Benefits of Regular Attendance

Attendance at nursery and pre-school has a positive impact on children’s learning and development. ‘High quality pre-schooling is related to better intellectual, social and behavioural development for Children’ (EPPE project) Regular attendance is important for all children, even babies. It keeps them safe and supports their learning and development. It is through regular consistent routines that they build up the secure relationships and the positive attachments they need. Young children find it easier to build and sustain a range of social relationships when they regularly attend their childcare setting. For some families, regular attendance also allows parents to get other things done and helps them enjoy spending time with the child when he or she is at home. Children who attend regularly are more likely to feel that they belong because they understand routines and expectations. They feel more confident with the adults and the other children and have more opportunities to be valued and praised for their own special contribution. Children who regularly miss sessions or who are often late may have a sense of having to try a little bit harder just to understand what is going on. Regular attendance and being on time helps many young children separate from their parents or carers and settle more readily into daily life providing them with opportunities to develop their personal, social and emotional skills. www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk As well as developing good habits and setting up a pattern for later learning, children who attend every planned session, develop a feel for the rhythm of the week as well as gaining a sense of security from some regular routines. Planning for each child’s individual needs can be developed more successfully if children regularly attend a setting. Children learn in many different ways, with their peers and through being in the company of consistent staff who actively support their learning and development. Underachievement and disengagement later in older children can be linked to a deteriorating trend in attendance which is traceable right back to their early years. Conversely, it is well known through research and seen in data that children who attend regularly do better academically. ‘Importantly, attendance was not only related to academic outcomes, but also to social-emotional outcomes. Students who missed more school were rated by their teachers as having lower levels of appropriate behaviour and work habits’. Research report by the University of Chicago 2014. Another research report published by the Department of Education: Influences on Pupils GCSE attainment and Progress at Age 16. Sept 2014 showed ‘Attending a pre-school was found to be a statistically significant predictor of higher total GCSE score’. Regular attendance and punctuality are important in ensuring children get the greatest benefit out of education. 

Information taken from http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/learntogether/download/downloads/id/1025/attendance_matters_-_guidance_for_early_years_providers.pdf