arts.

The school has also worked to reduce the number of students being suspended.

Aidan Milner, a year 8 student said: “I have received lots of support to help improve my attendance and I’ve really noticed that when I go to lessons now I’m no longer confused by any of the topics because I haven’t missed any of the work. I really enjoy being part of the history club after school and that’s something else I don’t want to miss by being off school. I get lots of support from staff who know the kind of help I need so I can take part in everything that happens at school.”