Shape Attendance. Transform Lives.

Strategic Lead for Attendance (Trust Vice Principal)

Are you a senior leader driven by moral purpose and relentless about impact? Do you believe that attendance is everyone’s responsibility and that strong systems, clear expectations and expert leadership can change life chances? If so, this is a rare opportunity to lead improvement at scale, across a growing and ambitious multi‑academy trust.

We are seeking an exceptional Strategic Lead for Attendance (Trust Vice Principal) to provide trust‑wide leadership across Astrea’s secondary academies in South Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, ensuring more children are in school, learning, thriving and succeeding.

About the Role

Attendance is one of the strongest indicators of whether a school system is truly working for children. This senior, trust‑wide role exists to ensure that attendance improves because practice improves.

As Strategic Lead for Attendance, you will:

• Set and drive a clear, coherent trust‑wide attendance strategy
• Translate strategy into consistent, front‑line practice
• Support and challenge academy leaders to secure sustained improvement
• Ensure strong alignment between attendance, safeguarding, inclusion and pastoral systems
• Maintain a sharp focus on persistent absence, disadvantaged and vulnerable scholars

This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced senior leader who understands the realities of school improvement and is ready to influence outcomes beyond a single setting.

What You’ll Be Doing

You will work closely with Principals, senior leaders, safeguarding leads and central colleagues to:

• Lead and embed trust‑wide attendance standards, expectations and systems
• Provide strategic oversight and assurance of attendance performance and risk
• Diagnose variation in practice and support targeted improvement
• Build leadership and staff capacity through coaching, modelling and high‑quality CPD
• Use data intelligently to identify trends, target intervention and evaluate impact
• Ensure readiness for external scrutiny, including Ofsted
• Strengthen practice for pupils educated off‑site, including AP and EHE
• Champion a culture of high expectations, urgency and consistency

While attendance is the core focus, the role requires a strong understanding of safeguarding and how attendance systems protect and support vulnerable children.

Who We’re Looking For

You will be:

• A credible and authoritative school leader with a proven track record of impact
• Experienced in improving attendance, inclusion or another significant whole‑school priority
• A strategic thinker who can lead through others and influence at all levels
• Highly skilled in using data to drive improvement
• Relentlessly focused on outcomes for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils
• Aligned to Astrea’s values of scholarship, curiosity and tenacity

Experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead or working at trust/system level is desirable but not essential.

What We Offer

You will be supported by a strong and growing trust infrastructure, including:

• Close partnership with Regional Directors, the Head of Inclusion and Executive Team
• Access to expert central teams (HR, Finance, Data, IT, Estates and Education)
• A values‑driven culture with clarity around behaviour, curriculum and teaching
• A trust committed to codifying what works and reducing unnecessary workload
• The opportunity to have real influence at scale

Astrea is unapologetically ambitious. We believe all children deserve a knowledge‑rich education, delivered in calm, disciplined and joyful schools where teachers can teach and scholars can learn.

Why Join Astrea?

All Astrea secondary academies are currently judged Good by Ofsted and are building towards excellence. With a clear 2030 strategy, strong central support and a shared approach to behaviour, curriculum and culture, this is a trust where improvement is intentional, evidence‑informed and sustainable.

This role sits at the heart of that work.

Interested in Applying?

If you are aligned with our mission and ready to lead attendance improvement with clarity, authority and compassion, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal, confidential conversation, please contact: Richard Tutt – Richard.tutt@astreaacademytrust.org, Director of Secondary Education

For further information about the role or the application process, please contact: Stephen Casey or Sarah Fedun – recruitment@astreaacademytrust.org

Safeguarding and Equality

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer.