17 March 2023

You will have no doubt heard in the media that engagement/attendance in regular schooling is an issue in New Zealand at the moment. It's not just our country that has the spotlight on trying to change the tune on this.

Schools have always kept statistics on attendance, right back from the handwritten ledger days of old. Attendance became a continual conversation during the heights of COVID over the last couple of years. In the scheme of things, our school was not hugely affected. Staff were flexible and our culture ensured we could just carry on as best as possible over this time.

Regular attendance refers to attendance of 90% and above. The education insights from the Ministry of Education concludes that attainment and wellbeing directly correlates to this 90% and above figure. In fact, from studies, regular attendance seems to be the highest indicator of wellbeing outcomes for children.

Whilst a lot of attendance issues are centred on our secondary sector, good routines and habits about getting up in the morning and going to school are formed from the day children start school. We need to be firm with our expectations around this is we want, to lay a strong foundation.

When thinking about motivation and engagement, and getting and keeping things on a great trajectory, we need to get inside some of the factors that school and home play in building opportunities for positive motivation and engagement.

I came across a useful Wheel that provides a framework for us to think about where we might like to place attention. Australian Professor Andrew Martin (UNSW) has spent two decades researching motivation and engagement. He suggests that as we move into our 3 or 4 years of COVID, the area of uncertain control is one we should be paying attention to. Again - I'm thinking of slightly older children - but, as I say, we set the scene early. 

This model complements our Positive Education/Wellbeing programmes, so I thought I'd include it this week. And Wellbeing and Academic Achievement are best friends forever!