Attendance and behaviour hubs: guidance for partner schools
Published 12 May 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rise-attendance-and-behaviour-hubs-guidance-for-partner-schools/attendance-and-behaviour-hubs-guidance-for-partner-schools
This guidance is intended for partner schools who are confirmed participants on the programme. It sets out how they should engage and the level of support they will receive.
Support available
The regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) attendance and behaviour hubs programme supports schools in improving pupil attendance and behaviour.
Partner schools on the programme will engage with either regional or enhanced support, depending on their level of need.
Regional support
This is light touch support for partner schools, provided through access to:
- open days
- online continuing professional development
- shared practice amongst a group of 30 to 40 other schools
Partner schools will be expected to complete an attendance and behaviour self-assessment.
Enhanced support
Enhanced support includes the benefits of regional support plus 10 days of tailored intensive one-to-one support from your lead school. This will:
- review attendance and behaviour practice
- support the development and implementation of an action plan
Regional support
This is for the majority of schools who want light touch support to help them make changes to their practice.
As a partner school you will have access to:
- a structured attendance and behaviour continuing professional development offer
- opportunities to visit the allocated lead school as part of a series of termly open day events
- opportunities to discuss and share effective practice with other schools in your hub
Each lead school will facilitate a network of 30 to 40 partner schools as part of this regional support pathway.
What is expected of participants
As a partner school on this pathway you will be expected to:
- complete an attendance and behaviour self-assessment
- attend all scheduled regional hub activities across the academic year, including:
- all the open days hosted by your lead school
- the attendance and behaviour online continuing professional development (CPD) offer
You will need to:
- ensure representation from senior leadership at events to support implementation at your school
- engage actively in all sessions, contributing to discussions, sharing practice, and reflecting on challenges and successes
- commit to make changes between sessions and be prepared to share progress or learning with the wider cohort
- respond to communications from the lead school in a timely and professional manner
- complete all feedback and evaluation activities, including surveys, to support programme improvement and accountability
- maintain a commitment to peer support, collaboration and a willingness to learn from others
Initial actions for partner schools
Watch the introduction to the regional offer.
Complete the attendance and behaviour self-assessment to identify your school’s strengths and areas for development.
Attend the online CPD sessions to reflect on your practice and consider changes you will make.
Complete your action plan.
Review your education data attendance reports.
Attend open day events with other schools in your hub to discuss and share practice and progress.
Enhanced support
This is aimed at schools that want and need more intensive support to improve their attendance and behaviour.
Eligible partner schools will receive 10 days of leadership support over 3 terms from their allocated lead school. This support will be aimed at helping the partner school:
- understand their attendance and behaviour strengths and their areas for development
- develop and implement an improvement plan
What is expected of participants
As a partner school on this pathway you will be expected to:
- engage fully in the self-assessment process, providing relevant data and participating in open, constructive discussions about your current challenges and priorities
- host the lead school for a visit where they will discuss attendance and behaviour practice with you at your school
- co-develop an action plan with your lead school, outlining clear steps to improve attendance and behaviour
You will need to:
- allocate senior leadership time to work with the lead school across the full 10 days of support, ensuring continuity and strategic oversight
- run perceptions of school behaviour surveys with pupils and staff to identify areas for improvement and focus
- implement agreed actions between visits and be prepared to discuss progress, barriers and adaptations
- maintain regular communication with your lead school
- participate in a final review session, reflecting on progress made and identifying next steps for sustaining improvement
- complete evaluation activities, including feedback surveys and data submissions, with the Department for Education (DfE) and external evaluators to support programme learning
What we need from you
As a partner school receiving enhanced support you will need to share the following with your allocated lead school:
- a completed behaviour and attendance self-assessment
- relevant sections of your school improvement plan and attendance and behaviour improvement strategies
- results from your perceptions of behaviour survey for pupils and staff
DfE will also collect and share the following documents and data with your allocated lead school:
- your attendance and behaviour policies
- your DfE similar schools report and attendance summary report
- your most recent Ofsted report
- published exclusions data
Initial actions for partner schools
Watch the introduction to the enhanced offer.
Complete the attendance and behaviour self-assessment to identify your school’s strengths and areas for development.
Get relevant documentation and data to share with your lead school.
Engage with your lead school to agree a date for a visit.
Attend the online CPD sessions to reflect on your practice, and consider changes you will make.
Review your education data attendance reports.
Consider what changes or outcomes you would like to work with your lead school to achieve as part of your participation in the attendance and behaviour hubs programme.
Time commitment
Regional support
Senior leaders from the partner school will need to:
- attend one open day per term
- participate in 6 two-hour online CPD sessions, and complete the attendance and behaviour self-assessment to guide their engagement
This will involve around 5 to 10 days of leadership time.
Enhanced support
Senior leaders from the partner school will need to:
- be available and able to engage with their lead school across 10 days of support: 5 in term 1, 3 in term 2, 2 in term 3
- complete the self-assessment
- host the lead school for a deep-dive visit
- develop and implement an improvement plan
- attend open days at the lead school
This will involve around 10 to 20 days of leadership time.
CPD events for partner schools
These dates are available for CPD events for partner schools on the programme. DfE will contact partner schools directly with information on how to join these sessions.
Sessions available
Sessions will also be available on YouTube after the date has passed.
Thursday 29 January
Monday 9 February
CPD 2: using data to target action
Friday 24 April
CPD 3: day to day systems and procedures
Thursday 21 May
CPD 4: staff induction and development
Thursday 24 September
CPD 5: relationships
Monday 5 October
CPD 6: targeted support for pupil needs