In 2019, a seemingly harmless Christmas tradition revealed something far more serious about school attendance. When a group of schools shared their day-by-day attendance data, an unexpected dip appeared across several sites on the same December day: Christmas Jumper Day. In this reflective piece, Duncan Baldwin looks back at how that discovery challenged assumptions about “fun” school activities, highlighted the unseen pressures faced by some pupils, and demonstrated the power of collaboration and shared data. From machine learning insights to questions about accountability, this is a story about marginal gains, unintended consequences, and why improving attendance is often about the small things schools choose to do – or not do – every day.

Understanding attendance through a single lens rarely tells the full story. When we look at how different factors overlap, patterns become clearer and support becomes sharper. That’s the essence of intersectionality, and why it matters for attendance — Duncan Baldwin

The new Ofsted Schools Inspection Framework (Nov 2025) brings a major shift in how attendance is evaluated. Inspectors now look beyond numbers to understand the barriers pupils face, the quality of a school’s systems, and how leadership creates an inclusive culture where pupils feel able to attend. This article explains what’s changed, and what evidence schools will need to show.

A Camden primary school has drawn national attention for replacing attendance fines with a supportive “awareness course” for parents whose children were persistently absent. The approach has been covered by Schools Week, Netmums, and the BBC, each reporting encouraging early results.

Attendance isn’t solved with targets — digital or otherwise. Targets may provide structure, but meaningful change relies on strong systems: processes that ensure nothing is missed, every concern is acted on promptly, and communication with families is consistent and timely. AI might eventually support parts of this work, but it cannot replace the human understanding, professional judgement and relational work that sit at the heart of attendance practice.