The aim is to embed a routine, preventative approach across all schools and services in Bristol. Rather than reacting to problems once they are already visible, schools and council services are now working from a shared picture of each student - their wellbeing, confidence, career aspirations and future plans - so the right support can reach the right young person at the right time.
We describe this as a "team around the school" approach. Not one service doing everything, but schools and council and external partner services as well as parents all aligned around what each student actually needs.
"Our priority is simple. We want every child and young person in Bristol to feel supported to learn, grow and thrive. By listening to students about wellbeing, confidence and goals, we can act sooner. We will work with schools and services to provide the right support. This is how we will improve attendance, engagement and long-term outcomes across the city."
Councillor Christine Townsend, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee, Bristol City Council
Our Aspirations programme collects structured insight directly from students across five areas: wellbeing, confidence, skills, career aspirations and future plans. This gives schools and local authorities a picture of each young person that goes well beyond grades and attendance and it is what makes early, targeted action possible rather than reactive.
That data can be used thematically or by specific cohorts - schools can see which year groups are struggling with confidence, which students have no clarity about their future, where wellbeing concerns are concentrated, and what is changing year on year. And because it is structured consistently, it can be shared across schools and council services so everyone is working from the same starting point.
When a student shows uncertainty about their future, schools do not have to wait for it to become a problem. They can act straight away = arranging careers conversations, connecting that student with local opportunities, and making sure they have what they need to make confident decisions about life after school. When wellbeing data flags concerns around body image or anxiety, schools can signpost students to the right support and connect them with positive activities in their communities before those concerns become a barrier to engagement.
"Education should be built around the individual student. When we truly understand what each young person needs, we can tailor support earlier, keep them engaged, and prevent issues before they escalate. The Aspirations programme makes that possible and gives schools and services the shared framework to act on it together."
Matthew Lees, Founder, East Learning CIC
The first focus of the Bristol work is on students who are persistently absent. Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of possible school sessions - around 19 days across a school year. It is not the whole picture of the partnership, but it is a natural starting point because persistent absence is an early indicator of wider disengagement.
National persistent absence rates in secondary schools have risen significantly since 2020, with more than one in five pupils now classified as persistently absent. Students who are regularly missing school are significantly more likely to fall behind, lose confidence, and go on to become Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) -0 with an estimated lifetime public cost of over £500,000 per young person.
Understanding what is driving absence rather than just recording that it is happening is where the Aspirations data comes in. A student who stops coming to school is telling you something. The question is whether you have the tools to understand what, early enough to act.
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Bristol City Council also supports young people through its Best Start Family Hubs service - offering information, advice and help to all families in Bristol, including resources on school attendance, managing school anxiety and post-16 pathways. The Aspirations data and the Family Hubs offer are designed to work together, creating a more joined-up system where schools and services share the same picture of what young people need.
This is part of a broader national picture. The same approach has already reversed negative attendance trends in Oldham against national statistics through early targeted intervention using our Aspirations data. Bristol joins Cardiff, Oldham, and other tregions across the UK starting to work with us on focusing system changes around the students needs.
We'll share more as the project progresses.
