A SECONDARY school in special measures is offering students a 40inch screen smart TV for free in a bid to boost attendance.
Pupils who go to all classes in any two-week period are put into a draw to win the telly.
The high definition Hye Tizen sets cost £149.99 each and come with a built-in Samsung gaming hub.
An announcement of the reward at Haven High Academy in Boston, Lincs, was placed on Facebook, with the slogan “Moments matter, attendance matters”.
It says: “Get 100% attendance in any two weeks and be in the draw for a TV.
“Be a hero and win a 40inch screen TV!”
It also calls for pupils to be a “Haven HERO — Here, Everyday, Ready, On Time”.
Headteacher Austin Sheppard defended the initiative, telling The Sun: “Raising attendance is a massive priority for all schools.
“We had one of the highest improved attendances last academic year, we raised it by over three per cent.
“We’re looking to raise it again this year and rewards have — since the beginning of time — been a way of incentivising behaviour and academic outcomes in schools.”
He pointed out the school serves a community with high levels of social deprivation.
It was found to require special measures after an Ofsted inspection rating of inadequate last year.
A Department of Education notice also said: “Too many pupils are absent too often.”
Haven High Academy is offering students a 40inch screen smart TV for free in a bid to boost attendance
Calls for marking at home
By Emily-Jane Heap
TEACHERS should “mark from home” one day a week, according to the head of Britain’s biggest education union.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, also called for staggered start and finish times.
He said: “Does a physics teacher need to be in at 8am?”
Time for marking and prep should be doubled from the current ten per cent, with a day at home to ease the recruitment crisis, he added.
A report last year found almost half of teachers had flexible arrangements.
Nearly one in ten left in 2022-23, new data says.
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