Ipswich MP Jack Abbott and education secretary Bridget Phillipson visit Chantry Academy as Government announces £15m attendance investment

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has been welcomed to Ipswich as the Government announces a multi-million pound injection to boost attendance in schools.

Jack Abbott, MP for Ipswich, visited Chantry Academy alongside the secretary of state today.

Ms Phillipson was there to support plans for a £15 million investment into attendance monitoring, which would allow it to reach more than 10,000 children in the worst affected parts of the country.

Ipswich is one of the areas to benefit from the scheme.

It will support children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), mental health issues or other complex learning needs.

Ms Phillipson said: "If we are going to break down the barriers to opportunity for children in Ipswich and across the country, we must first break down the barriers to school attendance.

"It was fantastic to visit Chantry Academy to see firsthand the steps they are taking to support families and young people to attend school day in, day out."

SuffolkNews has previously reported on absences in Suffolk.

This includes a headteacher and the leader of a support group commenting on a new framework for school fines. Fines in Suffolk crept up following the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the 2021/22 school year, persistent school absence doubled in the county.

Mr Abbott previously described exclusions in Suffolk as being ‘endemic’. Students with special educational needs or from lower-income backgrounds were disproportionately affected.

Mr Abbott said he was delighted to welcome Ms Phillipson to Chantry to hear from staff and pupils about their work on such a challenging issue.

He added: “The investment announced by the education secretary here in Ipswich is an important step in getting to grips with school attendance.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the Education Secretary and great local schools like Chantry Academy to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child in Ipswich.”

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