Glasgow council tell parents that 'Attendance Matters Everyday'

Photo by Santi Vedrí on Unsplash

By Abby Paterson

Glasgow City Council’s ambitious new campaign “Attendance Matters Everyday” attempts to address the city’s low attendance rates by directing its campaign at the parents rather than students.  

The campaign aims to get more parents and carers to send their children into school every day by highlighting the importance of regular attendance on children’s social development and mental health. 

This has been introduced after attendance rates dropped since the pandemic and Covid lockdown.  

In 2013/14, primary school attendance was at 94%, but by 2023/24 it had dropped to 90.4%, the lowest primary school attendance in years.  

Across primary schools in 2022/23, a total of 738,625 school days were lost to absence. Research shows that just missing a few days of school can impact a child negatively, and the work they've missed is almost impossible to catch up.  

A small survey by Glasgow City Council showed that 33% of parents and carers have taken their children out of school during term time for holidays and family occasions, and 24% missed school for reasons other than illness or appointments.  

“Attendance Matters Everday” is combating this by targeting primary school parents and carers to create good habits early, before the transition to secondary school.   

While Glasgow City Council is making attendance rates a priority, it also supports the work being done to help the underlying cause of lower attendance rates such as mental health issues, poverty and additional support needs.  

Douglas Hutchison, Director of Education Services, said: "There is no denying the facts that, citywide, attendance rates are not where we want them to be. Our schools already do a huge amount of work in their learning communities to support improving attendance."  

This is the first phase of a longer-term campaign that Glasgow City Council will introduce. The council will also examine Secondary schools' attendance rates, 

"Attendance matters everyday” will run over six weeks on radio, social media and across schools to raise awareness directly with families, children and young people.