Regular school attendance is essential for children’s wellbeing, sense of belonging, academic progress and long‑term life chances. Every day in school helps build the foundations for future study, employment and positive lifelong outcomes. In Camden, improving attendance remains a key priority, as both national and local data show ongoing concerns around absence and persistent absence.
Camden continues to experience some of the lowest attendance levels in London, with absence rates lower than statistical neighbours. This context drives our collective determination to improve practice, strengthen partnerships and support schools in tackling the barriers that keep children away from learning.
How Camden Learning supports schools
We provide a borough‑wide attendance offer that blends professional expertise, practical tools and targeted support so that every school can improve outcomes for pupils and families.
Attendance Training & Professional Development
Our training offer helps school leaders, attendance staff and pastoral teams stay fully aligned with national guidance, best practice expectations, and effective approaches for reducing absence. This includes:
- Whole‑school attendance training
- Persistent absence strategies and intervention training
- Attendance legislation and statutory duties updates
- Staff training on early identification of attendance concerns
- Using data more effectively to drive decision‑making
Training is updated in line with the latest national attendance releases from the DfE.
Team Around the School – Tiered Support
We use a tiered model, aligned with national guidance, to help schools address attendance concerns at multiple levels:
Universal Support
For schools with strong systems seeking light‑touch guidance. Includes access to Camden attendance tools, briefings and data resources.
Targeted Support
For schools with rising absence or identified groups needing intervention. Includes:
- Attendance clinics
- Moderated case reviews
- Strategy meetings
- Support with attendance action plans
Intensive Support
For schools with more significant or sustained challenges. Includes:
- Increased SISO involvement
- Multi‑agency case management
- Deep‑dive support for leadership teams
- Monitoring impact across a defined improvement period
School Inclusion Support Officers (SISOs)
SISOs are a vital part of Camden’s response to absence. Their work was highlighted in recent scrutiny committee discussions as an important mechanism for understanding barriers to attendance and improving support for young people. SISOs:
- Hold termly attendance meetings with school staff
- Review patterns, concerns and key cases
- Support schools to identify hidden or complex factors
- Strengthen links to social care, mental health and early help
- Build positive, trusting relationships with families, reducing conflict and anxiety
Attendance Reviews
Our reviews offer an independent assessment of a school’s attendance practice, including:
- Evaluation of policy, processes and staffing
- Analysis of attendance data and persistent absence patterns
- Review of safeguarding links, escalation routes and interventions
- Observation of attendance processes in action
- Recommendations aligned to best practice standards
Schools receive a clear, actionable report designed to support strategic planning and immediate next steps.
Attendance Booklets, Tools and Resources
We provide a growing set of Camden-specific resources to strengthen whole‑school approaches, including:
- Camden Attendance Handbook
- Persistent Absence guidance booklets
- Scripts for difficult conversations with parents
- Letter templates and escalation pathways
- Guidance for working with families with complex needs
- Root‑cause analysis tools for attendance casework
These resources are updated regularly and reflect the latest DfE attendance data.
Data, Insight & National Context
We help schools interpret and respond to both local and national trends using:
- Camden data briefings
- National absence statistics
- Local dashboards for benchmarking
- Analysis of vulnerable groups (SEND, disadvantaged, EAL)
- Forecasting tools and comparison datasets
Support for School Leaders
We work closely with headteachers, and attendance leads to help them design and embed whole‑school strategies that:
- Strengthen culture, belonging and relationships
- Build attendance into curriculum, pedagogy and pastoral systems
- Reduce anxiety‑based avoidance and support emotional needs
- Improve school‑parent communication and partnership
- Address bullying, mental health and wider barriers identified in local reports
- Ensure schools remain attractive, nurturing environments for all children
Our Commitment
Attendance is a whole‑school, whole‑community responsibility. Camden Learning is committed to supporting schools, families and professionals to:
- Understand the factors behind absence
- Intervene early with the right support
- Strengthen wellbeing, belonging and engagement
- Build systems that sustain good attendance
- Improve outcomes for all children and young people
To discuss support, please contact: ACOS@camden.gov.uk
