A campaign to boost school attendance by offering pupils the chance to go to an exclusive pop concert has won a national award.
Nottingham City Council’s Get In:volved campaign with Capital FM was the Gold winner in the Media Week Awards 2015 in London on Thursday 22 October.
The campaign, which ran over the Autumn 2014 term in secondary schools in the City with Capital FM, added an additional 5,661 school days and saw attendance increase by an average of 2%. It was the winner in the ‘Best Media Idea’ category – beating Coca Cola, Paddy Power, Topshop, Sainsbury’s, Google and Channel 4 for Ed Sheeran Live.
Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Schools in Nottingham said: “I’m delighted that our decision to do something different to tackle attendance in Nottingham has been recognised on a national stage. This award is a testament to the strong stance Nottingham is taking to improve school attendance. Over the Autumn 2014 term Nottingham City has been recognised by the Department for Education as the most improved area in the country for attendance.
“We have more work to do in Nottingham, but I’m pleased that our schools have seen an improvement in attendance and are reducing unauthorised absences. It is crucial that we improve school attendance rates in Nottingham so the better rates must be sustained. Better school attendance leads to better exam results and outcomes for young people”
Classes with the best overall attendance from six schools watched a special VIP performance by pop group Neon Jungle at the Glee Club in Nottingham on 15 January. Fronted by Neon Jungle and Capital FM Breakfast Show presenters Dino & Pete, the campaign urged pupils to ‘Get In:volved to Get the Gig’. It included presentations in the schools, a specially created video by the band, website and radio spots, as well as launch assemblies for pupils with Dino and Pete.
Whole classes were encouraged to work together to improve their collective attendance. The campaign went on to be backed by Ofsted and Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education, who encouraged other local councils to follow Nottingham City Council’s example to tackle the problem of school attendance.
Richard Ardis, Managing Director at Capital FM East Midlands, said: “This has been a hugely exciting campaign for us. The Get In:volved partnership with Nottingham City Council has delivered fantastic results, exceeding all expectations. Using Capital’s social media, our connections with talent and our on air presenters, we created a campaign which really resonated in the schools.”
After the success of last year’s campaign, Get In:volved is back and it’s bigger than ever. Tutor groups with the best attendance in schools will win an exclusive Capital FM gig with Professor Green himself.