Case studies: improving attendance

Schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) share their different techniques for improving attendance rates in their settings

Adam Luke, Department for Education (DfE) School Attendance Policy lead, outlines what the new attendance guidance means for schools and academy trusts.

What the new attendance guidance means for schools and academy trusts

Jayne Lowe, DfE Attendance Adviser, explains what makes an effective school-level attendance policy.

Setting up an effective school attendance policy

Star Academies share how they ensure the attendance register is completed consistently across their schools. Their presentation also covers the trust’s day-to-day processes to monitor, follow up and improve attendance.

Attendance coding practice and day-to-day processes

Sapientia Education Trust share how they work with families, local authorities and other partners effectively to maximise attendance.

Working with families, local authorities and other partners effectively to maximise attendance

Diverse Academies share how they use governance to support better attendance across their trust and academies.

Effective governance to support better attendance

Star Academies share how they analyse absence and attendance data to target and monitor improvement efforts. This presentation also includes a demonstration of the daily attendance reports that all schools can register for and access for free.

School attendance guidance training webinar – analysing absence and attendance data

Whole trust and school approaches to improving attendance webinars

Primary

Aaron Wright, Executive Headteacher, and Luke Renwick, Headteacher, of Brook House Primary School, share how they have created a culture of excellent attendance through a pastoral approach that has significantly reduced the number of pupils who are persistently absent.

A pastoral approach – Brook House Primary School

Kelly Moore, Principal at Ormiston Meadows Academy, shares the strategies they have implemented with various cohorts of pupils to significantly reduce persistent absence across the school.

Reducing persistent absence – Ormiston Meadows Academy

Secondary

Michael Robson, Executive Principal of North Shore Academy, shares their approach for managing and improving attendance in schools in the Northern Education Trust, including work they did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing and improving attendance in a multi-academy trust – Northern Education Trust

Jamie Stubbs, Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for inclusion, safeguarding and attendance at St Thomas More Catholic Academy, shares how they have managed to improve attendance levels to above national averages.

Improving attendance to above national averages – St Thomas More Catholic Academy

Diane Henson, Headteacher at Wheelers Lane Technology College, shares the strategies they’ve successfully implemented to improve attendance for pupils at their secondary boys’ school.

Successful attendance implementation – Wheelers Lane Technology College

Sue Huntley, Deputy Principal of Studio West, shares how they use their curriculum and other strategies to improve attendance in their 11-to-19 studio school.

Improving attendance in a studio school – Studio West

Special and alternative provision (AP)

Wayne Askham, Head of the Abbey School, shares how they use their curriculum, incentives and rewards, and other strategies to improve attendance in their 5-to-19 special school.

Using curriculum, incentives and rewards – Abbey School

Matthew Rooney, Principal of St Giles School, shares the actions they have taken to reduce the attendance gap between their 3-to-18 special school and other mainstream settings nationally.

Closing the attendance gap – St Giles School

Bromley Trust Academy Alternative Provision share the actions they take at trust, school and pupil level to raise attendance significantly above national alternative provision (AP) averages.

Raising AP attendance averages – Bromley Trust Academy

Trust

Michelle O’Dell shares an insight into her role as Attendance Intervention Manager for John Taylor Multi-Academy Trust. This includes strategies for monitoring and improving attendance across all the schools in the trust.

Using an Attendance Intervention Manager to improve rates – John Taylor Multi-Academy Trust

Ofsted

Susan Morris-King, one of His Majesty’s Inspectors and Ofsted’s National Lead for behaviour and attendance, reports on the main findings of Ofsted’s ‘Securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence’ report.

Ofsted findings on securing good attendance and tackling persistent absence