What is a TSM and what does the Department for Education (DfE) guidance specifically expect the Local Authority (LA) to do?
The DfE Working together to improve school attendance guidance expects all LAs to organise termly TSMs with each school in their area so the school’s attendance leads and their point of contact in the LAs School Attendance Support Team can identify, discuss and agree joint targeted actions for pupils who are persistently or severely absent and those at risk of becoming so.
TSMs support the building of strong relationships and collaborative work between the school’s attendance leads and the LA. During the meeting your allocated Education Welfare Officer (EWO) can provide advice on recording in the register, accessing other LA teams and services, and the wider area-wide attendance approach. The TSM may also include helping a school to identify areas to focus on in their school policies or approaches where they seek it. This may include help with analysing their own data, comparing themselves to other schools in the geographical area or considering how they may learn from or work with other schools who have faced similar patterns or trends.
Your LA allocated EWO should contact you every term to arrange these support visits. If you have not heard from your allocated EWO and would like to arrange a TSM, please contact: [email protected].