How schools can turnaround behaviour and attendance issues - Mark and Zoe Enser

In researching How Do They Do It?, our new book based on visits to and conversations with hundreds of teachers and leaders, we saw first-hand what works when it comes to behaviour and attendance. The reality is both more hopeful and more complicated than soundbites sometimes suggest.

Behaviour and attendance are “wicked problems”. That is the term used in policy studies for problems that have multiple causes, shifting dynamics and no single solution. A child’s decision to attend school, or how they behave in the classroom, is shaped by their family circumstances, their prior experiences of education, their mental health and the culture of the school itself. Quick fixes rarely succeed unless they are embedded in a wider culture of support.

The schools we saw thriving were not those chasing the latest behaviour programme, but those with a shared sense of purpose. Everyone knew the values and behaviours that were expected. Teachers modelled them. Leaders communicated them. Pupils were taught and re-taught them. In these schools, behaviour was not left to the charisma of individual teachers but was built into the fabric of the school day.

Post-pandemic figures reveal that persistent absence is highest among pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities. For some families, barriers are practical such as transport, caring responsibilities or unstable housing. For others, the issue is trust, especially if school has not historically felt like a welcoming or successful place. Hubs can only succeed if they help schools and families work together to remove these barriers, not simply punish them for non-compliance.

Just as pupils are taught mathematics or geography in a planned sequence, they need to be taught how to navigate relationships, manage conflict and build routines of attendance. The strongest schools we visited had thought as carefully about this ‘curriculum for behaviour’ as they had about their academic subjects. They did not assume pupils would ‘just know’ how to behave. They created opportunities to practise, revisited expectations regularly and ensured systems reinforced them.

Hubs risk becoming another initiative layered on top of existing pressures unless they focus on long-term culture. In schools where behaviour and attendance have been transformed, the change did not come from a single intervention but from deliberate, sustained action over years: clarity of purpose, consistent follow-through, investment in staff training and constant communication with pupils and parents.

One school we spent time in had once struggled with very high levels of disruption and absence. Leaders began with a clear statement of purpose: every child in every classroom should be able to learn without distraction. They then built systems that supported this aim, trained staff carefully and spent time with parents to rebuild trust. It took several years, but the result was a school where pupils spoke with pride about belonging, where attendance steadily improved and where teachers said they could focus on teaching again.

None of this is easy. Teaching is a complex business and every school operates in a wider context of social change. But what our research made clear is that it is possible. We saw schools in some of the most challenging contexts achieve calm, purposeful environments where pupils could thrive. Their secret was not magic. It was clarity, consistency and care.

If behaviour and attendance hubs can learn from these lessons, supporting schools to build capacity rather than compliance, then they could play a valuable role. At their best, they could provide professional development for staff, create space for schools to collaborate and share strategies, and offer targeted support to the pupils who need it most. That would help the initiative move beyond headlines and become something that truly improves the daily reality of school life for children, families and teachers.

A good outcome would be schools where attendance rises not because parents fear penalties, but because pupils feel welcomed and engaged. It would be classrooms where teachers can focus on teaching, knowing that routines are consistent and expectations are shared.

Most importantly, it would mean young people leave school better equipped for the future because they have experienced an environment of stability, purpose and care.

Mark and Zoe Enser are based in North Yorkshire and are the authors of How Do They Do It? What can we learn from amazing schools, leaders and teachers?