Posted on Monday 16th September 2024
Staffordshire County Council has officially launched a brand-new ‘Little Heroes’ campaign to encourage and support regular school attendance in primary schools across the county.
Across the UK, there has been a drop in attendance rates, and school attendance in Staffordshire is down by 2.3 per cent, compared to previous years. The main reasons for school absences are due to mild illnesses and anxiety barriers.
This September, the county council has officially launched the ‘Little Heroes’ campaign across Staffordshire primary schools to boost attendance and support students.
The campaign focuses on the ‘HERO’ theme and creative ‘Pixar’ style characters to encourage the message ‘Here Every day Ready and On time.'
Schools that have signed-up to the campaign have received their starter kits, packed full of creative resources to encourage and engage key stage one and two children, to attend school every day.
For pupils struggling with their emotional health, the county council has also created a ‘Helpful Heroes’ workbook to support children’s barriers to school avoidance and to help manage anxiety through a book full of mindfulness activities, suitable for their age group.
St. Leonard's Primary School in Stafford is one of the 138 primary schools who have signed up to the campaign and have already seen an increase in attendance rates and time keeping.
Councillor Jonathan Price visited the school to officially launch the campaign and presented awards to some of Staffordshire’s little heroes.
Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Education at Staffordshire County Council said:
“We are so pleased to be officially rolling out our Little Heroes campaign across the county. Our Little Heroes campaign has been carefully designed to encourage and engage with children about the importance of attending school and to support children that may be avoiding school due to emotional barriers. I would like to say a huge thank you to our schools that had taken part in the trial campaign earlier this year, as they have helped us make the campaign bigger and better to support the children as best as we can.
“I’m very proud to see so many schools taking part in this fantastic initiative and I hope together, we can support children in attending school every day and enjoying some of the best days of their lives.”
Claire Callaghan, Inclusion Lead at St Leonard’s Primary School said:
“We are so proud to be part of the Little Heroes campaign. We joined the trial earlier this year and when we heard about the official launch, we jumped at the chance to continue.
“Little Heroes has had such a positive impact supporting children and parents to be ‘Here Every Day Ready and On time, and we are already seeing a difference. The Helpful Heroes workbooks are full of lovely activities, learning all about worries and we encourage the children to practice mindfulness activities at home and in the classroom. Children who were anxious now seem calmer and ready to start the day when they arrive.
“Of course, the children absolutely love the characters and are very keen to collect their stickers and receive their certificates to reward and celebrate their attendance.”
To find out more about the Little Heroes campaign visit: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/littleheroes