Pupils at All Saints Primary School in Newton Heath, Manchester were treated to a visit from ‘Buddy’ to launch their 100% Challenge for Attendance which is available to all schools in Greater Manchester. The MOTIV 100% Challenge recognises both excellence and significant improvements in school attendance, rewarding school attendance in two categories – 100% attendance and 100% effort in attendance.

The scheme is run by award winning Manchester Community interest Company MOTIV CIC and was very successful last year as part of Manchester City Council attendance drive (in association with Crayola), with 54% of all pupils (aged 5-16) with improved attendance.

Headteacher Lorraine Tennant commented ‘We are committed to doing everything we can to giving the pupils at this school the best start in life but we can only do that if they are committed to being here, without fail, unless they are sick. The assembly is designed to give them a vision for their future and what it might hold if they work hard and come to school, on time, everyday.’

The class assembly features role play with the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre model maker to demonstrate to pupils what affect poor and attendance and lateness would have in the real world of work. The class with the highest attendance from last term will be treated to a demonstration from the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre team.

MOTIV Director Rose Marley who is a winner of the Women in Ethical Business Awards (Tridos Bank & The Times) commented ‘the LEGO brand is a popular and trusted brand amongst pupils and the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is an ideal environment to engage youngsters in their learning through play. It’s an ideal message we are putting out their for kids with the Centre – if you work hard, you get rewarded, it’s a lesson for life!’

Neil Crittenden, General Manager of LEGOLAND Discovery Centre commented ‘It’s a superb way for us to put something back into the community, knowing we can make a social impact with our LEGO character.  Putting children first is at the heart of the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre brand, so we are  of course happy to endorse Buddy’s efforts to support the idea of private companies playing a bigger part in that community.’

If you would like more information about running The 100% Challenge with LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in your school please contact Sam Evans at MOTIV on (0161) 282 8380 or via sam@motiv.org.uk

Click here to find out more about LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, located at The Trafford Centre, Manchester.

The news that more than half the city’s primary and secondary pupils have had fewer days off school, comes as Manchester celebrates its record GSCE results.

A major drive to improve school attendance began in January led by Manchester City Council, working with schools and parents. Since the launch of the Citywide Attendance Campaign 29,383 pupils  (54% of all pupils aged 5-16) have had better attendance and of these 7,191 (13.59% of all pupils aged 5-16) improved their absenteeism by 10% or more.

Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member for Children’s Services at Manchester City Council, said: “These figures show the direct link between good attendance and getting good results. Absenteeism rates have reduced in the year where the number of pupils who achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C has risen to 45% from 38.6% last year. This is fantastic news for everyone involved.”

The Citywide Attendance Campaign was threefold: it included publicity about the benefits of good attendance; a motivation programme and reward system for pupils from MOTIV CIC; and a step-up in home visits and enforcement measures for parents where necessary.

During the spring and summer terms Manchester’s primary and secondary schools participated in the MOTIV 100% Challenge commissioned by the council. Pupils with 100% or improved attendance earned badges, rewards and participated in celebration events.

In addition, a total of 3,325 home visits were carried out across Manchester in the spring term. During this monitoring period 2,500 warning letters were sent to parents. After the letters 1,500 pupils did not have any further unauthorised absences. Close consultation with schools over the remaining pupils resulted in 554 penalty notices being issued, of which 235 have led to further legal intervention.

By the end of the spring half term Manchester’s results showed that:

• Absence rates in primary schools had decreased from 6.31% last year, to 5.54% this year;
• Absence rates in secondary schools, including academies, had decreased from 10.39% last year to 9.27% this year;
• Absence rates in maintained secondary schools had decreased from 9.89% last year to 8.71% this year.

The rate of persistent absence, classed as pupils who have missed 32 or more days, has also improved:

• In primary schools persistent absence reduced from 2.9% last year to 1.77% this year;
• In secondary schools including academies it reduced from 10.62% last year to 8.62% this year;
• In maintained secondary schools it dropped from 9.63% last year to 7.48% this year.

Cllr Sheila Newman concluded, “Parents, teachers and pupils should all be congratulated on their hard work. But, we can’t afford to be complacent when it comes to our children’s futures and we must keep up the momentum in September with the new academic year.”

Recently published national data, which is due to be validated in October, indicates that Manchester’s secondary school absence rates have improved by four places in country’s overall performance during the spring term, and that primary schools have come in line with the national average during the same period.

Please contact MOTIV on (0161) 282 8380 or support@motiv.org.uk to find out more about the success of The 100% Challenge in Greater Manchester and other local authorities.

The schools are taking part in the ‘Top Trumps For Top Attendance’ Challenge. Pupils will be rewarded for ’100% Attendance’ or ’100% Effort For Attendance’ with unique Challenge badges and will earn a Top Trumps reward if they complete The Challenge across the whole of the Summer Term.

The participating schools are Griffin Park Primary, Witton Park High School, St Aidans C of E Primary, St Peters RC Primary and Meadowhead Infants. For further information about The 100% Challenge in Blackburn please click here

To read more about all of the inspiring finalists and watch short films of the stars of the show click here.

The winners have been announced for the best female led ethical businesses in Britain: the Ethical Business category has been won by Anne MacCaig, CEO, Cafédirect; Ethical Small Business winners are Sarah Brooks and Susi Lennox, Yes Pure Intimacy and the Ethical Entrepreneur awards has gone to Rose Marley, CEO, MOTIV. Winners were announced last night at a special awards ceremony in London.

Sue Cooper, Triodos Bank’s Deputy Head of Business Banking, and one of the judges said: “Everyone profits from the work of the inspiring enterprises highlighted tonight,” she said. “That’s because they’re as focussed on their impact on people and the planet as the money they make”.

The Triodos Bank Women in Ethical Business Awards (WEBA), launched in 2006 and run by sustainable finance specialists Triodos Bank, celebrate the women running the nation’s best ethical businesses. The WEBA winners are true entrepreneurs who are blazing a trail for doing business in a way that benefits people or the environment. This year, for the first time, the awards are run in partnership with The Times. A special award voted for by readers of the newspaper, The Times Reader Award, went to Heather Gardener-Masoud from Zaytoun, importer of fairtrade olive oil from Palestine.

Rose Marley, Founder and MD of MOTIV, a company which works with schools and improves school attendance rates by running pupil programmes that incorporate main stream brands and popular culture won the Ethical Entrepreneur category. Rose said, “Winning this award is a recognition of the work we have achieved to date and our aim to build a formidable social enterprise, effecting social change with the aid of private sector sponsors.”

Anne MacCaig, CEO of the Fair Trade hot drinks company Cafédirect said, ““For Cafédirect – winning the Ethical Business Award is a fantastic way to recognise our way of doing business and inspiring others. We hope this will encourage other companies to change their thinking and emulate our model.”

Yes Pure Intimacy, winners of the Ethical Small Business Award sponsored by Ecover, produce the world’s first and only, range of certified organic intimate lubricants. The driving forces behind it, Sarah Brooks and Susi Lennox said, “Winning a WEBA means more happiness, more smiles and more women getting their intimate health back. And they’ll do it without compromising their bodies or their conscience with synthetic chemicals, skin irritants and hormones.”