Andrew Hill
1 Series two
The attendance puzzle: Patterns, problems, and policy implications
Despite modest improvements in pupil attendance across England, absence rates remain stubbornly above pre-pandemic levels. Drawing on the latest insights from FFT’s Education Datalab and Attendance Tracker, we’ll unpack the complex landscape of school attendance in 2024/25 to support trust leaders to navigate the challenge with a clear and confident data-informed approach. We’ll explore emerging patterns across primary and secondary phases and examine the implications through a leadership lens. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the drivers behind the trends, the policy levers available to address persistent absence, and how to use attendance data to inform targeted interventions and resource allocation.
1 Workshop series two
Managing the changing face of school data: A discussion workshop
Join us for this thought-provoking space for attendees to share insights and practice on key areas of the complex and evolving landscape for school and trust level data. We will discuss the current progress measure gaps within trusts, effectively complementing the new DfE and Ofsted measures, and the importance of contextualising data for valid assessment. <ul> <li>How are trusts currently navigating the absence of formal progress measures? Where is your focus? How important is pupil progress? What measures are being used? What advice are you giving schools?)"How should trusts think about the contextualisation of school data?</li> <li>How should trusts think about the around the contextualisation of school data?What’s important; demographic variation, pupil starting points, pupil needs, similar schools, regional circumstances, a level playing field? What would you like to see?</li> <li>How should trusts ‘complement’ new DfE and Ofsted measures? (What are your views on the current direction of travel? What would you like to see that supplements the DfE and Ofsted approach?)</li> </ul>