Attendance Clerk in Derby

A vital regional role requiring a leader who can adapt seamlessly between the differing needs of primary education families and secondary school students. You will take operational ownership of attendance across your assigned cluster, leading the development, implementation, and evaluation of robust attendance improvement plans. Line-managing a dedicated Attendance Team, you will work hand-in-hand with school-based leadership, safeguarding teams, and pastoral leaders to achieve sustained improvements in student attendance and punctuality.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Attendance & Data Analysis: Interrogate and analyse whole-school attendance data across both primary and secondary sites to identify key trends, vulnerable groups, and priority areas for early intervention. Establish clear attendance targets and monitor progress against national and school benchmarks. Report regularly to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and Governors on attendance performance with clear impact analysis. Lead targeted initiatives to improve attendance metrics across vulnerable and key groups, including Pupil Premium (PP), SEND, and Persistently Absent (PA) students. Deliver weekly data updates and reports to the regional Inclusion Teams.
• Intervention & Family Engagement: Conduct formal interviews with students and parents across assigned schools to identify underlying barriers to attendance, co-creating structured support plans to facilitate a consistent return to school. Meet regularly with key school staff to discuss concerns regarding students whose attendance falls below 96% to implement fast targeted interventions. Establish meaningful 1:1 relationships with targeted pupils to build positive rapport, monitor progress, and reinforce high expectations of courtesy and behaviour. Coordinate and lead parent/carer panels and meetings with external support agencies.
• Line Management & Team Leadership: Line-manage the daily operations of the centralized Attendance Team, overseeing day-to-day supervision, workload allocation, performance management, and professional development. Standardise and quality-assure team workflows, ensuring meticulous accuracy across register inputs, database maintenance, and absence follow-ups.
• Safeguarding & Compliance: Maintain an expert, up-to-date knowledge of DfE guidance and statutory legal attendance requirements. Ensure attendance monitoring is fully embedded within the trust's safeguarding practices, promptly escalating hidden risks, welfare concerns, or chronic absences to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) teams.

The Ideal Profile:

• Qualifications: GCSE Grade A*–C (or equivalent) in English and Maths, alongside evidence of successful further education. Desirable: A relevant Degree or professional qualification in education, safeguarding, or management.
• Experience & Knowledge: Proven experience working in an attendance monitoring or management role within an educational setting. Strong track record of analysing and reporting complex data to senior stakeholders. Experience line-managing or supervising staff, allocating workloads, and quality-assuring team outputs. Practical knowledge of current statutory DfE attendance guidelines and safeguarding practices. Proficient in school Management Information Systems (MIS) such as SIMS, Arbor, or Bromcom.

What’s on offer:

• Salary: Scale 6, Point 18–22 (£31,537 - £33,699 pro rata per annum / £27,079 - £28,935 actual per annum).
• Work-Life Balance: Term-time only contract, allowing you to have school holidays off.
• Professional Environment: The opportunity to work within a highly supportive, collaborative, and fast-growing multi-academy trust.
• Development: Ongoing professional training and development opportunities to support your career trajectory.

Note: Because this role involves direct, regular contact with schools and young people, an enhanced DBS disclosure will be sought by the company during pre-employment screening.