While attendance is our most critical focus this year, we recognise that it is ultimately a symptom of wider barriers across inclusion, belonging, curriculum engagement, and family circumstances. Our Ignite Three-Pillar Strategy is our direct, holistic response to these root causes.

By focusing deeply on our classrooms, our staff, and our communities, we are proactively removing the obstacles to attendance and building a culture where each and every child naturally belongs and thrives.

Pillar 1: Ignite the Learning

Igniting a passion for learning by moving our pupils’ school experience from ‘narrow to broad.’

Key Enablers:

• Inclusive Mainstream: Delivering high-quality, ambitious, and accessible teaching and learning for all children—particularly those with SEND and vulnerabilities. In alignment with the White Paper and national SEND reforms, this is achieved through evidence-informed, adaptive curriculum design and the targeted support of our new SEND bases.
• Belonging and Enjoyment: We champion a culture of belonging through an enriched curriculum and vibrant school life. By intentionally dismantling barriers to engagement, we ensure every learner feels a profound connection to their community. Supported by our strong Personal Development Offer, this sparks curiosity and fosters a lifelong love for learning.

 

Pillar 2: Ignite the Profession

Empowering our workforce to deliver world-class classroom practice right from the start.

Key Enablers:

• Pedagogy Master Toolkit: We are systematically embedding our new Pedagogy Toolkit across all schools. Aligning with the White Paper’s focus on teacher development, we provide continuous, evidence-informed training. This guarantees that every child—regardless of their background or starting point—has daily access to the highest quality teaching.
• Continuous Professional Development (CPD): Elevating professional excellence by delivering comprehensive CPD for all Trust staff, with inclusion and disadvantage serving as the golden thread. By establishing a shared language and a collective understanding of the specific barriers our pupils face, we equip our entire workforce with the tools and insights required to systematically overcome them and close the attainment gap.

 

Pillar 3: Ignite the Community

Building authentic, supportive partnerships to create a unified ecosystem of support.
Key Enablers:

• Family Engagement: We believe that when parents feel deeply connected to our schools, children thrive. By walking alongside families to dismantle practical and emotional barriers to engagement, we create a unified support system that directly inspires excellent attendance and unlocks higher academic achievement.
• Wider Engagement: We are maximising our impact by positioning the Trust as a proactive civic partner. Through integrated, multi-agency collaboration with the NHS, Family Hubs, community centres, and local authorities, we establish a seamless network of external expertise. This allows us to systematically dismantle deep-rooted health, social, and economic barriers, ensuring holistic, wraparound support for each and every child.

 

Delivering Impact

The priorities within our Ignite 2026/2027 plan are driven and supported by these core enablers. Each enabler is backed by a focused action plan owned by our leadership team, with regular monitoring and review against clear progress measures. This ensures we stay on track, overcome root-cause barriers to attendance, and deliver meaningful, lasting impact across the Rainbow Education Multi-Academy Trust.