Using Attendance Data to Measure the Impact of Your Inclusion Strategy

As part of the inclusive mainstream fund (IMF), all mainstream schools in England must publish a statutory inclusion strategy by 31 December 2026. But here’s the thing, it’s not just about having a strategy written down. Schools need to show how they’re putting inclusive practice into action, and whether those approaches are actually making a difference. That’s where attendance data can be really useful.

In this blog, we’ll look at how you can use your attendance data to understand the impact of your inclusion strategy, identify what’s working and spot where more support might be needed.

Understanding Your Attendance Data

Before you can measure the impact of your inclusion strategy, you need to understand your attendance data. Do you know which pupils or cohorts have the greatest attendance gaps?

SEND pupils often have lower attendance than their peers, so understanding the data can help you identify where additional support may be needed. Look at persistent absence, lateness and patterns over time, and compare vulnerable cohorts with their peers. This can help you spot where the biggest gaps are and where additional support may be needed.

Look Beyond the Numbers

Attendance data can tell you where there may be a problem, but not necessarily why. An attendance gap could be linked to a range of factors, from anxiety to family circumstances, SEND or bullying.

Bringing attendance data together with information from staff, families and pupils themselves can help you build a clearer picture of what’s going on and identify potential barriers early. After all, pupils can only get the full benefit of your inclusive practices in school if they’re actually there to experience them – so making sure they attend regularly is critical.

But understanding the barriers is only the first step. The next is using what you’ve learned to put the right support in place.

Turn Data Into Action

When it comes to inclusive attendance, you’ll need to work with parents, staff and wider services to develop a clear, joined-up approach. Understanding the individual pupil and the barriers they may be facing can help you put the right support in place, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

For pupils with SEND, this might mean considering whether adjustments to the school day, additional support or changes to the learning environment could help remove barriers to attendance.

It’s also important to record the actions and interventions put in place, including what you’re trying to achieve and how you’ll know whether it’s working. This gives you something to review over time, helping you understand what is making a difference, what may need to change and where further support might be needed.

Of course, doing this for individual pupils takes time and commitment from staff, so anything you can do to automate steps within this process will make it much easier – for example, having your attendance system automatically alert you to patterns or log actions.

Measure Whether Your Approach Is Making a Difference

As part of your inclusion strategy, you need to be able to demonstrate the impact of the actions you are taking. Compare your attendance data before and after support is introduced, and look beyond just the numbers, but also whether there’s an improvement in pupil wellbeing or engagement in school life due to them being in school more.

Consider which interventions appear to be having the greatest impact, so you can focus your resources where they are most effective and don’t rely on the numbers alone. Combine attendance data with other evidence, such as conversations with pupils and families, actions taken and feedback from those involved. Together, this gives you a much clearer picture of what’s working and the difference your approach is making.

Use Your Evidence to Improve Your Strategy

Your attendance data shouldn’t just show whether things are improving – it can help you evidence the impact of your inclusive practice. The IMF says that you should be able to demonstrate how this investment is supporting more inclusive practice and making a difference for pupils.

This is where your attendance data can be particularly useful. Looking at attendance patterns, gaps between cohorts and changes over time can help you demonstrate whether the approaches you’ve put in place are making a difference, particularly for pupils with SEND. This includes both improving attendance itself, but also using attendance as evidence of other improvements. Has higher attendance led to better engagement in school or improved wellbeing?

You can bring this together with feedback from pupils and families, teaching staff to give additional examples of the support provided and give a fuller picture of the impact.

Studybugs Can Help You Show the Impact of Your Inclusion Strategy

If the idea of getting your strategy together – on top of everything you already have to do! – is daunting, Studybugs can help.

In a few simple steps, you can start embedding inclusion automatically, creating interventions that work and collecting the evidence you need to develop an exceptional inclusion strategy.

Book a demo today to see how Studybugs can help you get your inclusion strategy in place.

— Jen Simmons