Taking a Strategic Approach to Improving School Attendance

Event Description

Attendance is everyone's business, but what does this really mean for all staff working in our schools?

Getting more children to school more of the time has never been more challenging or necessary. Schools will undoubtedly have this priority high on their school improvement agendas, to drive pupil success. There are increasing avenues, and a vast amount of guidance to support schools in this area, but this CPD will provide a summary and practical application of the most up-to-date national and local information on policy, frameworks and initiatives.

There will be a chance to explore data-driven strategies, identify at-risk students (and their individual barriers to attending school), understand the impact of attendance, and explore ideas for working with families and other agencies to support attendance.

Jen Norris, (Director of Student Support at Blackdown Education Partnership) will lead the series of sessions, as she draws on her extensive knowledge in this specialist area through her range of trust and local authority roles leading safeguarding, inclusion and attendance. Schools in the Southwest with a proven track record of strategies that have improved attendance will join sessions to share exemplification from their settings. Reflection and action planning time to address the challenges facing your school will be built into the sessions, alongside networking with colleagues in local schools.

Session 1: Thursday 9 October 2025 - 09.30-15.00

Establishing a whole school approach

Effective policies and systems

Getting beyond the data to understand barriers to attendance

Using data effectively

Support for under-resourced (disadvantaged) students – closing the gap

Practical tools and approaches for tracking, identifying trends and monitoring attendance

Identifying students at risk of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

Roles and responsibilities

Developing a comprehensive strategy for the year ahead

Session 2: Thursday 15 January 2026 - 09.30 - 13.00

Reflection and recap: what has worked well?

Analysis of your own school data

Using AI

Unconscious Bias in our schools

Attendance and SEND

Building trust and partnerships with families

Developing teacher confidence

Case studies of successful school interventions

Session 3: Thursday 11 June 2026 - 09.30-13.00

Reflection and recap – what has worked well?

Joining the dots in our data (academic and pastoral)

Writing effective attendance support plans

Working with local agencies

Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

Signposting

Personal reflections and next steps

Session 1 – full day – lunch and refreshments provided

Session 2 – half day – refreshments provided

Session 3 – half day – refreshments provided

Target Audience

All phases - Attendance Leads, Head teachers, Attendance Champions, Senior Leaders

Learning Outcomes

- Develop skills and knowledge in attendance management, leading to more confident and effective practices

- Feel empowered through action points, innovative ideas and tangible solutions to overcome challenges and build a culture that supports increased attendance

- Consider how your existing practice can be developed in the light of this experience

- Develop your own leadership in attendance as part of a supportive group

Training Lead

Jen Norris is the Director of Student Support, overseeing attendance, safeguarding, behaviour and SEND for the Blackdown Education Partnership. Jen is also a Trustee of Exeter Learning Academy Trust. With over 23 years’ experience in education, health and social care, Jen has a deep understanding of the factors that influence attendance and engagement. Jen’s approach combines data-driven insights and awareness of the human factors that motivate children to attend school every day. Jen is passionate about working together to share knowledge, ideas, and insights, and is looking forward to working with colleagues in the Southwest to address the challenges in improving attendance head-on, while providing school leaders with practical strategies to tackle the root causes of absence in their school.

Costs

SWIFT Members: 1 staff member of school - £150 for all sessions; 2 staff members in school - £200

Other colleagues: 1 staff member of school - £195 for all sessions; 2 staff members in school - £260

NB Your school will need to have SWIFT membership for 2025/26 to qualify for the member price.

Please note: Payment is by INVOICE ONLY. Please select invoice as the payment method at check out.

SWIFT Partner providing course (including invoicing) is Blackdown Education Partnership.

You will receive a confirmation of booking from Eventbrite. All further correspondence will come from becki.mills@sw-ift.org.uk or Tania.cox@sw-ift.org.uk; please ensure you check your junk mail box and approve the email to ensure you receive important event details.

If you are unable to attend on the day, or are sending someone else in your place, please let us know. Please be aware that failure to cancel your space can incur your school a cost.

• More than 21 days to date of event: Full refund available (minus £25 admin fee)

• Between 20-7 days to date of event: 50% refund available (minus £25 admin fee)

• 6 days or less to date of event: No refund available (plus £25 admin fee)

Should a training course recruit insufficient numbers to make it viable, we reserve the right to cancel the course, without penalty, giving minimum notice of 24 hours.

Full Terms and Conditions are available HERE.