'I help fix attendance levels in schools'

"Attendance is a really serious issue in schools because if pupils aren't in schools, they can't learn."

Tom Buckmaster is a consultant currently being paid by four primary schools in Nottinghamshire to improve attendance and punctuality levels.

He said using incentives such as day trips and meals out had really helped boost attendance levels in the schools he had worked with.

"We've found rewards work. I understand the argument that you shouldn't have to [offer incentives], but it's part of a package of things we do," he said.

Mr Buckmaster said he helped schools draw up an attendance action plan, which included actions like calls to parents, home visits, assemblies and getting pupils to act as attendance officers, reporting back updates to their peers.

"We've found these measures have boosted attendance levels by about 2%.

"What you have to do is have something that is sustainable," he said.

Mr Buckmaster said he believed attendance problems had got worse for schools since Covid.

"It was a very difficult time. It made parents more wary of illness, so when children get sniffles, they want to keep them off.

"Some parents found it difficult to teach at home, but some enjoyed having children at home, so some parents want to now home school their children," he added.

Carl Jarvis, deputy head teacher at Arnold View Primary School in Arnold, said Mr Buckmaster had helped take attendance levels at the school from below average at 93% to above the national average of 96%.

He said: "It's absolutely been worthwhile bringing him in.

"He's a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and we're learning from him and his expertise."

Mr Jarvis said staff would be upskilled by Mr Buckmaster, and then all attendance plans would eventually be managed in-house.

"It's quite common for schools to bring in SLEs, not just for attendance but for areas like English and maths," he added.

The school has recently taken a group of Year Two pupils for breakfast at the Salvation Army cafe in Arnold as a reward for good attendance.

Mr Buckmaster said: "The children love it, and it's good to get the community involved."

He said how often a child went to school could affect them in later life, adding: "Attendance is really important.

"If a child's attendance is good in primary school, we've found that ultimately leads to them getting better A-level results."