Milton Keynes City Council is applauding the success of local primary schools in raising attendance.
Figures on school attendance rates released by the Department for Education show that primary schools in Milton Keynes are the 6th best in the country (out of 151 local authority areas) with fewer absences than schools in all neighbouring areas.
Primary schools help to build the skills that children will use throughout their time at school. Research published earlier this year shows that children who did not miss a day in Year 6 were twice as likely to meet expected standards in reading, writing and maths than children who missed between 10% to 15% of the year.
Milton Keynes City Council works with the city’s 93 primary schools to monitor attendance and intervene where needed, for instance if extra support is needed by a family to get back on track.
“This is a great result as every moment in school counts. The more a child is in school, the more likely they are to learn, and reach their potential. It’s also a really important route to monitor children’s safety and wellbeing. I’d like to thank our primary school community, and the teams at the council who support MK schools, for achieving this brilliant result.”
Whitehouse Primary is one of ten local primary schools with an overall attendance rate above 95%.
“We’re proud to be recognised for our attendance – it’s a credit to our dedicated team and our strong partnerships with families. By putting relationships first, supporting barriers to attendance, and keeping communication open, we’re helping every child to make the most of their school journey.”