Educational Review, Vol. 55, No.

3, 2003

Strategic Approaches to Tackling School Absenteeism and Truancy: the trafc lights (TL) scheme
KEN REID, Swansea Institute of Higher Education, Swansea, UK

ABSTRACT

Some secondary schools have experienced signicant problems related to pupils attendance over a considerable period of time. Therefore, it has proved necessary to start to develop and implement innovative long-term strategic approaches to tackling truancy and other forms of non-attendance from school. This article focuses upon the trafc lights (TL) scheme which has been formulated to monitor and manage pupils attendance within schools in a more controlled manner. The conventional approach to introducing the TL scheme is described. This is followed by two variations of the scheme adapted by schools for their own purposes. Evidence from each of the three utilisations of the TL scheme has suggested that overall attendance within the schools has been signicantly improved with gains of around 8% reported. Finally, the article illustrates how the TL scheme can be adapted to help reduce potential cases of exclusion. Background Evidence from research indicates that some schools have disproportionately high levels of truancy and other forms of absenteeism (Reid, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2000; OKeefe et al., 1993). Some schools have experienced these problems consistently over a 30-year period despite all their best endeavours (Reid, 2002a, chapter 2). Therefore, it has become apparent that in order to combat truancy and absenteeism within some schools, it is rst necessary to change pupils, parents and teachers attitudes towards these schools as well as the pervading culture and ethos. The Scottish Council for Research in Education Study (SCRE, 1995) manifestly showed the clearest possible link between attendance and performance at every phase of schooling from the infant and primary stages to the later years of secondary education. Most recent research on truancy and absenteeism from school has focused upon individual facets of the problems and upon the associated consequences of the behaviour. Osler et al. (2002) for example, have suggested that truancy is a form of self-exclusion on the part of girls. Truancy and/or school absenteeism has been found to be closely linked with deprivation (Zhang, 2003), a number of childhood pathologies (Woodward & Fergusson, 2000) including running away (de Man, 2000), disaffection and young offending (Ball & Connolly, 2000), alcoholism (Wichstrom, 1998; Miller & Plant, 1999), disturbed adolescent development (Baer,

ISSN 00131911 print; 14653397 online/03/030305-17 2003 Educational Review DOI:10.1080/0013191032000118956

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1999), parenting styles (McNeal, 1999), pre-court sentencing information (Ball & Connolly, 1999), gang membership (Fritsch et al., 1999), drug usage (Lloyd, 1998), early conduct disorders (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998), exclusion from school (Bratby, 1998; Audit Commission, 1998) health factors (Michaud et al., 1998), pupils personalities (Jones & Francis, 1995) and attitudes (Lewis, 1995), behaviour and levels of self-esteem and academic self-concept as well as attitudes towards parents and teachers (Reid, 1999). Although there is a comparative absence of articles focusing upon good practice in dealing with individual pupils case histories of absenteeism and in promoting whole-school approaches to combating truancy and absenteeism (OFSTED, 2001; Reid, 2002a), some new studies are beginning to emerge. For example, Orr-Munro (2002) has reported on the Safer Schools Partnership plans to station police ofcers in schools. This is in response to the nding that truants from schools are at the epicentre of day-time street crime. Whilst police see the scheme as vital, teachers are more cautious. In another project, school-based family social work schemes helped to halve rates of truancy in project schools (Pritchard & Williams, 2001). Malcolm (1996), Blyth (1999) and McCormack (1999) all make valuable suggestions for staff in schools on how to improve attendance utilising such ideas as role play and drama workshops. However, implementing long-term strategic approaches to combat poor attendance is a relatively new idea. There is little, if any, previous research having been undertaken into these schemes (Reid, 2002a). Nevertheless, there is some evidence for their potential (Reynolds, 1996). In fact, the potential of these schemes is almost as important for stressing the possibility of promoting positive school change, and providing an appropriate monitoring structure for tackling the issues, as anything else. The real intention should be to use the conceptual base and processes involved in the procedure to attempt to reduce rates of truancy and absenteeism within schools and/or Local Education Authorities (LEAs). The evidence contained in this article is especially important for those headteachers and teachers, education welfare ofcers, education social workers, learning mentors, classroom assistants and personal advisers who operate in schools or LEAs with a history of serious, long-term attendance problems. It is currently surprising to nd how many schools and LEAs have attendance issues as one of, or the most important criticism, of their recent OFSTED inspections. Consequently, this aspect often becomes the rst or second item on their subsequent action plans. In practice, a considerable number of schools and LEAs have very little idea about how to overcome their major attendance difculties. Despite this, there is abundant evidence of more good practice taking place within LEAs and schools than ever before. Most LEAs promote their own policy documents on attendance, of which Blackpool (2002), Birmingham (2002) and Staffordshire (2002) are three good examples. Equally, the vast majority of schools now have policies on school attendance although many of these are decient in some aspects such as including appropriate reintegration and return to school strategies (Reid, 2002a). Also, there is often little synergy between LEA guidelines and those of local schools (Reid, 2003b). In fact, typically within LEAs, most schools have their own freestanding documents which are entirely different from one another. New initiatives concerned with tackling truancy and school absenteeism have proliferated in recent years. Currently, in England, these initiatives include attendance aspects in such major developments as the Connexions Service, Education

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Action Zones, Excellence in Cities, On Track, Pupil Support Grants, Childrens Fund, Sure Start, changes in court procedures and nes, electronic registration schemes, truancy buster awards, cross-Whitehall groups to combat the link between truancy and crime, truancy sweeps as well as a host of youth participation and community projects and local shopping centre schemes as well as selected LEAs receiving specialist payments in order to improve attendance and behaviour within schools in their area (Reid, 2002a). In addition, there is currently much pioneer work taking place within the 1419 curriculum as attempts are made to nd relevant and alternative curriculum schemes. For example, the Mountain Ash Out-of-School Learning Project is one example of how successful alternative curriculum projects can raise pupils, parents and the local communities perceptions of schooling as well as promote good attendance and behaviour amongst a group of less able, deprived and disaffected pupils (Reid, 2002b, 2002c, 2002d). Unfortunately, much of the good local practice which exists is uncoordinated and there is also very little evidence of good practice in schools in the existing literature (OKeefe et al., 1993; Reid, 2003a). While any number of appropriate short-term strategies are in place, it is clear that most of these, with the possible exception of rst day response schemes, are making very little difference to overall local and national rates of daily attendance within schools. In fact, some LEAs are privately reporting recent rises in their own levels of non-attendance possibly because of the longer term effects of the national curriculum (Shefeld, 2001). England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all started to follow their own separate paths in the search for solutions on truancy and school absenteeism as the effects of asymmetric devolution begin to bite. In England, for example, fast-track punishment schemes for parents of truants are being trialled. In Northern Ireland processes are in place to signicantly increase the number of education welfare ofcers involved in attendance cases. In Scotland, electronic registration schemes are in much wider usage. In Wales, the Welsh Assembly established a Task Force to produce a Report on reducing truancy and absenteeism in both the short- and long-term (Welsh Assembly, 2002, 2003). Its key short-term recommendations are: (a) to simplify the Welsh Assembly Governments guidance on clarifying absence as indicated in Circular 3/99; (b) to establish how many primary schools have readily available gures on attendance rates; (c) to commence an audit of the methods of passing information between primary and secondary schools on individual pupils attendance; (d) to undertake an audit and evaluation of LEAs spending on attendance issues, particularly the destination of GEST funding and the pilot projects for tackling disaffection; (e) to undertake an audit of schools and LEAs attendance policies, how up-to-date these are and how well they link together; (f) to consider the approaches to be used in pursuing legal action on parental-condoned cases; (g) to perform truancy sweeps on a regular basis in each LEA. The main long-term recommendations are:

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(a) to review and cost the extent of electronic registration schemes throughout Wales and to develop a strategy for extending its use to an appropriate standard; (b) to review the funding, role and responsibilities of the education welfare service in Wales to include professional development; (c) to clarify and simplify the funding streams used to tackle truancy in Wales; (d) to establish systems to share good and innovative practice between professions on tackling truancy in Wales; (e) to carry out a pilot study on reducing absence in two schools to assess the extent to which this is possible thereby informing future funding; (f) to increase the level of intervention at primary school level; (g) to develop a framework for multi-agency working, including the necessary training elements; (h) to review the process of taking attendance cases through magistrates courts, including the link between magistrates clerks and the educational welfare service as well as the timetable for hearing attendance cases. The purpose of this article therefore, is to provide a whole-school, long-term strategic approach to improving attendance within schools. Ideally, the trafc lights (TL) scheme should be compared and contrasted with the Secondary School Three Group (SSTG) and Primary Secondary Colour Coded (PSCC) formats (Reid, 2003c, 2003d) as staff and LEAs may prefer implementing one to the other. Whereas the SSTG and PSCC schemes are closely linked to attainment, the TL scheme is exclusively an attendance strategy although it can be adapted to monitor behavioural and exclusion policies as well (see later). Methodology The methodology followed within schools is action-orientated towards nding appropriate school-based solutions utilising a number of key principles, the TL structure and local circumstances. Thus far, the scheme has been implemented into selected schools using the expertise of the author and staff within the schools along an in-service paradigm. The specic TL concept has to date not formed part of a funded research project. Rather, it has evolved as a pragmatic response to specic school-based situations in which truancy and absenteeism are signicant, and, often, disproportionate problems. The methodological approach involved in implementing the school-based solutions has been continuously modied in the light of ongoing practice. Therefore, how the scheme is set up is key to the process. Normally, in order to resolve attendance issues within a school, a special professional development day is held. During this period the schools specic attendance issues are discussed and examined in detail. Normally, various possible shortand long-term solutions are put forward. The TL scheme is one of these potential long-term strategic solutions. It involves implementing school-change processes. This is achieved by controlling and managing differently some of the input (pupil and pupils attendance) variables and by changing some of the internal school policies and managerial practice on attendance and/or performance-related issues. Essentially, this pragmatic methodology, partially based on social anthropological and action research theory and practice, has been brought about by school staff, especially headteachers and senior managers, being put into situations where they have been required to nd their own solutions to externally-imposed governmental

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FIG.1. The 5 year cycle using the TL scheme.

targets on attendance; the latter having been raised from 90% to 92% for secondary schools in September 2002. The adoption of the strategy is often in response to schools fearing difcult OFSTED inspections on attendance or as a consequence of being put into special measures. The evidence suggests that a large number of schools put into special measures because of attendance issues have very little idea how to resolve their difculties (Reid, 2003a) and some have had long periods20 plus yearsof experiencing similar problems (Reid, 2002b). Rates of overall attendance and unauthorised absence show considerable variation in league tables both at school and LEA levels. In secondary schools with serious attendance problems, it is methodologically better to introduce the scheme in Year 7 only in the rst year of implementation. In the second year, the scheme can be extended to Years 7 and 8. After 5 years, the scheme will involve Years 711 and all the pupils will have their attendance monitored and managed in the same way (see Figure 1). It is good practice to ensure that all pupils and parents are made aware of the schools policy and practice on monitoring attendance and the follow-up procedures which will be used when pupils and their parents fail to adhere to the basic standards which are required.

310 The TL Scheme: the conventional approach

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The title trafc lights (TL) is given to this scheme because categories of absentees by level are colour coded by schools for monitoring and enhancement purposes. Figure 2 presents its typical usage although attendance rates within these bands can vary depending upon individual school situations (see later). The red group is made up of the most serious cases, persistent absentees (less than 70% attendance). The blue group is comprised of less serious cases of non-attendance although this group often contains pupils whose attendance is also notably erratic and inconsistent (between 71 and 84%). The yellow group is made up of occasional absentees. The green group is comprised of regular attenders. The scheme emphasises that attendance matters and the school treats the issue of attendance with the importance it deserves. Evidence from undertaking this work with schools suggests that in Year 7 even schools with serious attendance problems tend to have many hardened persistent absentees at the age of 11. Traditionally, this level of absenteeism grows with age with Years 10 and 11 showing the largest numbers of non-attenders. The aim of the scheme is to monitor the attendance of all of a schools pupils. As policies begin to bite, the objective is to move pupils into higher attending groups as soon as enhancement processes begin to start to work effectively. Thus, the aspiration is to move all red group pupils into the blue group following appropriate intervention strategies adopted by the school and the education welfare service. Then, ideally, moving pupils from the blue group into the yellow group and the yellow group to the green group as attendance improves further. Figure 2 presents the ideas diagrammatically and this idea is denoted by the direction of the arrow. The TL scheme should be introduced at the start of Year 7 in conventional 1116 or 1118 schools. In schools with an intake from the same primary schools annually it is possible to start the scheme at the point of transfer. Ideally, given that 35% of absentees begin their histories within primary schools, in ideal circumstances, LEAs and headteachers might consider implementing the scheme from Year 3 in primary schools onwards. For those secondary schools whose intake comes from a wide range of different primary schools every year, it may not be possible to start the scheme until appropriate information has been collected in Year 7. However, by using on-line registration systems it is becoming increasingly possible for secondary schools to be given the attendance records of their new intakes from their local primary schools in advance. The TL scheme is heavily dependent upon the willing contribution and participation of every member of staff. This includes the head downwards including deputies, heads of year, form tutors, classroom assistants, learning mentors, attendance support staff and, crucially, education social workers. Therefore, it utilises a whole-school approach. Implementing the scheme using school-based review processed as described by Reid (1999, chapters 9 and 10) can be especially helpful. The monitoring of the pupils is both preventative and therapeutic in nature ensuring that pupils fully appreciate that their attendance matters and is crucial for their academic progress (SCRE, 1995). It adopts a partial zero-tolerance approach towards attendance. Once introduced, all the pupils at the school will be aware of only one system for monitoring their attendance. As schools follow the monitoring processes rigorously, they may well be able to raise their internal standards of attendance, behaviour and attainment as each of these dimensions is inextricably linked. For low attendance schools, it affords an opportunity for a fresh start, to

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FIG. 2. The TL scheme.

change their internal culture, ethos and hopefully, rid themselves of negative pupil (and parental) attitudes towards regular school attendance. Therefore, the scheme is proactive and raises the importance of pupils attendance in a schools often long lists of current priorities. The scheme is also exible. It adopts a colour-coding approach in order to facilitate pupil and group selection, monitoring and subsequent supportive activities

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(see Figure 3). The scheme allows for movement up and down between each group and back into the mainstream green group as pupils circumstances improve or vice versa. The TL scheme also tries to combat the progressive nature of absence. Typically, most schools have more truants and absentees in Years 10 and 11 than in Years 79. However, by implementing a process of earlier intervention and monitoring, the opportunity is created to enable erratic attenders to be reintegrated back with regular attenders as their own attendance improves. Ideally, the TL scheme will be operated alongside appropriate enhancement strategies within a school which are aimed at improving the academic potential of its less able pupils including its erratic attenders. The scheme also provides a management tool for monitoring attendance (see Figure 4). In practice, two points stand out. First, pupils with minor (but, often, consistent) attendance problems predominate in the majority of schools. Comparatively few pupils miss more than 50% of school time. In one LEA, the ratio of pupils with minor attendance problems when compared with serious attendance issues (over 50%) was 1 7 (Reid, 2003b). Second, boys and girls tend to be manifested more or less equally in most categories of absence. However, more girls than boys tend to be parentally condoned whilst more boys than girls are truants per se (Reid, 1999). Case Studies of Good Practice: variations on a theme The TL scheme presented so far is the conventional package. However, the scheme can be adapted to suit individual schools needs. Therefore, a couple of alternative models for using the scheme are now presented. The East Worthing Project: the RAG scheme Schools in East Worthingled by Davison High schoolintroduced their colourcoded RAG project based on the TL concept in a local clustering arrangement. Included in the federated scheme are Bramber, Lyndhurst, Springeld and Whytemead First schools, Downsbrook, Chesswood and Broadwater Middle schools and St Andrews and Davison High Schools. All these schools follow the same attendance guidance and practice after implementing the TL scheme. The Pupil Retention Unit (which specialises in social inclusion policies including reintegration and return to school strategies) introduced a version of the TL scheme into local schools using the colour coding for attendance. The project was broadened to include attendance across a family of schools including rst and middle schools. The idea was to improve relationships between the school, its parents and non-attenders. The RAG project uses the same principles and ideas but operates them differently (see Figure 5). In their scheme more than 93% attendance is considered to be satisfactory and equates with green. Between 83 and 92% is amber and taken to be a cause for concern. Less than 82% is red and judged to be unsatisfactory. Davison instigated these higher categories because, although it had a serious attendance problem, its scale was not considered to be so out-of-control as some schools which use the standard format of the scheme as presented in Figure 2. Signicantly, the pupils like the colour-coding scheme. There is strong competition between them to improve and to move up groups which facilitates and motivates improved attendance and attainment. The school operates the system

Tackling School Absenteeism and Truancy

Beverly Eleanor Jenny Jennifer Louise Emma Jenny Victoria Laila FIG. 3. Example of a monitoring process for the TL scheme.

09B 09B 09B 09B 09B 09B 09B 09B 09B

96.70% 96.70% 90.93% 95.88% 80.49% 86.54% 98.90% 98.35% 95.05%

Green Green Amber Green Red Amber Green Green Green

96.39% 96.39% 90.66% 96.08% 82.83% 86.14% 98.80% 98.19% 97.59%

Green Green Amber Green Red Amber Green Green Green

95.92% 95.92% 89.46% 95.58% 86.73% 85.71% 98.64% 97.96% 97.28%

Green Green Amber Green Amber Amber Green Green Green

95.35% 95.35% 87.98% 95.35% 84.88% 84.50% 98.45% 97.67% 96.90%

Green Green Amber Green Amber Amber Green Green Green

95.76% 94.92% 87.29% 94.92% 82.65% 83.05% 100.00% 97.46% 97.46%

Green Green Amber Green Amber Amber Green Green Green

94.90% 93.88% 85.20% 93.88% 82.65% 85.71% 100.00% 96.94% 96.94%

Green Green Amber Green Red Amber Green Green Green

313

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FIG. 4. Cumulative summary. The TL scheme used as a management tool.

K. Reid

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FIG. 5. The Davison RAG project model.

alongside a positive rewards scheme to encourage its pupils (e.g. prizes for most improved attendance). Contrary to some expectations, the colour-coded labels are interpreted positively by pupils and parents alike. The school considers there to be no negative connotations from using the labels, only positive benets. The Chamberlayne Model Chamberlayne Park School goes one stage further. It utilises its colour-coding scheme for both attendance and behaviour monitoring and adds in extra coding categories.

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The School is a co-educational comprehensive on the south-eastern edge of a large city in the south of England; there are 850 pupils on roll; 23% of these are on free school meals; 51% of the pupils are on the special needs register. The school draws its pupils mainly from two feeder primary schools. Its location is in an area which has considerable social deprivation. The adult unemployment levels for the city are also high. The schools average daily attendance hovers around 90%. The school has raised its attendance target to 93.5%. To facilitate this rise, pupils have been identied into the following ve bands in order to monitor their attendance (see Figure 6). Other versions of the TL scheme have begun to be adopted; some by utilising the ideas for work with pupils who have behavioural problems or likely to be excluded (xed or permanent candidates) as well as with attendance cases. Figure 7 presents these ideas diagrammatically using exclusion as the issue. One school in Watford found that the safety-net nature of the system reduced exclusion rates by approximately two-thirds during the rst year of its operation. The school previously had exclusion rates three and a half times above the national average. Theale Green Community School, for example, an 1118 school in West Berkshire, has found that by using staged approaches to exclusion, it has not excluded a single pupil for several years. In this version, red cards are immediately given for offences which lead to automatic exclusion (xed or permanent). There are two red card offences. The rst is for extreme violent conduct. The second is for persistent serious abuse of school rules on the third occasion; the rst two having warranted either a blue or yellow card and both offences having been recorded and the formal warnings being notied to pupil and parent(s). Implications and Conclusions Utilising and implementing the TL scheme is relatively easy to manage. It is certainly much less demanding than its sister schemes, the PSCC and STGG schemes (Reid, 2003c, 2003d). The colour-coding concept provides a high impact visible display which can be used by: form tutors: for monitoring attendance, setting targets; parents: easy to understand, visual, provides them with clear evidence of their childs attendance patterns; pupils: easy to understand, visual, provides guidance, goals and attainable targets; EWO: helpful to monitor students, and schools within an LEA; SMT: easy-to-use management tool. The colour-coding concept is used within participating schools to: raise the schools prole (marketing and publicity); ease monitoring processes (form tutor review meetings, heads of year/department, SMT); communicate with parents (attendance letters home); and, nally, is central to a schools attendance (and, in theory, an LEAs) policy and policy document. For example, the Davison scheme has been implemented in West Sussex for all pupils aged from 5 to 16. It creates an ethos that school attendance matters at all ages. The Project has the support of the Education Welfare Service, the LEA and the Pupil Retention Team. It is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and multi-disci-

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FIG. 6. The Chamberlayne model of the TL scheme.

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FIG. 7. Using the TL scheme for exclusion.

plinary. Since its inception, the Project has won the support of the DfES and been awarded a Best Practice Research Scholarship for each school involved. A schools coordinator has been appointed to communicate between the schools, expanding the Project into the local community (cf. Reynolds, 1996; Reid, 2002b, 2002c, 2002d). Preliminary results using the TL scheme have been encouraging although these

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are, to some extent, early days. The author rst started applying a form of long-term strategic approach to schools truancy and attendance problems as long ago as 1986. Since then, the various approaches including the TL scheme, have evolved through a number of modications and manifestations. For example, Beaufort Community School in Gloucestershire achieved a signicant increase in attendance gures following the implementation of the TL scheme. Results now show an average attendance for the whole school of 92% compared with 85% immediately prior to the scheme starting. Knowsley LEA has similarly improved its attendance by 5% in its rst year since adopting the scheme. Other schools have reported gains of between 5 and 8% in Year 7 during the rst year of adopting the scheme. Over a 10-year period, the overall attendance for Mountain Ash School rose from 79.4 to 97.4%. During the same period, the Schools GCSE AC record for ve or more passes rose from 4 to 45% and is currently on schedule to achieve over 55%. Once again, this shows the clear link between attendance and achievement (SCRE, 1995). Davison School (see earlier) also reported that their overall attendance rates improved by 8% during the rst year of usage. Therefore, evidence is mounting over a signicant period of time that utilising the TL scheme can help improve pupils attendance rates quite signicantly when the appropriate methodology is followed. Establishing the TL scheme needs careful thought. It requires a whole-school approach in the fullest meaning of the term. Parents need to be briefed on the scheme as part of the preliminary process before their pupils transfer to the secondary school. So do all the pupils. The caring message given to the parents and the pupils and how this is put across are crucial to favourable long-term outcomes. Ideally, schools will utilise a few short-term approaches alongside this major long-term strategic initiative. Choose three or four of the best short-term strategies outlined by Reid, (2002a). Three of the most popular apart from rst day contact tend to be mentoring (however this is done) and appropriate alternative curriculum and out-of-school learning support (Reid, 2002e). However, whatever worksuse it. The causes of non-attendance are so varied and diverse that nding similar solutions which work effectively in every school situation is not easy (Reid, 1999). Some schools need to raise the prole of attendance on their agendas. In far too many schools, attendance is too low on their school development plans. However, variations in practice abound. The TL scheme gives schools a simple and convenient way of raising the prole of attendance in a caring and empathetic manner. The potential gains of the scheme far outweigh the disadvantages as the benets offer schools and their pupils far more than a simple reduction in non-attendance and truancy. Adopted and set up correctly, it provides a total package. It shows pupils, parents, the community and OFSTED that a school is taking its responsibilities for attendance seriously.

Correspondence: Ken Reid, Deputy Principal, Swansea Institute of Higher Education, Mount Pleasant Campus, Swansea SA1 6ED, UK. E-mail: k.reid@sihe.ac.uk. REFERENCES
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