DfE Attendance Adviser: What Every School Leader Needs To Know To Tackle Attendance

We’re kicking off Series 2 with a powerful conversation on a topic that often dominates school and trust leadership today: attendance. Joining us is Jayne Lowe OBE, a national adviser to the Department for Education on attendance, behaviour, safeguarding, and education in youth custody. Jayne was instrumental in developing the Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance and brings decades of experience as a teacher, headteacher, local authority leader, and trust board trustee. In this episode, Jayne gives us a clear-eyed overview of the national attendance picture, explains why visible leadership is essential in shifting culture, and outlines what it means to build an ‘attendance-drenched’ environment. We explore the practical steps trust and school leaders can take to create calm, safe, and high-expectation spaces – even when facing complex barriers like SEND, mental health, or disengagement post-COVID. From using data more effectively and rebuilding trust with families, to addressing term-time holidays, and the balance around rewarding attendance – this episode is packed with practical insights, strategic thinking, and real-world examples leaders can apply right away. LINKS For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.