Five hundred schools will get 鈥渋ntensive support鈥� from new joint attendance and behaviour hubs, the government has announced, with two new ambassadors set to be appointed to help cut school absences. Applications are set to open today for 90 鈥渂est of the best鈥� lead schools for the new hubs. They will start in September, before a full roll-out in January. Each hub will support six schools. Schools in line for support will have 鈥渟ignificant attendance and behaviour challenges鈥�. It is not clear how they will be chosen, but the hubs will 鈥渨ork alongside鈥� the government鈥檚 regional school improvement teams. Hubs will also support 4,500 more schools via training, events and open days, the government said. Two new attendance and behaviour ambassadors will also be appointed to provide the 鈥渓ink between schools and the government, identifying challenges and working jointly toward solutions鈥�. 拢1.5m funding, but it’s less than predecessor The DfE told Schools Week that Tom Bennett, the former behaviour tsar, and Rob Tarn, the attendance tsar, were no longer in the position but were welcome to reapply. The new scheme will get 拢1.5 million 鈥� significantly less than the schemes it replaces. Launched in 2021, the previous got 拢10 million in funding and supported more than 650 schools and trusts through one or two-year plans. An found pupils reported behaviour had got slightly worse over the first term of the scheme, but those at schools with higher deprivation levels said it had slightly improved. However, staff reported much more 鈥減ositive鈥� change in behaviour, and also felt 鈥渕ore supported鈥�. Meanwhile, the attendance hub scheme 鈥� launched in 2022, but without any funding 鈥� also included the attendance action alliance. Headed by Gillian Keegan, a former education secretary, it included leaders from education and health, police and children鈥檚 organisations. It has not met since March 2024.