Study of Authoritative School Climate Enabling policies to reduce absenteeism and exclusion
About the study
This study aims to explore how school policies and practices shape the school climate and their impact on student attendance and exclusions in secondary schools.
Funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), and the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is conducting this research in collaboration with educational psychologists from University College London to explore the relationship between school policies and practices, climate, and student outcomes.
During an initial scoping phase in 2024, we analysed school behaviour policies and their alignment with the theoretical framework of school climates. The study has been extended to gain a deeper understanding of these findings.
This extended phase’s objectives have changed from focusing on behaviour policies to gaining a broader understanding of a wider range of policies and practices that are used in schools.
What is the study looking at?
We are currently in the second scoping phase of the study. This phase aims to learn more about different types of policies and practices in schools, as well as to assess how well our refined ASCE practices survey measure works.
There are three main stages of work:
- Earlier this year, we carried out qualitative interviews with some headteachers and behavioural leads about the choices that the senior leadership team make and how school policies and practices relate to school climate. The information gathered directly informed the development of a refined ASCE practices survey.
- Piloting the ASCE practices survey with a small number of headteachers and school staff.
- Mainstage ASCE practices survey that is open to all secondary schools.
If the findings from this scoping phase are promising, the study will progress to an impact evaluation to investigate the effects of school policies and practices on pupil exclusion and attendance.
What does taking part involve?
For the piloting stage, we are inviting headteachers (or behavioural leads) and teachers to take part in an interview. The interviews will last up to 60 minutes and will begin in June 2025.
During the discussion, we will ask participants to complete a select number of survey questions. We will ask how they found answering the questions, so that we can check that the questions are clear and easy to understand.
Why take part?
This is an important study exploring the relationship between school policies and practices, school climates, and student outcomes. Your expertise will help us improve our survey and develop a better understanding of school practices, which will inform the rest of the research study.
To say thank you for taking part in our pilot, we will give you a £50 voucher. This can be spent on resources for your school, as a token of appreciation for giving your valuable time to help with our research.
Participation is voluntary
Participation in each element of the study is entirely voluntary. You can withdraw your consent up to two weeks after taking part by contacting a member of the research team via asce@natcen.ac.uk.
Who are NatCen?
The National Centre for Social Research have been carrying out social research for over 50 years. We are a non-profit organisation, independent of all government departments and political parties.
Privacy notice
We take great care to protect the confidentiality of the information people give us. To find out more about how your personal information will be used in this study, please see the full privacy notice here: 2025 ASCE Privacy notice.
Contact us
We are happy to answer any questions you have about the study which are not covered here. Please contact us at ASCE@natcen.ac.uk or by calling 0808 168 2790.