Education Secretary, Bridget Philipson MP, visited Chantry Academy in Ipswich last week to launch the next phase of a national drive to improve attendance with a £15m investment in expanding the Department for Education’s attendance mentoring programme.  

The original programme, which has been running since 2022 in five pilot areas, sees attendance mentors provide one to one support to persistently absent pupils including those with SEND or mental ill health to break down the barriers to attendance, getting them back in the classroom, learning and thriving.

Ipswich is one of ten areas that have been selected to be part of this programme, which will see 10,000 young people being mentored with a view to improving their daily attendance at school. 

Students and staff at Chantry Academy welcomed the Secretary of State and took part in a roundtable discussion on attendance and the barriers that need to be overcome. 

Chantry Academy has seen a significant increase in attendance across all year groups, as a result of a combination of approaches:
•    A renewed focus on attainment in English and Maths, inspiring students to focus on success in these subjects
•    A vibrant and rich range of extra-curricular activities with over 100 different clubs on offer
•    Embracing the arts – Chantry is a Platinum ArtsMark school, with arts playing a central role in the curriculum
•    Reducing suspensions significantly
•    Close working partnerships with parents, particularly focusing on safeguarding and making it clear that students are safe when they are at school
•    Engendering a feeling amongst students that they are missing out on everything on offer if they miss a day of school.

Education Secretary, Bridget Philipson MP said:
“The school I’m at today are doing some fantastic work to make sure the children are getting the support they need to get into school and to be at school, but alongside that we know that there’s more that government has to do so that’s why it’s so important that the additional investment that we’re putting in to attendance mentors is about putting in that extra help in place to support young people and families because this is a complex issue and certainly mental health support is one area where we will make more progress because that’s part of the challenge that we’re facing at the moment.”

Craig D’Cunha, Executive Headteacher of Chantry Academy said:
“We were absolutely delighted to welcome Bridget Philipson to Chantry Academy today to hear about, and see first-hand, the work we have done to improve attendance. Attendance is everyone’s issue; it is a national challenge and it requires a relentless focus to really embed good habits and to address any barriers that are getting in the way. It was wonderful for our students to have the opportunity to speak directly with the Secretary of State and we welcome this latest announcement to support schools with this important work.”

Lynsey Holzer, CEO of Active Learning Trust said:
“Every single day matters when it comes to learning and we have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to get children attending every day. Chantry Academy is a real beacon of excellence on this critical issue and I’m so very proud of the work that Craig and the team do to make daily attendance the norm.  Working in partnership with our families is also central to the success we have had so far and this is something that we will continue to build on and nurture.”

Aidan Milner, a year 8 student at Chantry 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.”