The knock-on effect of the pandemic left parent and pupil confidence in tatters. And the facts were more than concerning.

• Pre-COVID, attendance rates in Pembrokeshire averaged 94-95%.
• Attendance levels during COVID declined to 83-84%.

That’s 158,000 less days of school attended in ‘21/’22 compared to two years prior.

Cowshed was taken on to create a bilingual campaign targeted primarily at parents living in the rural county of Pembrokeshire to reverse the trajectory of poor attendance.

Our research was clear there were many families and young people with lasting trauma and an uncertain approach to formal education following the pandemic.

To turn the tide on poor attendance, we needed to make the transition back to school as supportive as possible, so young people and their families were motivated to return, rather than allowing the events of the previous two years define their relationship with education.

What if Geraint Thomas, Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton had never gone to school and met their PE teacher… School is not just for the academics. It is where stories start – career stories, family stories or maybe even business stories.

Creativity, Friendship, Community, Success, Support | It Starts in School.

Its Starts in School was a fully integrated, hyper targeted, community curated, public information campaign that delivered a gentle reminder on all that can be gained by attending school.