Council launches School is Cool Campaign

Herefordshire Council is launching an innovative campaign to reduce the amount of pupil absences in the county's primary schools.

Government guidelines suggest that every child should have a minimum attendance rate of 97 percent. A number of the county's primary schools missed this target last year - two weeks' absence brings an attendance rate down to 95 percent.

Many pupils fall behind because of the time they miss from school and some parents and carers don't realise how damaging even a few days out of school can be. 90 percent attendance means a child is missing four weeks in the year making it harder for them to make progress and reducing their chance of success. 80 percent attendance means that over a child's school career, they will miss two whole years of education with a possibility that their parents will have to face court action.

In an attempt to make schools and parents aware of the problems associated with absenteeism, Herefordshire Council is launching a "School is Cool" campaign.

The campaign will be launched at Leominster Junior School on 1st October by a Cool Cat (to be named by the children). Leominster Junior School is the first school in the county to volunteer to lead the scheme. The whole school will become involved in a range of activities such as assemblies, competitions, attendance monitoring and reward schemes encouraging children to understand the importance of attending school and provide opportunities for them to talk about anything that prevents them for attending.

During the week-long campaign, any children absent from school will receive a home visit from the education welfare service to identify the cause of absence and talk to children and parents about issues that may be affecting a child's desire to attend school such as bullying, or problems with transport.

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Education is an important part of every child's development - both at primary and secondary school.

"Every school day counts and failing to attend, for whatever reason, can have a detrimental impact on a child's progress.

"The cool cats campaign is a fun way of highlighting the importance of attending school and the consequences of persistent lateness and absenteeism on a child's future prospects."