Trust Attendance Lead

GLF Schools; Old Woking; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 74,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Flexible working options

Generous holiday allowance

Work-life policies

Employee wellbeing initiatives

Staff benefits portal

Community & collaboration model

Job summary

GLF Schools is seeking a Trust Attendance Lead to drive the trust-wide attendance strategy from Nursery through Sixth Form, reducing persistent absence and closing gaps for disadvantaged pupils. You will ensure systems, support and accountability across all GLF schools to help every child attend, belong, achieve and thrive.

The role requires proven leadership across multiple schools, expert knowledge of attendance and safeguarding, and strong analytical and communicative abilities to influence

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience across multiple schools with focus on equity and inclusion.
• Expert knowledge of attendance, safeguarding and family engagement.
• Highly analytical using attendance, vulnerability and contextual data to identify barriers and shape support.
• Confident in setting and challenging ambitious attendance and inclusion targets.
• Skilled at influencing and supporting school leaders.
• Passionate about improving outcomes for every child.
• Confident leading change, shaping policy and embedding best practice.
• Exceptional communicator building trusted partnerships with schools, families and services.
• Resilient, proactive and motivated to make a difference daily.

Responsibilities

• Lead GLF's trust-wide strategy to improve attendance across all phases.
• Reduce persistent absence and close attendance gaps for disadvantaged pupils.
• Ensure each school has systems, support and accountability for attendance, belonging and achievement.

Skills

Leadership

Attendance knowledge

Analytical

Target setting

Influencing

Communication

Resilience

Job description

Trust Attendance Lead

Surrey

Leadership 2 - £70,275 - £74,000

Permanent

GLF Schools

At GLF Schools, our vision is for every child to shape their future through an excellent education. Guided by our mission that everyone is known and noticed every day, and our ambition to be sector leading with strong local roots, we place excellent teaching at the heart of everything we do. We are always inclusive so everyone feels valued and supported, and maintain a whole-child focus because character, wellbeing and breadth of experience matter.

Your Opportunity

As Trust Attendance Lead, you will lead GLF's trust-wide strategy to improve attendance across all phases, from our Nursery settings through to our 6th Forms, reducing persistent absence and closing attendance gaps for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, ensuring every school has the systems, support and accountability needed to help every child attend, belong, achieve and thrive.

What we are looking for

• Proven leadership experience driving improvement across multiple schools, with a clear focus on equity, inclusion, excellent teaching and strong pupil outcomes.
• Expert knowledge of attendance, inclusion, safeguarding and family engagement, including the whole-child factors that enable children to attend, learn and thrive.
• Highly analytical, able to use attendance, VYED, ABIE target, vulnerability and contextual data to identify barriers, shape timely support and evaluate impact.
• Confident in setting, monitoring and challenging progress against ambitious attendance and inclusion targets, including ABIE targets, so that data leads to practical action and improved outcomes for children and young people.
• Skilled at influencing, challenging and supporting school leaders.
• Passionate about improving outcomes for every child.
• Confident leading change, shaping policy and embedding best practice.
• An exceptional communicator who builds trusted partnerships with schools, families and wider services.
• Resilient, proactive and motivated by making a difference every day.

Join the GLF Schools Community

As part of GLF Schools, you will join a community shaped by a clear strategy and a shared ambition for every child to achieve and thrive. Our work is supported by Community Strengthening, with schools driving local improvement, and Sector Shaping, helping to lead the system and try new things. First and foremost, our People are the foundation of all we do, and this role will work through that foundation by building capacity, confidence and shared accountability across our schools.

• A growing Multi Academy Trust with over 2,500 colleagues and over 19,000 pupils
• Founded upon the values of Respect, Inclusivity, Integrity and Kindness
• 43 primary and secondary schools across 7 Local Authority areas across the south of England
• We work as a community whilst ensuring each school maintains its own unique identity
• Committed to ensuring every child and young person attends, belongs, achieves and thrives

GLF Schools Employment Offer

GLF Schools has a generous employment offer, which allows all our colleagues to Grow, Learn and Flourish

• Access to our highly competitive Pension Scheme
• Flexible working options
• Generous holiday allowance
• Work life and family friendly policies
• Employee wellbeing initiatives
• Access to a staff benefits portal
• Community and collaboration working model

The Details

Start date: 4th January 2027 or as soon as possible

Hours: Full time, Permanent 36 hours a week, 52 weeks a year

Salary: Leadership 2 - £70,275 - £74,000 (flexibility for an exceptional candidate)

Close date: 4th October

Interview date: Friday 9th October / Monday 12th October