Attendance and Exclusion Lead

Salary: £50,000-£55,000 + wellbeing cash plan + pension scheme (LGPS) + additional Lift Schools benefits

Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: EdCity, 1 EdCity Walk, EdCity, London, W12 7TF or regionally based within a defined Lift Schools geographical hub. Regular travel to regional schools and occasional national travel will be expected

Start date: ASAP

Help improve attendance and transform outcomes for thousands of children.

At Lift Schools, we believe every child deserves to be in school, ready to learn, every day.

We're looking for an exceptional Attendance and Exclusion Lead to join our national safeguarding and Education team and support our trust-wide approach to attendance across our network of 59 schools, educating more than 35,000 pupils.

This is a rare opportunity to influence practice at scale. Working alongside our Head of Safeguarding, Regional and National Education Directors, Principals and school leaders, you'll help ensure every school has the systems, expertise and confidence to improve attendance, reduce persistent absence and provide strategic oversight of suspensions and exclusions, helping more children access the education they deserve.

Why this role matters

Excellent attendance is fundamental to educational success. Every day in school matters, and your expertise will help ensure more children benefit from the opportunities that education provides.

Working across our family of schools, you'll use data, quality assurance, coaching and professional challenge to strengthen attendance practice, identify risks early and support school leaders to deliver sustainable improvement. Alongside this, you'll provide strategic oversight of suspensions and exclusions, helping ensure schools meet statutory expectations and promote positive outcomes for pupils.

This isn't about monitoring performance from a distance. It's about building trusted relationships with school leaders, using evidence to drive improvement and supporting schools to make a lasting difference for children and their families.

Who we're looking for

You'll already be recognised as an expert in attendance, with experience gained within a school, multi-academy trust or local authority. You may also have experience of supporting schools with suspensions, exclusions or wider inclusion strategies.

You'll bring:

• Significant experience leading attendance improvement across schools or educational settings.
• Strong knowledge of current attendance legislation, alongside an understanding of suspensions, exclusions and statutory guidance.
• Experience analysing complex data and translating insight into practical school improvement strategies.
• The credibility and confidence to coach, influence and constructively challenge senior leaders.
• A collaborative approach and a genuine passion for improving outcomes for children.

Most importantly, you'll share our belief that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed and understand the life-changing difference that excellent attendance can make.

We offer you:

• Comprehensive training: Access a wide range of developmental training to boost your career.
• Generous benefits: From your pension plan to healthcare and financial support, we've got you covered.
• Lifestyle perks: Enjoy discounted gym memberships and travel deals.

Closing date: Monday 17 August 2026
Interview date: w/c Monday 24 August 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.

Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Lift Schools embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.