Dear Member
I am sure you are aware that today has been a significant milestone in promoting good school attendance. Your AEWM National Executive Committee (NEC) have been working closely with the DfE’s School Attendance team to ensure that your views and the challenges that you are all experiencing have and will continue to be considered, when drawing up guidance, policies, and revised regulations.
Today the DfE have issued a revised ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ document, to further support and promote good school attendance. This updated version of the guidance will be placed onto a statutory footing in readiness for the 2024/25 academic year. Regulation changes, taking effect from 19th August 2024, will make it mandatory for all state funded schools to share their attendance data with the DfE and local authorities, together with the modernisation of school attendance and admission registers (including updating attendance codes, rules on granting leave of absence and clarity around who can access registers). All of these measures are designed to improve the accuracy of available attendance data and help schools and local authorities to put better, more targeted support in place as early as possible. Today has also seen the launch of a National Code of Conduct for Penalty Notices which will see the end of the postcode lottery experienced by parents for many years.
Your AEWM members’ forum is intended to provide valuable information, examples of good practice and peer support during these changing times. Please take a look at the forum and use this section, provided for members only, to your advantage.
All the discussions and comments that are posted within the members area over the coming weeks and months will significantly influence the NEC in our planning of future AEWM events and will inform the content of our future meetings with the DfE, so please log on and ensure you take the opportunity to share your views/challenges and enable your NEC to continue to represent the AEWM membership with confidence.
The NEC realise that today’s publications will present challenges to you all and being a member of the AEWM may have never been more important. Please look out for your membership renewal email, which will be on its way to you in the next few days. If you know of any colleagues involved in the management of school attendance that are not members, please encourage them to look at the website, get in touch and join up.
Save the date: Members only conference, incorporating the AEWM AGM, is being held on Wednesday 15th May 2024 - virtually and in-person at The Arden Hotel and Leisure Club, Solihull.
Best Wishes
Steve Wilkinson
AEWM President
