A Star is born with Jill's firm keeping track of school pupils
A Sunderland-based firm’s software platform which helps schools improve attendance is ready to be rolled out nationally.
A Star Attendance Solutions was founded in 2018 by former local authority attendance officer Jill Robson and has developed a pioneering online platform that helps schools manage pupil attendance in a more transparent, fair and robust way.
Built by Durham based IT consultancy Waterstons, the platform is Jill’s brainchild and - following a successful trial in 12 schools - is now to be used in schools across the North.
Jill said: “I’ve seen firsthand the impact Government cuts were having on the education sector, especially in terms of attendance support and early intervention.
“Local authorities were no longer able to continue to provide the additional support required, leaving schools responsible for day-to-day management of non-school attendance, and the impact of losing the additional council support was clear to see.
“I knew there must be a better way for schools to manage attendance and intervention and so, at the age of 52, decided to take voluntary redundancy and set up on my own to address the issue.”
Within 12 months, Jill was employing three members of staff but, as demand grew, so did the workload.
Jill added. “While the personal provision helped to massively reduce staff workloads
and transform the way attendance was monitored, I decided to explore ways of
improving the process and worked with Waterstons to devise a software platform to automate it. This led to me being introduced to Sunderland City Council’s Business Investment Team, who supported me as I developed the system. Their support has been invaluable.”
The platform is now being used by 38 schools.
Jill added: “Our overall aim for A Star is to help schools more effectively monitor attendance, ensuring no child is forgotten and ensuring every child has the same opportunity.”
Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Ensuring young people have a fair and equal opportunity to receive the best possible education is a key priority of ours as a council and we’re delighted to have been able to support Jill and the team on their journey so far.”