Bryan Slater Director of Education	Distribution
	Headteachers of all Norfolk Schools

The attached document is provided for your information:

INFORMATION	Title	School Attendance
	Summary of contents	Allocation of School Hours for 2004/05 and the employment of Education Attendance Assistants from September 2004
	Associated documents	None
	Date	16^th June 2004
	Effective from	16^th June 2004
	LEA Contact	Brian Isham	(	01603 222150
	E-mail address	Brian.isham@norfolk.gov.uk
	Norfolk Self Review reference	5. How well does the school care for its pupils?
	Document reference	MI 134/04

Dear Headteacher

School Attendance

Allocation of Education Social Work Hours

Each year the allocation of Education Social Worker hours to clusters of schools is reviewed. The review for 2004/5 has now been completed and I am writing to inform you that no changes are proposed. The allocation of hours will remain the same as for 2003/4. Details of the allocation to clusters are attached to this letter.

Education Attendance Assistants

For most Norfolk children regular school attendance is not a problem. Going to school each day soon becomes an accepted part of their daily routine. However, there are a few children where poor or irregular school attendance, or lateness becomes a habit at a very early stage in their school career.

In order to begin to tackle this issue and to provide support to children, families and schools, new posts have been created within the attendance team of the Pupil Access and Support Service to work specifically at the primary phase.

From September 2004 Education Attendance Assistants (EAA) will join each of the attendance teams across Norfolk. Their function will be to work with schools and to develop whole school initiatives to promote and improve school attendance.

The focus of the work will be with primary schools where the level of attendance is significantly below the national and the Norfolk average. The attendance team will identify these schools and will contact them and arrange to visit them during the summer term. The purpose of the visit will be to discuss how the EAA will be able to work with the school and to agree a time scale for the work.

This is a new approach in Norfolk but there is evidence from other parts of the country that a focus on primary schools with low levels of attendance can result in significant improvement.

During this term you will have received a copy of the draft Attendance Strategy. This provides an indication of the LEAs commitment to promoting and improving school attendance and of the need for a multi-agency approach if real progress is to be made.

Yours sincerely

Dr Bryan Slater

Director of Education