Leadership

Attendance Network Meeting - 13th October 2026

Audience: Headteachers, senior leaders, attendance leads, SENCOs, DSLs, pastoral leaders and family liaison staff, primary and secondary.
Course Date: Tuesday 13th October 2026 - 13:30-15:30
Course Location: Ifield Smile Conference Room
Fees: Free for GLP Schools, £50pp for non-members
Facilitator: Adam Lowing

This course will provide:

Building on the highly successful Attendance Forums from last year, this session will consider how relational practice, strong starts to the day, strategic leadership and partnership working can lead to sustained improvements in attendance.

Colleagues will share and evaluate practice, using attendance information alongside pupil and family voice to consider what is making a difference, which pupils are benefiting and where further action is needed.

The forum will also explore the implications of Ofsted's September 2026 inspection updates.
Ofsted now emphasises that inclusion extends beyond statutory groups to all pupils facing barriers to their learning or wellbeing and is the responsibility of leaders and staff across the school.

The accompanying state-funded school inspection toolkit also recognises that SEND, medical and mental-health needs may affect attendance. Inspectors will therefore consider the impact of schools’ work and whether improvements are sustained over time.

Key Aims:

• To build upon the relational, inclusive and strategic practices shared at the July forum.
• To evaluate which attendance approaches are making a difference, for whom and why.
• To consider how schools reduce barriers for pupils with SEND and other additional needs.
• To use quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform attendance priorities.
• To strengthen the connection between attendance, inclusion and whole-school leadership.
  

   

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