The Schools of Tomorrow and Whole Education Leadership Conference brings together those from across the educational sector and beyond who are interested in thinking about how we address some of the biggest challenges facing society.

Dame Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner, has worked relentlessly to keep attendance at the top of the national agenda for schools, pointing out in a recent blog that school attendance is still not back to where it was prior to the pandemic. In that same blog, she talks about school as a unique, valuable component of childhood and asserts that, from her conversations with them, children themselves understand the importance of being at school.

Many of the school, trust and local authority leaders we talk to are worried about the state of school attendance. They tell us of the strategies they are using, the roles they have created and the amount of time and money they are expending trying to ensure every child is present. They also tell us how frustrated they sometimes are by how hard it is and how little difference it makes for some children. 

This year the focus of our collective attention will be on what a recent ImpactEd report termed ‘The Engagement Gap’. We will be joined by a carefully curated selection of speakers who will inspire and challenge us as we explore together how we might make each of our schools a place where everyone wants to be. 

This conference is an unmissable event for anyone who is concerned about the real issues behind what is often termed ‘the attendance crisis’ and is seeking a space where they can think with others about what we can do collectively to address them so that every child, regardless of background, can thrive in our schools.