Knowsley Council is reminding parents and pupils of the importance of regular school attendance.
It’s important to maintain good school attendance from reception, all the way through a pupil’s education journey and particularly too from Year 7 onwards as they prepare for their important GCSEs.
The benefits of being in school are numerous, including:-
- Learning new skills and interests which will help to inform future career prospects
- Being able to experience things you’ve never tried before – science experiments, different sports and learning how to cook
- Socialising and making lasting friendships
- Gaining confidence
- Get support on a whole range of topics including mental health
But don’t just take our word for it – hear from a number of pupils from the Kirkby Collaborative (consisting of 12 primary schools and 2 secondary schools in Kirkby) who shared their views on why it’s important to attend school regularly . . .
“I love coming to school because every day is a new day.”
“Why would you not want to be in school with your mates, learning the stuff you enjoy learning?”
“It’s just good to be in school because it’s a nice place to be.”
“School is your foundation and it keeps building up from there.”
“Learning is part of life.”
“Being absent from school is really difficult to bounce back from.”
“You want to be in all of the time so that you get as much revision and as much practice in as you can.”
“You miss out on the social side if you don’t come to school – meeting friends – that’s a very big side to it.”
“If you miss school, you miss out on the experiences that school gives.”
“All of the teachers are welcoming and they make me feel happy.”
Cllr David Lonergan, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:
“It’s great to hear the views of our children and young people and why they think attending school regularly is so important. Like they say, attending school every day provides them with opportunities to learn and socialise and by missing school, it’s hard to catch up.
“Remember too that help and support is available to anyone who is having issues with school attendance – please speak to your child’s teacher in the first instance, but help and support is available to ensure children get the very best start in life by attending school every day.”