All posts tagged: attendance

Pupils more likely to miss school on their birthday

Pupils more likely to miss school on their birthday

Published by skeptic

Pupils are up to 55 per cent more likely to miss school on their birthdays, according to new government absence analysis. Department for Education research also shows pupils are missing school after medical appointment and when the term ends with a “broken week”. The DfE has also produced new guidance for schools on how to communicate with parents about attendance. Common absences The DfE analysed school attendance patterns for years 1 to 11 in 2023-24. Across all pupils, overall absence rates were higher on birthdays. This gap peaked in year 8, when pupils are almost 55 per cent more likely to be absent on their birthday. Analysis also found that pupils were missing more of the school day after a medical or dental appointment. If pupils had an appointment during the morning session, just 54 per cent were present for the afternoon session. However, many of these pupils were recorded as having another medical appointment (39 per cent). Absence rates were higher in schools that had a broken week at the end of term. Analysis …

New Yorkers go scorched earth on Trump attendance at Knicks-Spurs Game 3: ‘Selfish weirdo’

New Yorkers go scorched earth on Trump attendance at Knicks-Spurs Game 3: ‘Selfish weirdo’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Fans of the New York Knicks are begging Donald Trump to stay away from Game 3 of the NBA Finals after his plan to attend has prompted enhanced security measures and concerns of courtside tension. The president, a longtime Knicks fan, confirmed last week that he will be at Madison Square Garden for Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, which will mark the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. The announcement led the Knicks to announce Saturday that a strict no-bag policy will be enforced at the iconic venue, along with “TSA-style screening procedures.” The team warned fans to bring as little as possible to the game, and encouraged them to arrive at least two hours before the scheduled 8:40 …

Absence: ‘Significant link’ with life satisfaction

Absence: ‘Significant link’ with life satisfaction

Published by skeptic

A new report has revealed a “significant” link between school absence and pupils’ sense of life satisfaction, particularly among girls. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report comes as absence remains more than 50 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, averaging 8.4 per cent in secondary schools last academic year compared to 5.5 per cent in 2018-19. NFER researchers analysed data from the 2022 programme for international student assessment (PISA) where pupils rated how satisfied they were “with [their] life as a whole”, on a scale of 0 to 10. They cross-examined this with absence data from the national pupil database to inform solutions to help tackle the attendance crisis. Gender divide The research found pupils’ life satisfaction ratings were “significantly related to school absence”, with lower levels of life satisfaction associated with higher absences from school. The link became stronger as absence rates increased. The relationship between absence and satisfaction was also stronger for girls than boys, “indicating wellbeing may be more closely linked to girls’ attendance patterns, while other factors may play a …

Czech president, prime minister clash over NATO summit attendance – POLITICO

Czech president, prime minister clash over NATO summit attendance – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The Czech constitution gives the president the authority to “represent the state externally” under Article 63, but presidential decisions that are taken under that provision require government approval — leaving it unclear whether Pavel can force his way onto the official delegation without backing from Babiš. Since Babiš returned to power last year, his relationship with Pavel has been adversarial, shaped by deep political and personal differences. Pavel, a pro-Western former NATO general, has repeatedly clashed with the populist Babiš over everything from foreign policy to democratic norms and the PM’s long-standing business conflict-of-interest controversies. The duo also went head-to-head in the 2023 presidential election, which Pavel won by almost a million votes, a substantial margin in this country of 10.9 million. Pavel — who has also represented Czechia at the U.N. General Assembly and, more recently, at the May 13 Bucharest Nine and Nordic Allies Summit, a gathering of NATO allies — has even offered to cover the costs of his attending the NATO summit, and is considering legal proceedings against Babiš for blocking …

Want your kids to keep their faith? New research says it’s about conversation, not just church attendance

Want your kids to keep their faith? New research says it’s about conversation, not just church attendance

Published by José Betancourt

An analysis of Communio data found that more frequent religious engagement in childhood and better family experiences were associated with greater religious participation in adulthood. Children who frequently talked about faith with their parents tended to attend religious services more frequently as adults and were more likely to transmit their faith to their own children. The paper was published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Religiosity and spirituality are central parts of many people’s lives. They shape people’s moral frameworks, inform commitments, and guide behaviors, while also supporting many aspects of their health and well-being. As concepts, religiosity and spirituality are related, but not identical. Religiosity is the degree to which a person believes in, practices, and identifies with an organized religion. Spirituality is broader and usually refers to a person’s search for meaning, connection, transcendence, inner peace, or relationship with something larger than the self. Both religiosity and spirituality can help people make sense of suffering, uncertainty, loss, and major life transitions. They can provide comfort, hope, emotional regulation, and a …

Attendance and behaviour will remain linked

Attendance and behaviour will remain linked

Published by skeptic

Ofsted will not decouple the attendance and behaviour judgment areas and will instead introduce subheads for each in its report cards. But a union boss has claimed it will make it “more confusing” and some schools will “continue to be punished”. Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector, previously said he was “bothered” by the merging of attendance and behaviour and that it was something he was “watching”. But Lee Owston, the watchdog’s national director for education, told the Schools and Academies Show this week the two areas were “intrinsically linked” and would not be separated. “We do present two separate paragraphs [beneath ‘attendance and behaviour’] … and when parents read the report card, it’s clear what the nuances are,” he said. Adding subheads will ‘make things clearer’ Ofsted planned to “add subheadings beneath the grade to make that even clearer” from September. But this would not be backdated for the hundreds of schools already inspected. “Poor behaviour affects all pupils. The vast majority who follow the rules shouldn’t have their learning affected by one or two disruptive …

AMC Theatres Posts Higher Revenue on Attendance Rebound

AMC Theatres Posts Higher Revenue on Attendance Rebound

Published by Daniella Wilson

Better Hollywood box office led AMC Entertainment Holdings to higher theater attendance and revenue in the first quarter of 2026. U.S. markets attendance was up 14 percent to 30.7 million filmgoers, against a year-earlier 27 million, while international attendance rose 12.6 percent at 16.8 million ticket buyers, against a year-ago 15 million patrons, as AMC sees a continuing roller coaster ride for Hollywood box office into 2026. During the latest quarter, AMC Theatres played on its screens tentpoles like Project Hail Mary, compared to the year-earlier period when it relied on Disney’s Snow White and Christmas holdovers like Moana 2 and Wicked to drive box office. That allowed the debt-laden parent of AMC Theatres in the first quarter to report overall revenues at $1.04 billion, up from a year-earlier $862.5 million. The mega-exhibitor also shrunk its net loss to $117 million, against a year-earlier $202.1 million. As AMC rides a premium screen gold rush at the local multiplex by offering varied immersive auditoriums like Imax, Dolby Cinema, iSense, XL and laser projection-equipped screens, the question for investors is if better box office trends will …

Church Attendance Surges Post-COVID – OpentheWord.org

Church Attendance Surges Post-COVID – OpentheWord.org

Published by Sam Flores

Credit: Matt Botsford/unsplash.com There are signs that things are brewing in the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit is on the move. A recent survey conducted by Hartford Institute for Religion Research (HIRR), found that median attendance at American churches is now higher than it was before the Covid lockdowns. It represented, “the first positive gain in median attendance in 25 years,” HIRR reported. Median represents the actual middle number of the attendance figures. It is not the average. Before Covid the median church attendance was 65. During the COVID years, when attendance was restricted, the median dropped to 45. But HIRR’s survey of over 7,000 American congregations between September to December 2025, found that the median church attendance now sits at 70. This represents a significant turn around as the median number has been declining since 2000. This was due in part to the attendance free fall taking place in main line churches that have basically abandoned the Christian faith. But the transformation is not limited to just America. The spiritual climate is heating up …

Frequent church attendance strongly predicts whether a woman will marry before having a child

Frequent church attendance strongly predicts whether a woman will marry before having a child

Published by José Betancourt

An analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data investigated the types of family-forming transitions people experience. They found that women who attend religious services frequently or belong to a conservative denomination were the most likely to marry before cohabiting with a partner or giving birth. The paper was published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Family-forming events are life events through which people create, expand, or redefine a family unit. They usually include marriage, cohabitation, and childbirth. Decades ago, most U.S. women married without ever having cohabited. However, more recently, approximately 75% of young women live with their partner sometime in young adulthood. Many also give birth to a child before entering into a union with a partner. What a person’s first family-forming event will be depends on many factors. These include cultural norms, personal values, relationship opportunities, education, and various life circumstances. One important factor is religion. Many religions encourage early marriage and discourage cohabitation and nonmarital births. Study authors Man Xu and Paula England wanted to examine how religion …