School Attendance Week event to be broadcast live
Shropshire Council’s School Attendance Week celebration event and awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the Internet on Friday 14 October 2011.
The week, from 10 to 14 October, highlights how crucial good school attendance is for county children to be able to reach their potential.
A series of activities has taken place in the build-up to School Attendance Week 2011, run by the council’s education welfare service. Attendance challenges have been set by Egbert the Early Bird and schoolpupils have been invited to enter competitions to highlight the importance of going to school regularly and on time. Shropshire secondary schoolpupils have enjoyed the opportunity to enter a photography competition, and primary school pupils have been given the chance to enter designs for a school attendance certificate.
The celebration event and ceremony will be screened live by webcast from The Guildhall’s Council Chamber in Shrewsbury between 10am and 12 noon.
The celebration will include three schools demonstrating the importance they place on attendance for their pupils and the ceremony, when schools and pupils with top attendance rates will be announced and receive their awards. An interactive quiz will also take place; photographs will be taken during the event by a student from The Community College, Bishop’s Castle, and Egbert the Early Bird will make an appearance.
Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for schools, said:
“Shropshire has excellent attendance figures due to the hard work of parents and carers, pupils, schools and the council. Recent figures show that in both primary and secondary schools the rates increased for autumn 2010, putting Shropshire first in a league of similar councils.
“However, we can always improve and want to ensure that every child has the opportunity to obtain a level of education that will benefit them to the full, well into their adult life.
“School Attendance Week aims to show how important good school attendance is, and reinforces the serious message of the impact that poor attendance can have on a child’s achievements.
“I am looking forward to this year’s celebration event and awards ceremony and having the opportunity to congratulate schools and pupils on their achievements. This year’s School Attendance Week looks set to be another great success following on from last year when it was held for the first time in the county.”
Visit www.ustream.tv/user/ShropshireCouncil from 10am to 12 noon to watch the event unfold.
The event can also be followed on twitter @ShropLive.
A gallery of competition entries will be displayed in The Guildhall’s Council Chamber during the celebration event and ceremony.
For more information on school attendance in Shropshire go to shropshire.gov.uk/schools.nsf or call the education welfare service on 01743 254397.
