Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the attendance mentoring pilot commenced; how much her Department has spent on that pilot since it commenced; how many children in the pilot area have been supported through that scheme; and whether she plans to take steps to re-engage severely absent children outside of the pilot area.

The Department launched a £2.32 million attendance mentoring pilot on 20 October 2022 to deliver one-to-one support to a group of persistently absent pupils and their families. The support will start in Middlesborough, one of the Department's priority education investment areas (PEIAs). In the first year, 335 pupils will be supported. The pilot will be rolled out to an additional four PEIAs in its second and third years.

Barnardo’s, the delivery partner for this contract, have now completed their recruitment and training. Mentoring support for pupils will begin later this month. The evidence gathered from this pilot will be shared with the sector and should enable schools, trusts, and Local Authorities to address persistent absence more effectively.

In May 2022, the Department published attendance guidance, which sets out an expectation that schools and Local Authorities should agree a joint approach and plan to support every severely absent pupil. This expectation will work alongside the mentoring pilot to provide targeted support for persistently absent pupils.