The Inclusive Attendance Programme has now launched across all six of our schools.
This marks an important step in our commitment to building attendance cultures that are sustainable, inclusive and centred on the needs of children and young people who think, behave and learn differently.
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In March 2026, our teams carried out detailed deep‑dive visits across multiple sites. These reviews gave us valuable insight into existing attendance practice, helping us identify both strengths and key areas for development.
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The knowledge gained is now shaping targeted action plans for each setting. These plans will provide clear, focused steps designed to enhance consistency, strengthen culture and drive further improvements in attendance.
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Embedding the Inclusive Attendance Programme means establishing a genuinely system‑led model across the federation. It supports collective responsibility, promotes alignment in practice and ensures that attendance becomes a meaningful driver for long‑term success across all schools.
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Through our partnership with Inclusive Attendance, staff have begun accredited professional learning, practice reviews are underway and a five‑year strategy is in development. This strategy places inclusivity, belonging and success for every learner at the centre of our work.
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Our approach has been designed to align fully with the Ofsted Framework and the Department for Education’s statutory expectations for school attendance. More importantly, it strengthens our culture of care, consistency and ambition.
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The Inclusive Attendance Programme will support us to reduce persistent absence, improve overall attendance and build a robust quality assurance model. This model will help each school grow year on year through self‑evaluation, shared insight and collaborative learning.
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Senior Head of School Caron Cooper said: “We did this because attendance is so important for children. The passion is that we want to get these children back into school because they have not been in school. By having attendance incentives and committing to this, because we are all about inclusivity, that is why we are doing it.”
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Inclusive Attendance has described the launch as the beginning of “a shared vision”, recognising our commitment to leading the way in sustainable attendance improvement.
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The launch of the first is a significant milestone for all of us at First Steps Together. It strengthens our ability to support children and young people every day, ensures our practice meets the highest standards and moves us closer to achieving Bronze Mark Accreditation across all schools.
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Most importantly, it reaffirms our belief that every child deserves a school environment where they feel supported to attend, welcomed when they arrive and empowered to succeed.
