Fife school absence: council gets update on progress as one school launches the A-team

Work has been going on for some time within the local authority to deal with an issue described as “alarming” and “worrying” last year.

A report to councillors in November said that while the pandemic-led decline had levelled off the figures had not improved. As of March, primary attendance was at 92.1%, making the sector 1.1% below national average in absolute terms, and secondary attendance was at 85.6% – also about 1% below the national average.

The Scottish Conservatives also revealed data collated under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request which showed that almost 7500 primary pupils and nearly 10,000 secondary pupils missed more than 10% of their school year in 2023/24.

Councillors wanted more context to the raw data, citing a host of factors behind absenteeism, and will get the latest update at an education committee meeting on Monday.

Councillor Kathleen Leslie, committee convener, said: “We want every child and young person in Fife to have the best start in life, and education is a huge part of this. We continue to work to address non-attendance, and for our children and young people to be motivated to attend school, so that they can benefit from their education.

“Fife is taking steps to tackle school attendance with increased pupil support, a more engaging curriculum, and tailored interventions to help every learner succeed. The launch of our ‘Transforming Learning’ strategy over the next year will provide a 1-1 device for all P6-S6 pupils and has the potential to remove barriers to attendance through promoting educational equity."

Schools are also actioning initiatives to tackle low attendance.

Pathhead Primary School in Kirkcaldy, is working with its families to successfully turn around low attendance with a quality improvement approach that includes targeted interventions and strong parent-school partnerships.

Jillian Mellis, headteacher, said: “Our Attendance Team - the A-Team - involving leadership, administration and family workers was established to build positive relationships with families and to support every child facing attendance challenges.

“We work to understand families’ barriers to attendance through a variety of methods. Our clear, consistent approach to tackling attendance has been shared across our school and its community. Members of our team reach out to every absent child’s family daily, to build a picture of absences and make sure we step in early. Our priority is to change the culture and attitude around attendance to provide the best and consistent education for our learners.”

Fife-wide initiatives to increase pupil attendance include giving staff access to additional training and resources, including tools to plan targeted interventions; creating a dynamic and relevant curriculum that resonates with all learners, and increased support to cope with the growing number of children with identified Additional Support Needs - ASN pupils have lower attendance at 85.7%, with both emotional and family issues significantly impacting attendance.

Donald Macleod, executive director of education, said, added: “Head teachers and education staff across Fife are working hard to re-engage children and young people. We are committed to working with families to support children to attend school. This is about support, inclusion and making sure we have all the tools in place to help schools, parents and pupils. “