Event Summary
Nearly one in five pupils in England is now persistently absent, almost double the pre-pandemic rate. With every mainstream state school now given its own monitored attendance target, school leaders face mounting pressure to spot problems earlier and intervene faster. Tackling the health, poverty and SEND-related barriers behind the figures is now central to getting pupils back in the classroom.
Join Westminster Insight’s School Attendance Digital Conference on 27th January 2027 to deliver against your school’s Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE), confront the real drivers of absence, and learn best practice for re-engaging pupils.
Hear directly from Impetus on the findings of their latest school attendance report, and explore how to challenge the belief that missing the odd day doesn’t matter. Discover how schools can rebuild trust and belief among staff, pupils and parents, and make attendance count for pupils’ futures.
Learn how AI-powered attendance data tools can identify emerging patterns of absence and enable earlier intervention. Understand how your school’s ABIE is calculated, benchmark against similar schools and learn from peers through local attendance and behaviour hubs. Scale attendance mentoring and one-to-one support to re-engage persistent and severely absent pupils.
Navigate the updated Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance and translate national expectations into effective school policy. Strengthen the role of Attendance and Education Welfare Officers and understand how attendance now sits within Ofsted’s attendance and behaviour judgement.
Equip school staff with the training, guidance and resources to respond confidently to attendance barriers. Build trusted relationships, strengthen pupils’ sense of belonging and provide effective support while managing the workload and emotional demands of attendance interventions.
Absence rates remain significantly higher among pupils eligible for free school meals than among their peers. Address the disproportionate absence experienced by disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, identifying underlying barriers including poverty, unmet SEND needs, mental health challenges and family circumstances. Understand how to develop personalised, flexible approaches that remove barriers and help pupils see attendance as an investment in their future.
Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) remains a significant driver of absence. We will spotlight how to create environments where pupils feel safe, understood and motivated to attend, and develop mentoring and personalised support for those experiencing EBSA and mental health-related absence.
Tackle the dip in attendance at Key Stage 3 and strengthen the transition from primary to secondary school. We will discuss the Friday attendance slump by exploring enrichment, clubs and activities that keep pupils engaged right through to the end of the week.
Develop a whole-school approach to improving attendance. Strengthen collaboration with parents and carers, employers, and further and higher education providers to improve engagement and reinforce the long-term value of attending school.
Spend a full day sharing best practice and gaining practical strategies to strengthen engagement, reduce absence and ensure every pupil has the opportunity to attend, achieve and succeed.
*A crisis of disengagement: listening to, and learning from, teachers on school attendance – Impetus
Key Points
- Confronting the real drivers of the attendance crisis
- Unpacking the Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) and what it means for your school
- Working Together to Improve School Attendance Guidance: navigating the updated guidance and translating national expectations into effective school attendance policies
- Addressing Ofsted’s role in inspecting attendance
- Persistence and severe absence: re-engaging pupils missing school
- Supporting and empowering teachers to improve school attendance
- Improving attendance for SEND and disadvantaged pupils
- Supporting looked-after pupils, young carers and those in care
- Tackling mental health and emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)
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Group discounts
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