An MP has seen first-hand how focused support is helping turn around absenteeism in the classroom.
Helena Dollimore, Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye, visited The Hastings Academy to learn about the Attendance Mentors Pilot Expansion (AMPE) scheme—a Department for Education programme targeting persistent absence and supporting students through structured mentoring.
The mentoring scheme, which began rolling out nationally in 2025, operates across 10 priority areas over three and a half years to build evidence on effective approaches to improving attendance.
It is delivered by education partner Etio, with support from organisations including ImpactEd, Thrive and Oasis Community Partnerships.
Ms Dollimore spoke with senior leaders and students at The Hastings Academy, where 51 of the 102 Hastings pupils supported in Wave 2 of the programme are based.
Kirsty Hackett, area manager for Etio AMPE in Hastings, said: “We were delighted to welcome Helena Dollimore MP to The Hastings Academy, where she had the opportunity to see our attendance mentoring in action.
“We are extremely grateful for her continued support.”
The programme prioritises students who are persistently absent, defined as missing between 10 and 50 per cent of school sessions.
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A total of 50 mentors have been recruited to support up to 3,600 pupils each year.
Mentoring typically involves weekly one-hour sessions over 12 weeks, covering trust-building, goal-setting, implementing action plans and preparing for reintegration and long-term independence.
Jessie Mann, senior school leader at The Hastings Academy, said: “The AMPE programme has been an excellent intervention to support some of our pupils, helping to build their confidence, engagement and readiness to learn.
“It was great to introduce Helena to the programme and to share first-hand the positive impact it has had within our school community.
“The support provided through AMPE has also played an important role in our attendance improvement journey.”
Multiple factors are believed to contribute to the national attendance crisis, including pupil anxiety, safety concerns, disengagement, parental work schedules and the cost-of-living crisis.
The project is being evaluated through a Randomised Control Trial supported by the Youth Endowment Fund, aiming to generate robust evidence to inform future national policy.