Fairfax Academy attendance awards: Fairfax Academy has been recognised with two national awards after a ‘huge effort’ drove a massive increase in attendance, consistently beating national averages.
Firstly, the school – which is part of the ambitious Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust – has been recognised for ranking within the top 25% of all FFT Inspire secondary schools in England for the whole of the Spring Term.
FFT is a respected education data base, which is used by thousands of schools to compare performance and best practice.
Fairfax has won the Spring Term award for the second year in a row, only narrowly missing out on being in the top 10%.
Secondly, Fairfax also placed within the top 25% of similar FFT secondary schools in England for the Spring Term, a division based on schools serving similar communities and facing similar challenges.
These two respected rewards recognise long-term work carried out Fairfax staff to increase student attendance by creating a supportive atmosphere through a holistic approach.
Vice Principal, Craig Hetherington, is attendance champion at Fairfax.
He said: “We are delighted with these awards – it has been a huge effort, by so many people.
“Our mindset here at Fairfax is that all staff members are responsible for fostering a pleasant and supportive atmosphere at school, which is key to encouraging attendance.
“As we expanded the student support system to include the wider staff body, we started to see a significant rise in attendance for all student groups.”
The FFT figures show attendance at Fairfax is 1.5% higher than the national average for the whole school year.
Additionally, Fairfax pupil premium students, those identified as being from a disadvantaged background, is also 1.5% higher than national average.
Attendance among students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a stunning 3.4% higher than the national average.
This time last year, the academy’s attendance rates for both PP and SEND were in line with the national averages.
Supportive culture behind Fairfax Academy attendance awards
Mr Hetherington said: “Student support here is centred around individual students. We reach out to those we specifically identify as struggling with attendance and work to understand the reasons for their absence, so we can remove these barriers.
“Whether it’s down to behavioural issues, mental health, problems at home or anything else, we do all we can to support each student to improve their attendance rates.”
According to Mr Hetherington, tackling mental health problems has become a greater priority since the covid-19 pandemic.
He explained: “Before the pandemic, average attendance at Fairfax was around 96%. Lockdown changed this across the whole country – for example, research shows that many children became more reluctant to leave their home, often due to developing anxiety about coming back to school in person.
“Covid really increased the number of students handling emotional difficulties and mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Many more felt isolated and dysregulated from the classroom system, which can still be seen across many aspects of schools.
“At Fairfax, we recognise this is going to be an ongoing problem for this generation of students, so it’s important we continue to address it.”
“If children are in school, we will do everything we can to transform their futures and prepare them not only for exams and further education, but for the adult world,”
-craig hetherington
Expanding the academy’s support offer has been crucial. Over the past three years, it has employed specialised staff to lead in amental health hub, behaviour and mentoring team and Early Help referrals.
For the students, incentives have included pizza parties, milkshakes and film screenings in school for anyone with 100% attendance in a term, or anyone who has made a significant increase in their attendance.
And with attendance for Year 11 students at Fairfax being 3.5% higher than the national average, staff are hoping to see their efforts reflected in upcoming GCSE results.
Mr Hetherington said: “If children are in school, we will do everything we can to transform their futures and prepare them not only for exams and further education, but for the adult world.”
Fairfax’s attendance initiatives have been supported by the wider Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT).
Mr Hetherington said: “There’s a supportive element of FMAT holding us accountable. It’s part of the agenda for every meeting we have – we come at attendance from every angle with relentless focus.
“We watch the data daily. If we took our foot off the pedal at any point, there’s a danger that attendance might slip backwards, so we’re constantly monitoring our progress.
“Winning these awards is recognition that our efforts have been truly successful.”
Principal Sean Castle said: “These awards are the result of an approach that has changed the mindset about how we deal with attendance at Fairfax – and the results are there for all to see. The aim now is to secure the additional awards for being in the top 10% across England.
“We are very proud of how the school has embraced this new way of thinking, from the students to staff and the broader school community, and now we aim to go on to achieve even greater results.”