Across the country, attendance remains one of the hardest challenges to shift.

Persistent absence has climbed to 17.8% nationally (Gov.uk), and the transition into Year 7 almost always brings a predictable dip in engagement.

We all  know the numbers but what most schools don’t have is the insight to understand why specific pupils are disengaging or how to intervene with precision.

To tackle this John Gilmore part of the attendance improvement team at Oldham Council used our Aspirations Programme to close that gap - and the impact was significant.

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So how did they achieve this significant attendance improvement?

It started with student insights the schools didn’t have before. Student data was collected via our Aspirations platform across 4 categories: Wellbeing, Skills, Careers & PSHE
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With the Aspirations baseline data, leaders could see the specific needs of pupils who were:

• Already persistently absent
• At risk of becoming PA
• Quietly disengaging beneath the surface
  
  

This wasn’t just attendance data. It revealed patterns and barriers within the persistent absent student group that traditional metrics never show and that differed sharply from the wider cohort:

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These insights helped Oldham understand why these pupils weren’t turning up and once you understand the “why”, the intervention changes completely.

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What Oldham did next

Because the insight was specific, the response could be too.

Leaders introduced targeted actions directly shaped by the data:

• Wellbeing workshops and assemblies for groups showing emotional vulnerability
• Clearer pathways and apprenticeship guidance for students lacking future confidence
• Interest-led activities and clubs that gave pupils a reason to be in school
• More consistent PSHE and tutor support where confidence gaps were flagged
  
  

No large initiatives. No added workload. Just targeted evidence-based adjustments rooted in what pupils were actually telling them.

Data also allowed leaders to identify ‘at risk’ students much earlier and provide early intervention before their attendance dropped off keeping them engaged in school based on their needs and interests.

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The Impact

This isn’t just a story about “doing something positive”. It’s evidence that:

1. Attendance can shift with the right insight

When leaders understand the real drivers wellbeing, confidence, optimism, belonging, we can have a higher level of impact without hugely increasing workload for staff.  

2. The Year-7 transition drop is not fixed

Most assume it’s inevitable. Oldham shows it can be dramatically reduced.

3. Improvement doesn’t require expensive strategies

It requires clarity and the ability to act on it.

4. Aspirations gives leaders a diagnostic they simply don’t get elsewhere

It’s not a wellbeing survey. It’s not a PSHE assessment. It’s a system for understanding what sits underneath behaviour, engagement and attendance - and turning it into practical next steps.

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Why this matters

Oldham’s work highlights a wider truth:

You can shift attendance when you understand what your pupils are experiencing emotionally, socially and academically - and act quickly on that insight.

The Aspirations Programme gave the school a simple continuous improvement cycle:

• Gather the right information
• Analyse what sits beneath attendance
• Plan targeted actions
• Review the data to see what’s working
  
  

It’s a model already being used across trusts, regions and individual schools - and it scales because it strengthens what teams are already doing.

If you’d like to explore how Aspirations can support attendance, wellbeing or transition in your context, click the button below to book a free call with our Schools team.

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