Headteachers of 11 Norwich high schools pen attendance plea

In an unusual move, leaders of almost every Norwich secondary school have co-signed a letter which was sent to parents this week.

In it, they cite concerns that attendance rates are still considerably below pre-pandemic levels.

In an effort to try and drive this up, they have written en bloc to thousands of parents and carers pleading for help in addressing the problem.

It reads: "Regular attendance is vital for a happy, healthy childhood.

"Norwich headteachers invite you to work with us to ensure children attend regularly and can flourish in school.

"Please talk to us, together we can make this happen."

Jo Philpott, headteacher of the City of Norwich School (CNS), said the aim of the letter was to help parents struggling to ensure youngsters regularly attend school to find the support they need.

Ms Philpott, who chairs a committee of headteacher in the city area which meets quarterly, said: "I think the message was about having collective responsibility for attendance - between us as schools and families, but to make contact in a way that was not punitive.

"We thought sending a letter together would create a stronger message overall than contacting parents individually - if parents have children at different schools for example it would be far more powerful to see the same letter sent by both.

"We want to work together to help signpost families to where support is to build strong relationships with them."

Ms Philpott said that issues were "incredibly complex" but largely stemmed from the Covid era, during which attending school in the same way became "denormalised" - which lockdown had also created issues around anxiety in some pupils.

She added: "We want to make sure that attending school is seen as a normal part of the day, which it is for the vast majority of children.

"School is about so much more than just getting GCSEs, it is about being able to socialise and creating life-long moments and development."

The CNS headteacher said that struggles with retaining pre-pandemic attendance levels were being felt nationally - and that Norwich was not an outlier. 

It also comes following a period of industrial action from teachers, with critics arguing this may too have impacted attendance.

But Ms Philpott said she did not think this was the case.

She said: "I do think disruption across the public sector through industrial action has led to some unsettling experiences for families but do not think it has been a direct correlation (with attendance trends).

"As headteachers, we firmly believe that coming to school is vital to help children make stronger contributions to society in their adult lives."

It is not the first time concerns over school attendance in the region have been raised since the pandemic.

In November, statistics showed a growing number of "ghost children" in the county - a term used to describe pupils who miss more than half of their lessons.

This figure has almost trebled in recent years, from 888 children in 2018/19 to almost 2,500 in 2022/23.

Norfolk's current rate of absence as a county sits at 7.1pc - the highest rate in the East of England - although this is a decrease on the previous rate of 8.4pc.

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council confirmed it was aware of the letter the headteachers had circulated.

Parents struggling to keep their children in school regularly are encouraged to either contact the school or seek support through the Norfolk Family Hub at norfolk.gov.uk/familyjubs or on 01603 303 359.

The letter was co-signed by:

• Joanna Franklin - City Academy Norwich
• Jon Ford - Open Academy
• Jo Philpott - City of Norwich School
• David Day - Sewell Park
• Mike Earl and Tom Rolfe - Hellesdon High
• Liz Wood - Sprowston Community Academy
• Antony Little - Hewett Academy 
• Penny Bignell - Thorpe St Andrew School
• Summer Turner - Jane Austen Academy
• Emma Palik - University Technical College Norfolk
• Tom Pinnington - Notre Dame High School