Enabling Children and Young People with - Education Scotland

Enabling Children and Young People with
Attendance Problems to Develop the Four
(CfE) Capacities
The Professional Development Programme (PDP)
For Educational Psychologists in Scotland
2009-2010
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The Professional Development Programme (PDP)
This report is a compilation of the work of group for the 2009 – 2010 Professional Development
Programme for Educational Psychologists in Scotland and is for use by Psychological Services,
Scottish Government, HMIe and Educational Directorate.
The two topics for the 2009 – 2010 PDP are:
1. Enabling children and young people with attendance problems to develop the four (CfE)
capacities.
2. How can educational psychology support the health and emotional well-being strand of
Curriculum for Excellence?
A Summary Document may also be accessed via the worldwide web at: www.Itscotland.org.uk/pdp/
Bill Allison and Gillian Barclay
PDP National Coordinators - June 2010
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 The Professional Development Programme for Educational Psychologists in Scotland is
managed by the Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP).
2 The Professional Development Programme gratefully acknowledges the support of the
Scottish Government in funding and promoting the Programme.
3 The cooperation of local councils in agreeing the themes of the programme and enabling
Educational Psychologists to participate in the projects is appreciated. Psychologists
carry out the research, development and dissemination work for up to twelve days in the
yearly PDP cycle.
4 The further assistance of West Dunbartonshire and Edinburgh City Councils’
respectively, for providing secondment of Mr Bill Allison and Ms Gillian Barclay as
national coordinators of the programme, is gratefully acknowledged.
5 The Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists is gratefully thanked for
the services of Dr Jenni Barr who has acted as Moderator to the programme.
6 The programme is subject to the scrutiny of a Steering Group, which meets on three
occasions in the course of the year. The participation of local council representative Ms
Lynn Townsend, ASPEP representative Mr Bill O’Hara, SDEP representative Ms Jean
Campbell and HMIe representative Ms Clare Lamont are acknowledged with thanks. The
Steering Group has also benefited greatly from the input of Mr Neil Fergus and Ms
Rachel Sunderland (Scottish Government).
7 The views expressed in the various reports and the conclusions reached are those
of the authors and are not attributable either to employing councils or to the
Scottish Government.
8 Any part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial
purposes or in connection with a prospectus or an advertisement, provided that the
source and date thereof are stated.
Enquiries about individual reports should be addressed to the authors whose names and official
locations are contained in the publication.
PDP 2009-2010
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Enabling Children and Young People with Attendance Problems to
Develop the Four (CfE) Capacities
List of Contents
Foreword
Bill Allison, Senior PDP Coordinator
Introduction: A Curriculum for Attendance as Well as Excellence
Gary McIIree
Persistent School Non-attendance: Guidelines for Educational
Psychologists
Morven Graham and Maureen Myant
A Functional Approach in Addressing School Refusal Behaviour:
Training for Pupil and Family Support Workers
Gary McIIree
Secondary Nurture Groups: An Effective Contribution to the Continuum
of Learning and Support
Gillian Dury and Charlotte Kidd
Children With Attendance Difficulties Due to Long-term Medical
Conditions: Accessing Curriculum for Excellence
Gail McDonald
Attendance Issues in Secondary Schools – What’s the Problem and
What Can We Do About It?
Wendy Inch, Kirsty MacKay and Malcolm McGovern
Project Implications / Recommendations for Stakeholders Supporting
Non-attendees in Developing the Four Capacities
The PDP Group
List of Participants
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Page 147

Enabling Children and Young People with Attendance
Problems to Develop the Four (CfE) Capacities
Bill Allison – Senior PDP Coordinator
Foreword
The Scottish Government’s guidance (2007) on promoting good outcomes for Scottish
children sets regular school attendance as a priority with children and young people to be
included, engaged and actively involved in their learning. Few would doubt that inculcating
the virtues of education and a strong sense of ownership, engagement and voice in their
educational experience is pivotal to successful attainments and consequent economic
prosperity of themselves and their wider community. Children and young people who
disengage and fail to attend school, ultimately fail to maximise their human potential.
Educational Psychologists and other informed professionals have long recognised that poor
school attendance is often a marker of concerns about school and a need for support.
Children and young people may experience a range of barriers to learning that directly affect
school attendance. This may include motivational problems through a lack of encouragement
to attend; restricted access to educational opportunities and particular difficulties associated
with additional support needs or family and relationship problems. Help is needed to prevent
them from falling into a void post-school and thus failing to progress onto meaningful training
or employment opportunities. Socially and economically, such negative outcomes are
unacceptable in an advanced society and very much at odds with generally shared
aspirations for all children and young people as successful learners, confident individuals,
effective contributors and responsible citizens whom are primed to succeed in life (PDP,
2006). The following chapters in this volume, reflects the work of Educational Psychologists
from across local authority Psychological Services in Scotland. Project activities provided
opportunities for the participants to undertake fact finding visits, to study literature and reflect
ideas with colleagues. The following chapters therefore introduce the reader to project
reports on studies of individual and groups of children and young people, teachers, other
professionals and Educational Psychology Services.
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Gary McIlree – A Curriculum for Attendance as Well as for Excellence, presents an excellent
introductory chapter that sets the tone and context for the subsequent chapters in the
volume. McIlree comments that issues around non-attendance, perplexed thinkers as far
back as the 19 th century. Up to the present day, an analysis of contemporary literature on the
topic is somewhat problematic due to varying terminology, definitions and methodological
approaches. The author draws on statistical evidence in exploring the scale of the problem
and impact on individuals and society as a whole. The outcomes of research carried out in
European settings on preventative and intervention strategies for addressing non-attendance
are reviewed. McIlree also draws links to Scottish Government policy guidance aimed at
promoting achievement and life opportunities generally. The chapter concludes by alluding to
the philosophy underpinning Curriculum for Excellence and its potential contribution in easing
some of the causes of school non-attendance.
Morven Graham and Maureen Myant - Persistent School Non-Attendance: Guidelines for
Educational Psychologists, introduces the reader to guidelines which the authors have
carefully crafted for Educational Psychologists working in the domain of persistent nonattendance.
The guidelines befit the authors’ particular milieu but can be freely adapted to
suit the reader’s local circumstances. The guidelines are rooted in Kearney’s (2001) four
functions of school non-attendance and chime with the principles as reflected in a number of
key Scottish Government documents including a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), Getting it
Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and Included, Engaged, Involved. The chapter details how
guidelines can also be used to inform practice within schools using a staged intervention
model. Graham and Myatt’s PowerPoint materials for training and development work with
Psychological Services, schools and other agencies are helpfully available for download.
Gary McIlree – A Functional Approach in Addressing School Refusal Behaviour: Training for
Pupil and Family Support Workers of Young People in Three Secondary Schools, outlines
the design and delivery of an training programme based on Kearney’s innovative approach.
McIlree targeted Pupil and Family Support Workers for the training given their front line role
in facilitating closer home / school links with vulnerable families, and in recognition of the
support they provide to children and young people with attendance problems. In addition to
enhancing the skill base of this group of workers, the author describes how they were also
enabled to generate quality assessment information for school’s multi-agency support teams
which may in turn inform appropriate interventions and the content of children and young
person’s individualised plans.
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McIlree evaluated the programme post-training, reports the findings. The chapter proceeds to
map out links between these interventions and the Curriculum for Excellence Mental Health
and Well-Being Experiences and Outcomes. It finally concludes with suggestions for further
research as to the latter. The authors PowerPoint materials are available for download.
Charlotte Kidd and Gillian Dury - Secondary Nurture Groups: An Effective
Contribution to the Continuum of Learning and Support, thoughtfully reviews the
limited literature in this evolving area. With social inclusion and attendance at the
forefront, the authors note how nurture groups and nurturing principles link with
Curriculum for Excellence and appositely comment on the relevance of the
curriculum and teacher / pupil relationships as key factors in supporting the
engagement of young people in school life. Kidd and Dury researched three
established secondary Nurture Groups operating in Scotland and report data on staff
views of staff as to the impact their intervention was having on the young people. Key
features of successful Nurture Groups are discussed. An evaluation of hard and soft
data is presented supporting the view that the nurture groups can make a significant
contribution to the inclusion of these young people in their local community. The
authors conclude the chapter with recommendations for Local Authorities and
Psychological Services contemplating Secondary Nurture Groups in their area.
Gail McDonald – Children with Attendance Difficulties Through Long-term Medical
Conditions and Their Access to the Curriculum for Excellence, presents a reflective summary
of issues in the delivery of education to non-hospitalised children educated at home through
illness. With the Curriculum for Excellence, McDonald argues that there are many
challenges in terms of the co-ordination and integration of Curriculum for Excellence health
and well-being outcomes. The Curriculum for Excellence explicitly extends scope for
teaching staff to more holistically engage children and young people academically but also to
nurture their resiliency and coping skills. McDonald concludes the chapter by arguing that
skills acquired in supporting medically vulnerable children and young people are transferable
and could equally prove beneficial to others with school attendance problems.
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Wendy Inch, Kirsty Mackay and Malcolm McGovern – Attendance issues in secondary
schools – what’s the problem and what can we do about it? The chapter reports action
research carried out in two Local Authorities. As their starting point, Inch, Mackay and
McGovern were interested in the number of young people who seem to disengage from their
education at secondary school and experience attendance difficulties. National statistics
demonstrate that pupil attendance reduces at each stage as pupils move into and through
secondary school. In attempting to explore some of the reasons underpinning this
phenomena, Inch, Mackay and McGovern sought secondary school staffs perspectives on
issues, such as perceived contributing factors, the type of supports and interventions that are
deemed to have a positive impact, and whether Curriculum for Excellence can provide
opportunities to more effectively meet the needs of pupils with attendance difficulties. Survey
responses acknowledged the wide range of contributing factors and the multi-causal nature
of the problem. Findings highlighted the importance of: effective monitoring of attendance
and early intervention; the need for parents to be included, engaged and involved;
collaborative multi-agency working; more accurate data collection and the opportunities
provided by Curriculum for Excellence to engage learners with their secondary education.
Inch, Mackay and McGovern discuss these findings and in scholarly fashion also highlight a
number of areas for further strategic, systemic and operational development for schools,
education services and partner agencies.
The PDP Group – Implications for Services to Young People, concludes the volume with a
summary chapter on some of the implications arising from the projects with regard to
Educational Psychology Services, professionals working with children and young people and
Local Authorities.
References
The Scottish Government (December 2007) Included, engaged and involved - part 1:
Attendance in Scottish schools ISBN: 978-0-7559-5546-6
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/05100056/1
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Introduction: A Curriculum for Attendance as Well as
Excellence
Gary McIlree
The relationship between non-attendance at school and engagement with the curriculum is
not a new issue. In 1897, for example, a scientific journal concluded that truancy represented
“protests against the narrow and artificial methods of the school room, a rebellion against
suppressed activity and a denial of free outdoor life” and that the children’s “moral sense,
self-respect, and ambition are greatly wanting” (Kline, 1897).
Within a Scottish context, the Pack Report, Scottish Education Department (1977) was
arguably seminal in considering the contribution of contextual factors within the family and
school towards the problem. It identified family breakdown, family size, socio-economic
disadvantage and family history of non-attendance as being correlated with truancy.
Importantly, however, in the section headed ‘Curriculum and Organisation’ it began to
underline the connections between failure to learn successfully and the likeliness to truant. A
number of subsequent reports on behaviour and learning along with the school effectiveness
research of Rutter et al (1979) and Reynolds (1995) helped shift the debate away from a
child deficit model towards the ways in which the school can be both part of the problem and
part of the solution.
Despite this shift in terms of educational thinking, Pellegrini (2007) has argued that the
clinical discourse on chronic or extended school non-attendance has continued to be
dominated by a range of interpretive repertoires that focuses on individual pathology. For
example, the literature tends to be dominated by vocabulary and phrases such as
‘treatment’, ‘diagnosis’, ‘symptoms’, ‘disorder’, ‘co-morbidity’, ‘in-patient treatment’, ‘family
history of psychiatric illness’ which only serves to locate the problem primarily within the
child, and her or his family, and divert attention away from important ecological factors.
Defining the problem
In many respects, this situation is only further compounded by the lack of any consistently
agreed definitions found in the literature. Whilst a legal distinction can be made in terms of
authorised or unauthorised absence according to whether the reason for absence is
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legitimate (e.g. for genuine illness) or illegitimate, the boundaries between these categories
can be open to interpretation e.g. holidays during term time for vulnerable families, parental
collusion over a ‘claimed’ illness etc. Leaving aside issues related to the accurate recording
of non-attendance, similar difficulties are apparent over more accepted distinctions found in
the literature over the form of absence. For example, Table 1 below highlights some of the
distinctions typically made between truancy and school refusal / phobia.
Table 1: Truancy and School Refusal Distinctions
Truancy School Refusal / School Phobia
Lack of emotional stress about attending
school
Absence from school hidden from parents
Higher incidence of antisocial behaviours
Pupil seeks other peers who are not in
school
Pupil shows little interest in completing
school work.
Emotional Distress about attending school
Parents aware of absence from school
Lack of antisocial behaviours
Pupil remains at home during the school day
Pupil will do school work at home
However, the problem with this is that some young people exhibit characteristics of both
(Berg et al., 1993). Some pupils have been found to demonstrate features of a truant such as
anti-social behaviour but also have a genuine phobia about attending school. In addition,
some pupils may be able to attend school but choose not to, and stay at home with the full
knowledge of their parents under the ‘screen’ of school refusal.
In an attempt to circumvent these difficulties, some of the authors in this project have argued
that a functional approach to non-attendance such as the model proposed by Kearney (2001)
may provide a way forward. By focusing on the reasons why a child is not attending and the
dominant functional reason it serves, this model offers a number of advantages. It not only
helps avoid difficulties associated with terminology by describing the visible behaviour
neutrally it is also less presumptive about what may underpin the problem and thus avoids
drawing incorrect hypotheses. Above all, however, it promotes a model of contextualised
assessment that is clearly linked to individually tailored interventions and the recognition of
the need for a multi-systems approach (e.g. school, parents, health, social work and
educational psychologist).
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The scale of the problem
Notwithstanding problems associated with definition and identification, non-attendance
remains a severe and relatively stable problem overall. For example, the statistical data over
the last 10 years, suggests the total rate of absence for secondary schools in Scotland during
session 2008-2009 was 8.8% and for 1997-1998, 11%. Even if one accepts some marginal
improvement, it is still salutary to consider that the current figures are nevertheless
equivalent to each secondary school pupil being absent for 33 half days out of a school
session of 380 half days. Furthermore, if one compares the differences in rates between
local education authorities in Scotland (and again leaving aside issues of reporting), it is
evident that those authorities with highest levels of socio-economic deprivation in their
population also have the highest rate of absence (see also Chart 1). In essence,
disadvantage is potentially only being exacerbated by further disadvantage, if one considers
the independent negative effect of extended school absence on pupil outcomes as detailed
below.
Figure 1 1 : Attendance rate by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (1) split by sector.
Percentage attendance
100
95
90
85
80
Primary
Secondary
Special
75
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
most deprived least deprived
SIMD grouping
(1) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006 has been used for this chart .
The SIMD grouping is by vigintile. Vigintiles are bands of 5%. ie vigintile 1 is the 5%
most deprived and combining the first three vigintiles is the 15% most deprived datazones.
1
Source: Scottish Government - Statistics Publication Notice Education Series: Attendance and Absence in
Scottish Schools 2008/09
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The nature and impact of extended non-attendance
Based on their experience as Practitioner Educational Psychologists the authors of this PDP
project readily acknowledged that non-attendance can often present as one of the most
intractable issues to tackle at an individual case level, especially at the secondary stages.
The multi-causal nature of the phenomenon, whereby risk factors interact with each other at
the level of the individual, family, school and wider community was acknowledged as
contributing towards the complexity and scope of the problem (see for example, Table 2
below).
Table 2: Some Key Factors Associated with Non-Attendance
Individual Family / Home School
Personality: Laziness,
curiosity, anger
Parents putting a low value
on education
Learning Difficulties Children expected to act as
carers / worries about
parents well being
Behavioural difficulties Domestic violence
Emotional state Recent Family transition:
parental separation, divorce,
birth of a sibling.
Not wanting to get into trouble Parents working long and
atypical hours
Psychological or mental
health difficulties
Family history of nonattendance
Low self-esteem Loss and Bereavements
Embarrassment at personal
attributes e.g. overweight
Financial Stress: families not
being able to provide uniform
or equipment
Being Bullied
Problems with lessons (e.g.
boring) and teachers (e.g.
dislike of)
Fear of returning to school
Primary to Secondary
Transition & Complexity of
Secondary School
Disruptive behaviour in
class
Opportunism e.g.
inadequate monitoring
Peer Pressure
Social Isolation
A further issue is that no consistent profile for this population has emerged from the
literature. Indeed various reviews of the research only seem to reveal that the characteristics
of children and young people with extended school non-attendance are diverse,
heterogeneous and likely reflective of many different causal paths. If one examines, for
example, some basic demographic variables such as age of onset, gender and socioeconomic
status a mixed picture emerges. Thus while increased age does seem predictive of
more severe non-attendance (Hansen et al, 1998) clearly children of all ages do not attend
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school. In addition, specific peaks in non-attendance have been found to emerge at particular
transition points in a child’s school life such as entry to school, transition from primary to
secondary and between ages 11-13 (Elliot, 1999; Fremont, 2003; King & Bernstein, 2001;
King, Heine, Tonge, Gullone, & Ollendick, 2001). In a similar vein, while some studies such
as Hersov (1960) found 73% of their sample with school refusal and truancy to be male,
Bernstein et al. (1997) found that 61.4% of their adolescent sample with anxious-depressed
school refusal was female. In general, however, gender has not been found to be highly
predictive of extended non-attendance.
On the basis of the Cambridge longitudinal study, Farrington (1980) reported that while boys
from a lower social class were over-represented among the three groups of truants, social
class was found to be less closely related to non-attendance than other factors such as low
income of family, large family size, poor child rearing behaviour, delinquent siblings, marital
disharmony, slum housing and the erratic job records of their fathers. This has been further
supported by subsequent studies which suggest a wide constellation of social and family
variables tends to be connected with non-attendance. Thus caution is required in making
inferences on the basis of such a broad variable as socio-economic status. Not all pupils
from disadvantaged backgrounds are poor attendees nor conversely do all poor attendees
necessarily come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Despite the indeterminate aetiology of extended school non-attendance, its long-term
consequences for the individual and society in general are much clearer. It can not only be
firmly linked with delinquency and levels of attainment but there is also evidence to support
that it has an independent effect on future mental health and employment outcomes (Berg,
1992; Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson, & Kirk, 2003). Indeed, with respect to truancy, Reid (2000)
points out that it is the single greatest predictor of juvenile and adult crime and of psychiatric
disorders. He further details a range of other difficulties in adult life that are closely linked to
truancy including the inability to settle into the routine of work and / or marriage; frequent job
changes; isolationism; pathological disorders; poverty; higher separation and divorce rates;
living upon income support; illiteracy; depression; temper tantrums and involvement with
Social Services and Social Workers. Truancy is also associated with a significantly higher
likelihood of becoming a teenage parent and of being unemployed or homeless in later life.
The longer-term economic consequences for society as a whole therefore are patently very
costly.
Altogether extended school non-attendance is a serious and costly problem that can
potentially have a significant impact on a pupil’s education, employment opportunities and
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long-term mental health and well-being. It is for these reasons, therefore, that managing the
processes and approach towards assessment in a way that helps informs intervention is
regarded as a vital precursor to tackling non-attendance in the first instance and ultimately
meaningful engagement with the curriculum and the development of the ‘four capacities’ in
the long term.
Interventions and strategies for addressing non-attendance
Given the heterogeneous nature of the population, and the variety and complexity of causal
factors involved it is not surprising that there are still insufficient systematic evaluations of the
interventions available for tackling extended non-attendance. Nonetheless, looking across
the literature a number of important dimensions and themes can be discerned from the
research as key to providing effective support. In an audit of school-based initiatives aimed at
addressing disengagement, Kinder et al’s (1995) study revealed three strategy dimensions or
levels:
1. Whole-school policies: organisation, structures, e.g. the production of written policies
on attendance and behaviour.
2. Innovative school-based roles to focus on attendance and behaviour, e.g. home/
school liaison officers, learning mentors, other agency involvement.
3. External Support, e.g. agency support focusing on attendance, and the provision of
alternative curriculum by outside providers.
Within this study the most effective interventions were those that addressed the issue in at
least two out of the three levels outlined above. More specifically, three key areas were
identified within the initiatives as contributing towards their success:
• maintaining and monitoring strategies with a focus on pupil attendance and behaviour
in school
• non-curriculum support with a focus on providing direct support for pupils’ emotional,
social, and/ or behavioural needs
• curriculum diversification and differentiation offering an alternative environment and/ or
experiences
Building on earlier work by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) that
focused on the reasons and possible solutions to young people’s disengagement from
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education and learning, Kendall and Kinder (2005) summarised findings from research
across nine European countries. Box 1 below selects some of the key preventative and
curative factors for successfully addressing disengagement found and in so doing provides a
rationale for the different kinds of focus taken in this project
Box 1 : Some Key Factors in successfully addressing disengagement
Early and clear identification of needs
Communication and data sharing between agencies and clarification of roles and
responsibilities
Multi-agency partnerships and other agency support with ‘good synergy’
The role of the key worker/ designated teacher, mentor, counsellor or advocate.
Flexibility of schools and the curriculum e.g. support units, flexible timetables,
vocational packages (college/ work experience), e-learning opportunities, nurture
groups.
Active involvement of pupils and parents
Training and development.
Within a Scottish context it is reassuring that recent Government policy and guidance is
clearly aimed at developing and supporting a number of these key elements. At an individual
planning level the ‘Getting It Right for Every Child’ (2003) programme, for example, has
clear principles and values that promote early intervention, co-ordinated inter-agency
working, working in partnership with families, and puts the ‘child at the centre’ in terms of
promoting their well being and their involvement in decisions that affect them.
At a wider systemic level, the guidance ‘Included, Engaged and Involved’ (2007) states that
attendance at school should be clearly linked to schools’ overall approaches to promoting
positive behaviour and approaches to providing guidance and pastoral care. Both are
underpinned by the development of positive relationships and emotional literacy in whole
school communities.
In this regard, through the implementation of ‘Better Behaviour, Better Learning – Report of
the Discipline Task Group (2001) recommendations a range of approaches including Staged
Intervention (FFI), Cool in School, Developing Empathy, Restorative Practices, Solution
Oriented approaches, The Motivated School and Social, Emotional, Learning Frameworks
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(SELF) are being developed to help schools and education authorities develop children’s
pro-social behaviour, resolve conflict and tackle challenging behaviour.
Finally, the ‘More Choices, More Chances: Strategy to Reduce the proportion of Young
People Not in Education, Employment or Training’ (2006) aims at supporting those subgroups
of young people at particular risk, including ‘persistent truants’, (of which 25% in S4
were found to be NEET the following year) in making a more successful transition from
school into education, employment or training. Arguably it has been this strategy that offers
the greatest challenge to the school system in terms of ensuring positive action. Specifically,
for pre-16 young people it demanded that learning experiences had to be transformed with
flexible learning opportunities, recognition of wider achievement, and support for learners,
the development of employability and a focus on the monitoring outcomes for all children.
Taken together, the existing policies and guidance in Scotland provides a solid framework
and foundation for supporting children and young people with attendance problems.
However, in order to make a significant and sustained change in terms of outcomes, these
approaches required to be embedded in the kind of curriculum offered to pupils. An integral
element of this, however, includes the development of skills of key staff through training in
order to be able to respond to the often complex needs of pupils with attendance problems.
A curriculum for attendance as well as excellence?
The areas covered in this PDP topic have been predicated on the assumption that young
people need to engage with education and learning in some form in order to begin to develop
the ‘four capacities’. With respect to the topic question, the ‘How’ in terms of the development
of relevant procedures, processes and strategies in this PDP project has clearly been valued
over the specifics of the ‘What’ in terms of content or ‘Where’ in terms of location. As Mark
Twain humorously observed ‘Don’t let school stand in the way of your education’.
This neatly fits with the philosophy of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) framework which
makes it clear that it is the quality and nature of the learning experiences in their totality
which develops the attributes and capabilities of the four capacities.
What should be apparent is that CfE offers the potential to also become a Curriculum for
Attendance and Reengagement. By also encompassing a range of experiences planned for
children and young people beyond timetabled classes and including the ethos and life of the
school, interdisciplinary studies and those initiatives specifically targeted at disengaged
young people, then there is real hope for the realisation of positive outcomes for all.
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Bernstein G A, Massie E D, Thuras P D, Perwien A R, Borchardt C M and Crosby R D
(1997) Somatic symptoms in anxious-depressed school refusers Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 29, 24-30.
Elliot J G (1999) Practitioner review: School refusal: Issues of conceptualisation,
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Farrington D P (1980) Truancy, delinquency, the home and the school. In Hersov L and
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Fremont, W. P. (2003). School refusal in children and adolescents. American Family
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a European perspective Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research.
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disaffected pupils Slough: NFER.
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Kline L W (1897) Truancy as related to the migrating instinct Pedagogical Seminary 5, 381-
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Malcolm H, Wilson V, Davidson J and Kirk S (2003) Absence from school: A study of its
causes and effects in seven LEAs. Research Report No. 424 Glasgow: The SCRE Centre,
University of Glasgow.
Pellegrini D W (2007) School Non-attendance: Definitions, meanings, responses,
interventions, Educational Psychology in Practice 23, No.1, pp.63-77.
Reid K (2000) Tackling Truancy in Schools: A Practical Manual for Primary and Secondary
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group Edinburgh: The Stationery Office.
Scottish Executive (2006) More Choices More Chances - a strategy to reduce the
proportion of children and young people not in employment, education or training in Scotland
Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
Scottish Government (2007) Included, engaged and involved – part 1 attendance in
Scottish schools Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.
Scottish Government (2008) The Guide to Getting it Right for Every Child , Edinburgh,
Scottish Government.
Scottish Government (2008) Curriculum for Excellence - building the curriculum 3: a
framework for learning and teaching Edinburgh, Scottish Government.
14

Persistent School Non-attendance: Guidelines for
Educational Psychologists
Morven Graham and Maureen Myant
Introduction
School non-attendance has been the subject of ongoing debate at a national and local
level for a number of years and has become a priority within education authorities as a
result of ongoing research in this area.
A study by Sheppard (2007) highlighted that up to 10% of UK children have experienced
some level of difficulty with school attendance whilst Kearney (2007) reported that
between 5-28% of youth might experience problems with school non-attendance at
some point in their school career.
With regards to the subject of school non-attendance there has been a tendency to
focus on a distinction between that of school refusal and of truancy. School refusal has
been traditionally linked to emotional problems such as separation anxiety. As defined
by the World Health Organisation (2004) school refusal is a reluctance to leave home
and enter school. Physical symptoms and signs of anxiety are common within this
category. On the other hand, truancy has been commonly linked to behavioural
difficulties such as conduct disorder (Berg et al. 1993). Physical symptoms and signs of
anxiety are also reported to be absent in these categories.
Research has highlighted that some pupils present behaviours, which are not mutually
exclusive to either school refusal or truancy (Berg et al, 1993; Fremont, 2003). As a
result, due to the idiosyncratic nature of this group of pupils, the broader term of
persistent school non-attendance will be used in these guidelines to describe pupils who
fail to attend school on a prolonged and persistent basis.
Research has shown that the longer-term consequences of school non-attendance are
often linked to poorer outcomes in relationships, employment opportunities, economic
difficulties and forms of anti-social behaviour (Kearney and Bensaheb, 2006; Reid,
15

2002). As a result the importance of early intervention (Sheppard, 2007) and the need
for multi-disciplinary working (Elliott & Place, 1998) in providing a systematic and
coordinated response to persistent school non-attendance has been cited as crucial in
addressing the issue. The importance of building capacity within schools and other
agencies to address the issue of school non-attendance is crucial. It can be assumed
that pupils must have access to some form of education in order to become successful
learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors
(Curriculum for Excellence, 2004).
These guidelines take account of the principles within a number of key documents:
• Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act (2004)
• ‘Every Child is Included’ Policy (Glasgow City Council, 2009)
• The Guide to Getting It Right for Every Child (Scottish Government, 2008)
• Included, Engaged, Involved (Scottish Government, 2007)
• Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Government, 2008)
The importance of having guidelines on persistent school non-attendance is vital for
Educational Psychologists, in order to provide a more consistent response to nonattendance
in schools, to help build capacity in schools, to promote a more multisystemic
approach in tackling the issue and to link with developments at a local and
national level. The guidelines can also be used to inform practice within schools using
the Staged Intervention Model (See Appendix 1).
The school should be the central focus for any coordinated and planned response to
persistent school non-attendance.
A functional analysis of persistent non-attendance within a staged
intervention model
The Guidelines will focus on the need for and considerable merits of a more functional
analysis of persistent non-attendance within a staged intervention model i.e. exploring
the different functions of why a pupil avoids attending school, in order to identify a more
16

appropriate intervention for an individual pupil. Kearney (2001) and Lauchlan (2003)
argue that a functional analysis is likely to be the most useful strategy in addressing the
school non-attendance issue.
Kearney’s (2001) four functions of school non-attendance are:
Function 1: Avoidance of stimuli that provoke general negative affectivity
Many children/young people refuse to attend school because of a stimulus, which
provokes negative affectivity e.g. the school bus. Many of these children/young people
may not be able to state what specifically they wish to avoid but may report anxiety,
sadness and somatic complaints (Kearney, 2001). A child/young person may experience
feelings of nausea, shortness of breath, stomach pains, headaches and behaviours such
as poor sleeping patterns, difficulty concentrating, and restless and emotional behaviour
such as trembling, shaking and crying.
Function 2: Avoidance of aversive social or evaluative situations at school
Young people may avoid attending school to escape more specific negative situations
e.g. social interaction, examinations etc. (Kearney, 2001). A child/young person may
show similar feelings and behaviours to that mentioned in function 1 above.
Function 3: Attention-seeking behaviour i.e. to seek attention or to reduce the
feeling of separation anxiety
Many children who display this behaviour are quite young with a mean age of 9.6 years
(Kearney, 2001, p94) and may have temper tantrums or exaggerate symptoms of illness
to induce sympathy from adults. It is thought that their behaviour is manipulative and
controlling (Kearney, 2001, p165). A child/young person may show similar feelings and
behaviours to that mentioned in function 1 above.
Function 4: Pursuit of tangible reinforcement outside of school
Common reinforcements include watching TV, sleeping late, visiting friends, shopping
and using/abusing drugs and/or alcohol. Kearney (2001, p96) claims that this group tend
to have more attention problems and delinquent/aggressive behaviour than the previous
group and their difficulties do not tend to be anxiety based.
17

A staged intervention approach to addressing persistent school non-attendance
It is expected that schools will be able to effectively assess and support the majority of
pupils’ needs within their own systems and structures.
Glasgow City Council’s policy ‘Every Child is Included’ (2009) outlines a staged
approach to assessment and intervention where the Child Development Officer and the
Class Teacher are central in the process of identifying emerging additional support
needs.
A comprehensive approach to information gathering is required at an early stage in order
to identify appropriate strategies for those at risk of persistent non-attendance. An
awareness of the risk factors that might contribute to a child/young person’s school nonattendance
is crucial for all those working with children and young people. Persistent
school non-attendance can be related to a wide range of factors such as loss and
change, family dynamics, curricular and learning issues, social and personal, stress and
anxiety (West Sussex County Council EPS, 2004). These factors need to be explored at
an early stage of a pupil’s school non-attendance in order to try and establish a possible
intervention and/or plan of action.
Educational Psychologists should refer to Appendix 2 for an outline of the risk factors.
Educational Psychologists can contribute to preventative work within schools on the
subject of persistent school non-attendance at Stages 1 and 2 of intervention prior to
becoming directly involved with an individual child/young person.
18

The Role of the Educational Psychologist
Educational Psychologists can offer valuable input and support in the area of persistent
non-attendance, through the five core functions of assessment, intervention,
consultation, training and research and within a Staged Intervention Model. Input can be
at an individual, whole school or authority level.
Consultation
Educational Psychologists can:
� Provide consultation and advice throughout the four stages of intervention as
appropriate. At Stage 1 and Stage 2, Educational Psychologists can provide
consultation to schools, parents/carers and other agencies, without being directly
involved with an individual pupil. Glasgow Psychological Service currently has
Guidelines on ‘Consultation’ and Educational Psychologists are advised to refer
to these Guidelines.
� Provide advice to schools on preventative approaches, focusing on identifying
and minimising possible school-based factors. Some examples of school based
systemic early intervention supports that have been found to be helpful have
been: establishment of safe areas for use as havens, monitoring of areas that are
known to be hot spots, anti-bullying policies, pastoral support systems, work on
resilience and motivation, looking at how to engage families and advise them
about behaviour management, social skill development through PSD
programmes, circle time, focused projects and multi-disciplinary initiatives
(Pelligrini, 2008).
� Encourage discussion of pupils at risk of persistent non-attendance at a school’s
Joint Support Team, to highlight the importance of a shared consultation
approach in tackling this issue.
19

Training
Educational Psychologists can:
� Provide training throughout the four stages of intervention.
� Support and train school staff and other agencies in developing knowledge about
persistent school non-attendance, for example in the recognition, prevention and
response to persistent non-attendance, based on current research.
� Provide training opportunities, which might develop as a result of possible
interventions for persistent school non-attendees such as training in social skills,
peer support, anti-bullying, anxiety management, parenting skills etc.
� A PowerPoint presentation on persistent school non-attendance is available for
Educational Psychologists to use as a framework for training purposes.
Research:
Educational Psychologists can:
� Help to develop and share evidence based practice supported by the most recent
research, in addressing those most at risk of persistent school non-attendance.
� Support schools and other agencies in evaluating the impact of interventions and
approaches to persistent non-attendance
� Participate and encourage opportunities for action research either at a school or
authority level, with regards to issues around persistent school non-attendance.
� Review and develop current policies on promoting school attendance within a
staged intervention framework, to ensure that the most up to date research
evidence is taken into account.
20

Assessment:
Educational Psychologists can:
� Provide an assessment of need at Stage 3 and Stage 4 of intervention.
� Effective assessment and intervention should be embedded within a staged
process, which outlines clear roles and responsibilities for all those involved.
� An ecological model would be the basis of any assessment of needs, ensuring
that a wide range of factors and environments are taken into account as part of
the assessment framework recommended by the Association of Scottish
Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP/SDEP, 2005). It is important for
Educational Psychologists to use multiple methods and multiple sources of
information gathering as part of a robust assessment of needs. The least
intrusive form of information gathering is encouraged.
� Due to the idiosyncratic nature of school non-attendance there is a valuable role
for Educational Psychologists in advising and/or contributing to an individual
assessment within the staged intervention framework.
� A full assessment of the function of a pupil’s non-attendance can lead to the
identification of an appropriate intervention programme for an individual pupil.
� Contribute and advise on the initial screening of non-attendance problems. For
example, if a pupil’s non-attendance has lasted less than 2 weeks, then an
assessment should be delayed until it is clear that it is a case of persistent nonattendance.
Exceptions to this could be
� if extreme behaviour is displayed in order to avoid school e.g. self harm
� if a young person has a history of school non-attendance behaviour
� if the family are in turmoil due to the school non-attendance behaviour
21

Ascertain:
� whether the non-attendance behaviour is the primary problem
� whether the non-attendance is related to or subsumed by another
problem e.g. anxiety disorder, depression, learning difficulty
� whether there are any other existing medical conditions and if so, what
symptoms are displayed
There are a number of psychological assessment tools such as interview schedules,
questionnaires and self-report measures available as part of the assessment process. It
is important to use these assessment tools as part of a wider assessment process.
Fremont (2003), reports that the usefulness of these assessment tools in developing
appropriate interventions has not been demonstrated.
The School Refusal Assessment Scale (Kearney & Silverman, 2003), which focuses on
a functional analysis of the non-attendance behaviour and includes teacher, parent and
pupil forms, has been reported to have high reliability and validity (Fremont, 2003). The
use of the School Refusal Assessment Scale (Kearney & Silverman, 1993) is
encouraged along with other means of information gathering, to provide a functional
analysis of the non-attendance.
Youth Self-Report Measures are applicable to more able and older children. They are
also more applicable for use with those who internalise problems and emotions rather
than expressing them.
Appendix 3 lists suggestions for structured interviews, Appendix 4 lists Youth Self-Report
Measures and Appendix 5 lists Parent-Teacher Questionnaires.
Interventions
Educational Psychologists can provide direct intervention at Stage 3 and Stage 4 of the
staged intervention model. Lauchlan (2003) argues that the key is to develop a
programme of intervention for each individual based on their idiosyncratic needs whilst
using a multi-systemic approach i.e. involving the school, parents/carers, other agencies
and the Educational Psychologist, in responding to the problem.
22

Early intervention programmes can be devised prior to Stage 3 and Stage 4. Through
training, research and consultation Educational Psychologists can assist schools in
devising early intervention programmes such as gradual re-integration to school,
restricted timetable, buddy schemes and pupil contracts (Lauchlan, 2003).
There are numerous interventions suggested for school non-attendance but research
has yet to provide any conclusive evidence that a particular intervention approach is
more effective in targeting all persistent school non-attendance (Elliott & Place, 1998).
Educational Psychologists should refer to Appendix 6 for a list of interventions related to
each of Kearney & Silverman’s (1990) four functions of school non-attendance.
23

References
Albano A M and Barlow D H (1996) Breaking the vicious cycle: Cognitive-behavioural
group treatment for socially anxious youth. In E. D. Hibbs and P. S. Jensen (Eds.),
Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies
for clinical practice pp 43-62 Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
ASPEP/SDEP (2005) Educational Psychology Assessment in Scotland Professional
Development for Educational Psychologists in Scotland.
Ayllon T, Smith D and Rogers M (1970) Behavioural management of school phobia.
Cited in Kearney, C A (2001)
Berg I, Butler A, Franklin J, Hayes H, Lucas C and Sims R (1993) DSM-111
disorders, social factors and management of school attendance problems in the normal
population. Journal of Child and Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 34. No.7 pp1187-1203
Bizzis J and Bradley-Johnston S (1981) Increasing the school attendance of a truant
adolescence. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
Blagg N R and Yule W (1994) School Phobia. In T. H. Ollendick, N. J. King and W. Yule
(Eds.) International handbook of phobic and anxiety disorders in children and
adolescents. New York: Plenum Press.
Brooks B D (1974) Contingency contracts with truants. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
Cooper J (1973) Application of the consultant role to parent-teacher management of
school avoidance behavior. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
Elliott J and Place M (1998) Children in difficulty: a guide to understanding and helping
London: Routledge.
Elliott J G (1999) Practitioner Review: School Refusal: Issues of Conceptualisation,
Assessment and Treatment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol 40 No,7
pp1001-1012.
24

Forehand R and McMahon R (1981) Helping the noncompliant child: a clinician’s guide
to parent training. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
Fremont W P (2003) School Refusal in Children and Adolescents. American Family
Physician, Vol 68 No.8 pp1555-1561.
Glasgow City Council (2009) Every Child is Included
Kennedy W A (1965) School phobia: rapid treatment of 50 cases. Cited in Kearney C A
(2001)
Kearney C A and Silverman W K (1990) A preliminary analysis of a functional model of
assessment and intervention of school refusal behaviour. Behaviour Modification Vol149
pp340-366.
Kearney C A and Silverman W K (1993) Measuring the function of school refusal
behaviour: The School Refusal Assessment Scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology
Vol 22 pp85-96.
Kearney C A and Beasley J F (1994) The clinical intervention of school refusal
behaviour: a survey of referral and practice characteristics. Psychology in the Schools,
Vol 31 pp128-132.
Kearney C A and Albano A M (2000) Therapists guide to school refusal behavior. Cited
in Kearney C A (2001)
Kearney C A (2001) School Refusal Behaviour in Youth: A Functional Approach to
Assessment and Treatment American Psychological Association: Washington
Kearney C A (2002) Identifying the function of school refusal behaviour: a revision of the
School Refusal Assessment Scale. Journal of Psychopathology Behaviour Assessment,
Vol 24 pp235-245.
25

Kearney C A (2003) Bridging the gap among professionals who address youths with
school absenteeism: Overview and suggestions for consensus. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice Vol 31 No 1 pp57-65.
Kearney C A and Bensaheb A (2006) School Absenteeism and School Refusal: A
review and suggestions for school-based health professionals. Journal of School Health
Vol 76 no 1 pp3-7.
Kearney C A (2007) Forms and functions of school refusal behaviour in youth: An
empirical analysis of absenteeism severity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Vol 48 No1 pp53-61.
Kifer R E, Lewis M A, Green D R and Phillips E L (1974) Training pre-delinquent
youths and their parents to negotiate conflict situations. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
King N, Ollendick T H and Tonge B J (1995) School refusal: Assessment and
Treatment. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
King N, Tonge B J, Heyne D and Ollendick T H (2000) Research on the Cognitive-
Behavioural Treatment of School Refusal: A Review and Recommendations. Clinical
Psychology Review, Vol 20 No 4 pp495-507
King N J and Bernstein G A (2001) School Refusal in Children and Adolescents: A
Review of the Past 10 Years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry Vol 40 No 2 pp197-205.
Last C G, Hansen M S and Franco N (1998) Cognitive-behavioural treatment of school
phobia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Vol 37
pp404-411.
Lauchlan F (2003) Responding to Chronic Non-attendance: a review of intervention
approaches. Educational Psychology in Practice Vol 19 No 2 pp133-146.
Meyer E A Hagopian L P, and Paclawskji T R (1999) A function-based treatment for
school refusal behavior using shaping and fading. Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
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Pellegrini D W (2007) School Non-attendance: Definitions, meanings, responses,
interventions. Educational Psychology in Practice Vol 23 No 1 pp63-77.
Reid K (2002) Truancy: Short and Long-Term Solutions London: Routledge.
Sheppard A (2007) An approach to understanding school attendance difficulties: pupils’
perceptions of parental behaviour in response to their request to be absent from school.
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Vol 12 No 4 pp349-363.
Sherman J and Formanek R (1985) School phobia in a multi phobic family: the family
that phobes together … Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
Stewart K, Valentine L and Amundson J (1991) The battle for definition: the problem
with (the problem). Cited in Kearney C A (2001)
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Scottish schools. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.
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Framework for Learning and Teaching. The Scottish Government; Edinburgh.
Scottish Government (2008) The Guide to Getting it Right for Every Child , Edinburgh,
Scottish Government.
West Sussex County Council Educational Psychology Service (2004) Emotionally
Based School Refusal: Guidance for Schools and Support Agencies pp1-73.
World Health Organisation (2004) School Refusal Geneva: WHO
27

Appendices
Appendix 1
The following is Glasgow City Council’s Staged Intervention Framework, which has been
used to outline a staged approach using Kearney’s (2001) four functions of school nonattendance.
STAGE 1
It is the responsibility of a Child Development Officer and/or Class Teacher to identify,
plan and meet a child/young person’s needs. It is only necessary to record briefly on the
Planning and Reporting Framework (PRF) what the additional support needs are and
that the child is at Stage 1.
The CDO or Class Teacher/s should consider the following information if concerned
about a child/young person’s pattern of attendance. It is generally accepted that when
the rate of attendance rates fall below 85% this indicates persistent absence, whilst a
record of between 85% and 92% indicates a significant level of absence (Sheppard,
2007).
Function 1. Avoidance of stimuli that provoke general negative affectivity
Many children/young people refuse to attend school because of a stimulus, which
provokes negative affectivity e.g. the school bus. Many of these children/young people
may not be able to state what specifically they wish to avoid but may report anxiety,
sadness and somatic complaints (Kearney, 2001). A child/young person may experience
feelings of nausea, shortness of breath, stomach pains, headaches and behaviours such
as poor sleeping patterns, difficulty concentrating, and restless and emotional behaviour
such as trembling, shaking and crying.
Function 2. Avoidance of aversive social or evaluative situations at school
Children/young people may avoid attending school to escape more specific negative
situations e.g. social interaction, examinations etc. (Kearney, 2001). Signs of this are
similar to number 1 above. CDOs or Class Teacher/s need to consider the following:
28

� is the class work too hard
� does the child/young person have any learning difficulties or existing
additional support needs
� are there any difficulties with peer relations? Perhaps the child/young person
has fallen out with another pupil or there have been issues of bullying
� is the child/young person naturally anxious or sensitive and has reacted badly
to something that has happened in school? Perhaps the child/young person
has been given a row or the child/young person is fearful of a particular
teacher
� does the child/young person struggle to separate from their parent/carer
� is there anything else that is happening at home that you are aware of that
might be contributing to the child/young person’s refusal of coming to school
Function 3. Attention-seeking behaviour i.e. to seek attention or to reduce the
feeling of separation anxiety
Many children/young people who display this behaviour are quite young (mean age 9.6
years, Kearney, 2001, p94) and may have temper tantrums or exaggerate symptoms of
illness to induce sympathy from adults. It is thought (Kearney, 2001, p165) that their
behaviour is manipulative and controlling. Once again signs are similar to those outlined
in number 1 above.
Function 4. Pursuit of tangible reinforcement outside of school.
Common reinforcers include watching TV, sleeping late, visiting friends, shopping and
(ab)using drugs/alcohol. Kearney (2001, p96) claims that this group tend to have more
attention problems and delinquent/aggressive behaviour than the previous group and
their difficulties do not tend to be anxiety based.
How might persistent school non-attendance be addressed at Stage 1?
� it is a priority that ongoing discussion should take place with Senior
Management, with parents/carers and the child/young person (if appropriate)
� refer to the notes above on the four functions and the points raised for
consideration
29

STAGE 2
� Once these have been addressed a general consultation with Psychological
Service could be pursued at this stage to seek advice. Psychological Service
would not have direct involvement with the child/young person at this stage
� progress and strategies should be reviewed and tracked in accordance with
establishment procedures
Following a period of intervention and review at Stage 1 and ongoing discussion with
parent/carers and senior management, if it is deemed that the resources of the
establishment are required to help address the child/young person’s attendance
problems then the child/young person moves to Stage 2. At this stage school staff could
request a consultation with the Educational Psychologist to ensure that possible risk
factors have been explored. The recording of the child/young person’s additional support
needs continues to be through individual or group planning documents. Brief information
should be recorded within the PRF and should cover the following points:
� ensure that there is a clear understanding of the cause of school absences
o refer to the 4 functions of persistent non-attendance as this will help to
provide a more specific programme of support
� direct communication and active planning should take place between the school,
parent/carers and child/young person (if appropriate), outlining the additional
support needs and the learning outcomes
In addition school staff should consider the following points:
� it is important to encourage the parent/carers to take their child to school as soon
as possible
� staying at home can often increase the child/young person’s anxiety
� explore further whether the curriculum requires differentiation or whether other
additional supports are required to support the child/young person’s attendance
at school such as peer support systems or additional contact with parents/carers
regarding home issues
� explore further whether the child/young person is enjoying rewarding experiences
at home such as watching the TV, playing on the computer or meeting up with
friends
30

o does the child stay at home due to factors such as poor parenting or a
chaotic home life
� try to engage with the family and the child/young person perhaps by visiting at
home (according to establishment procedures) or encouraging peers to make
contact with the child/young person through letters or phone calls
� the child/young person could be integrated gradually into school
o providing a safe area for the child/young person to go to
o increasing time at school on a gradual basis e.g. restricted timetable
o make the target achievable
� encourage the use of basic coping strategies such as relaxation techniques and
positive self-talk techniques
o advice can be sought from Psychological Service at this stage
� a general consultation with Psychological Service could be pursued at this stage
to seek advice
o Psychological Service would not have direct involvement with the
child/young person at Stage 2
o if following a period of intervention and ongoing review it is agreed that
further additional supports are required from the education authority such
as Psychological Service input, then evidence of planning and the support
strategies already implemented should be provided
o at this stage a consultation would often take place at the school’s Joint
Support Team (JST) to discuss whether the child/young person moves to
Stage 3
STAGES 3 and 4
Following a period of intervention and review at Stage 2 if problems continue with
persistent school non-attendance then there might be a need for multi-agency
involvement. The Educational Psychologist might become involved following a
consultation with the school and parent/carer.
*Please refer to information within the Guidelines on the Educational Psychologist’s role,
in particular for assessment and intervention.
31

Appendix 2
Examples of Possible Risk Factors:
School systemic factors might include:
Size of school
Structure of school day (transition times, breaks, movement about the school)
Policy of streaming or setting of pupils (Lauchlan 2003)
Curriculum – lack of appropriate differentiation or lack of flexibility
Disruption and instability in school staff
Hostile, formal and impersonal teacher-pupil relationships (Lauchlan 2003)
Specific areas of the school (toilets, corridors, playgrounds), which are not regularly
monitored (Blagg 1987)
Individual factors might include:
Social isolation
Bullying
Peer pressure
Children having to be young carers
Loss and change (move of house, school, area or death of close person, pet or sudden
separation)
Family factors might include:
Parental or family views of education and the value of full attendance
Domestic violence
Atypical parental working pattern
Loss and change within the family
32

Appendix 3
Examples of Interview Schedules:
Diagnostic Interview for Children & Adolescents (Herjanic & Campbell, 1977)
Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria (Endicott, Andreasen, & Spitzer, 1975)
Interview Schedule for Children (see Last, Francis, et al., 1987)
Schedule for Affective Disorders & Schizophrenia (Kiddie-SADS; Puig-Antich,
Orvaschel, Tabrizi, & Chambers, 1980)
National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children
(Schaffer et al., 1996)
Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (Angold & Costello, 2000)
Child Assessment Schedule (Hodges, Kline, Stern, Cytryn, & McKnew, 1982)
Children’s Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes (Weller, Weller, Fristad, Rooney & Schecter,
2000)
Pictorial Instrument for Children and Adolescents (Ernst, Cookus, & Moravec, 2000)
The School Absence Questionnaire (Huffington & Sevitt, 1989)
Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children (Silverman & Albano, 1996) has
been widely used. It provides different versions of the interview for children &
parents. It has a focus on children with emotional distress, which is related to school
non-attendance.
33

Appendix 4
Examples of self-report measures:
Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI: Kovacs, 1992)
Daily Life Stressors Scale (DLSS; Kearney, Drabman, & Beasley, 1993)
Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (T. H. Ollendick, 1983)
Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC; March, 1997)
Negative Affect Self-Statement Questionnaire (NASSQ; Ronan, Kendall, & Rowe, 1994)
Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS; C. R. Reynolds & Paget, 1983)
Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R; La Greca & Stone, 1993)
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC; Spielberger, 1973)
Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety-Revised (Bernstein & Garfinkel, 1992)
Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach, 1991c).
34

Appendix 5
Examples of Parent-Teacher Measures:
Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a)
Conners Rating Scales – Parent Version Revised (CRS-PVR; Conners, 1997)
Conners Rating Scales – Teacher Version Revised (CRS-TVR; Conners, 1997)
Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES II; Olson, Bell, Portner, 1982; cf
Bernstein, Warren, Massie & Thuras, 1999)
Family Assessment Measure (Skinner, Steinhauer, & Santa-Barbara, 1983)
Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1986)
Measures of parenting practices (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire; Shelton, Frick, &
Wootton, 1996)
Self-Administered Dependency Questionnaire (Berg, 1974)
Symptom Checklist – 90 – Revised (Derogatis, 1994)
Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1991b)
35

Appendix 6
Examples of interventions at the level of the individual, which may be used in relation to the
Kearney’s (2001) four functions of school non-attendance: -
Function 1 – Avoidance of stimuli that provoke general negative affectivity
Many young people refuse to attend school because of a stimulus that provokes negative
affectivity e.g. the school bus. May of these young people may not be able to state
specifically what they wish to avoid but may report anxiety, sadness and somatic complaints.
(Kearney, 2001)
A number of interventions, which could be used, are outlined in the literature to address this
function:
Interventions
The EP may work directly with the young person. Psycho-education is recommended,
enabling the young person to understand the feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Through
discussion of scenarios, interactions between the three are established. (Kearney, 2001).
The use of in vivo or imaginable desensitisation procedures has been recommended (King,
Ollendick and Tonge, 1995, Kearney 2001) using a hierarchy of situations. Evidence for such
an approach is based largely, however, on case studies (King et al, 1995). Blagg and Yule
(1984) reported a 93% return rate for young people allocated to behavioural treatment
approaches including in vivo desensitisation and contingency contracting. However, it is
noted participants were not randomly allocated, limiting generalisability of the findings (King
and Bernstein, 2001). The role of the EP may be working directly with a young person
depending on training undertaken or working as part of a multi-agency team, referring to
CAHMS, liaising and working at a consultative level
The EP should carefully consider the appropriateness of services such as Interrupted
Learners for each individual. Results of Blagg and Yule’s (1984) study indicate that home
tuition may be an ineffective response due to the positive reinforcement of staying at home.
For youths whose school refusal is related to anxiety the EP may consider the use of
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). However it is worth noting that a review of the literature
found only two randomised controlled studies to support this (King, Tonge, Heyne and
36

Ollendick, 2000). In both CBT was effective in promoting return to school, which was
maintained. However, Last, Hansen and Franco (1998) found this was no more effective than
education programmes thus further research is required on the additional benefits of the
cognitive components.
Function 2 – Avoidance of aversive social or evaluative situations at school
Young people may avoid attending school to escape more specific negative situations e.g.
social interaction, examinations etc (Kearney, 2001).
Many of the interventions recommended in the literature are similar to those for function one,
however, one specific protocol has been developed and can be found in Albano and Barlow
(1996) inclosing exposure, modelling and role playing situations.
Interventions
Cognitive approaches may be used to develop social skills (Kearney, 2001). Provision of
opportunities for rehearsal and modelling to improve social skills are also recommended
(King et al., 1995). A group approach could be used, although it is noted there is a need for
more empirical evaluation (see Lauchlan, 2003).
It is recommended that a hierarchy of situations can be produced. Cognitive restructuring can
then be used along with graded behavioural exposures (Kearney 2001). Input from an
agency such as CAHMS might help to facilitate this direct work for a young person.
CBT approaches may be a potentially useful tool although further evidence on which
programmes are most effective is required (Lauchlan, 2003).
Function 3 – Attention seeking behaviour
Many children who display this behaviour are quite young (mean age 9.6 years, Kearney,
2001, p94) and may have temper tantrums or exaggerate symptoms of illness to induce
sympathy from adults. It is thought (Kearney 2001, p165) that their behaviour is manipulative
and controlling. Interventions tend to focus more on training adults to give them the requisite
skills to handle the behaviour rather than on the individual child. Interventions which follow
behaviourist principles and which are rigorous in their approach are often successful and
there is a wide evidence base to suggest that contingency management and shaping are
37

successful interventions for school refusal in these cases (Ayllon, Smith and Rogers, 1970;
Cooper, 1972; Meyer, Hagopian and Paclawsky, 1999). However, a number of children may
have genuine separation anxiety and in these cases interventions as described in section 1,
may be more appropriate. The role of the EP may be an advisory or consultative role as well
as referring on to other agencies if deemed appropriate.
Interventions
Restructuring parent commands i.e. ensuring that parents give clear and consistent
messages about what is expected and avoid vague, overlong commands which have been
found to be ineffective (Forehand and McMahon, 1981; Kearney and Albano, 2000)
Ignoring simple inappropriate behaviours (Kearney, 2001, p169)
Establishing fixed routines and ensuring that children keep to these. Kearney (2001)
suggests that it is important that parents respond to how a child keeps the routine, i.e. if they
deviate from it significantly then there should be appropriate sanctions.
Punishments for school refusal behaviour (Kearney, 2001)
Rewards for school attendance. The best rewards are usually attention based and involve
some joint parent-child activity (Kearney, 2001).
Forced school attendance. This was popularised by Kennedy (1965) and found to be 100%
effective although problems were noted with the methodology. Kearney (2001) notes that it
can be viewed as a flooding procedure and should be used with great caution and only under
certain circumstances e.g. if child is refusing to attend most of the time and is under age 11,
if parents are willing to take child to school etc. (Kearney and Albano, 2000).
Function 4 – Pursuit of tangible reinforcement outside of school
Common reinforcements include watching TV, sleeping late, visiting friends, shopping and
(ab)using drugs/alcohol (Kearney, 2001, p96). Kearney (2001) claims that this group tends to
have more attention problems and delinquent/aggressive behaviour than the previous group
and their difficulties do not tend to be anxiety based. It should be noted that intervention in
this category is likely to be longer than in the other categories and is less likely to be
successful in terms of an outcome of fulltime attendance. Overall goals according to Kearney
38

should be to reduce family conflict, provide families with problem solving skills and reduce
school refusal behaviour. In addition, systemic programmes may be used. It is vital that a
multi agency approach is used in these cases and the school’s Joint Support Team (or
equivalent) will have a seminal role.
Interventions
Family therapy – there are no large scale studies of family therapy in this area only case
studies (Sherman and Formanek, 1985; Stewart et al, 1986)
Contracts are thought to be especially useful for young people who truant for tangible
reinforcement (Brooks, 1974; Bizzis and Bradley-Johnston, 1981) and can be combined with
communication skills training (Kifer et al, 1974)
Escorting to school and classes (Kearney, 2001)
Communication skills training (Kearney, 2001)
Peer refusal skills training (Kearney, 2001)
39

A Functional Approach in Addressing School Refusal
Behaviour: Training for Pupil and Family Support Workers
Gary McIlree
Background
School non-attendance is a particularly nettlesome issue for local education authorities to
address. The lack of agreed definitions, the heterogeneous nature of the population, and the
variety and complexity of causal factors involved can all combine to make it a appear an
often intractable problem for professionals working with children and young people to
resolve.
For these reasons, the functional model proposed by Kearney (2001) for tackling school
refusal behaviour appears to offer a number of advantages. Firstly, by focusing on what
function or contingencies the non-attending behaviour is serving for the child or young
person the model avoids ‘category confusion’ and the difficulties associated with the dubious
utility of traditional distinctions such as truancy and school refusal in terms of responding to
the problem (Lauchlan, 2003). Secondly, by attempting to describe the form of the visible
behaviour neutrally it is less presumptive about underlying causes and in a sense narrows
the complexity of the variables by helping to identify the dominant functional reason. Finally,
in so doing, it supports the formulation of an intervention plan with a clearer focus, and
arguably, a better chance of success.
Kearney and Silverman (1993) defined school refusal behaviour as “child-motivated refusal
to attend school and/ or difficulties remaining in school for the entire day” and their model is
based on a behaviourist perspective and research that children have trouble going to school
for one of four main functional reasons:
1. To avoid school related stimuli that provoke a negative affect e.g. toilets, lunch hall
2. To escape aversive social and / or evaluative situations e.g. interacting with peers,
taking tests
3. To get attention from significant others such as parents.
4. To receive tangible reinforcements outside of school e.g. using drugs, going
shopping.
40

Importantly, Kearney (2008) is quite clear about the scope of the model and he does not
obviously advocate it for children and young people with genuine medical conditions or
parent-motivated absenteeism/ school withdrawal (which may be a child protection issue).
A more central criticism of Kearney’s model, however, is that it does not factor in issues such
as family dynamics, school environment and individual parental difficulties and is mainly
child-centred. Generally this appears to arise from a restricted view of the model, as in
practice it is clear that Kearney does recommend that the practitioners take account of wider
contextual factors through a comprehensive functional assessment
A key element of Kearney’s functional model, therefore, is the approach to the assessment of
school refusal behaviour. A number of techniques are recommended using the principles
associated with a more general functional analysis of behaviour (see downloadable chapter 3
PowerPoint training slides) These include child self report and self monitoring, child and
parent interviews, teacher and parent reports, behavioural observations in school and at
home.
As part of this functional analysis, the School Refusal Assessment Scale (SRAS) (Kearney,
2002) is regarded as a particularly valuable assessment tool as it seeks to identify those
needs served by the child’s school refusal with reference to the four categories outlined
above. The revised form of the scale consists of two versions, SRAS-P for parents and
SRAS- C for children and young people. Both versions consist of 24 items divided across the
four functional area, which are scored on a Likert-type scale of 0 (never) to 6 (always). When
taken together, a mean score can be derived from each which helps inform the dominant
functional reason for school refusal and a focus for planning intervention. Importantly, the
scale has been reported to be psychometrically sound with reasonably good reliability
(Kearney, 2006) and, from a practical point of view, is quick and easy to administer.
Overall, this functional approach was regarded as having considerable merit within this
project, and provides the main rationale for the approach taken. Not only does it provide a
sound theoretical framework for key educational staff (Thambirajah et al, 2008), it offers a
less time intensive means of assessment that can be directly linked to a highly individualised
and focused intervention plan (Kearney, 2007)
41

Crucially, it also fits in with current research and developments that suggest multi-systems
(e.g. school, parents, social work and educational psychologist) and staged intervention
approaches is likely to be most appropriate and effective method of dealing with the
continuum of school non-attendance.
For these reasons, the proposal within West Dunbartonshire was to design, deliver and
evaluate a training programme based on Kearney’s functional model to key support staff.
Pupil and Family Support Workers (PFS) were particularly targeted for training as their role
within the authority entailed providing support to vulnerable pupils and their families
regarding a range of issues such as attendance, social, emotional and behavioural
difficulties, primary-secondary transition, and other issues which demanded closer links
between home and school, and more intense and individualised support for pupils and their
parents.
The main aim of the training was to improve the quality of the assessment information
gathered and to provide PFS workers and others who have more regular contact with
children and families with the skills and tools that would enable them to identify more clearly
some of the maintaining factors in school refusal. It was envisaged that this richer
information could then be appropriately fed into Joint Assessment Teams (multi-agency
teams) and would help identify key roles for personnel within this team and inform
appropriate interventions as part of the process of devising, implementing and reviewing a
young person’s individualised plan.
In addition, a further element of the training was to provide PFS workers with further practical
strategies for working directly with young people and parents in managing school refusal
behaviour. As part of this, some explicit links between the intervention approaches
recommended, such as relaxation training and cognitive restructuring, were made to raise
awareness of how they could fulfil the experiences and outcomes for Mental Health and Well
Being within the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and enable pupils to develop the four
capacities.
Procedure
In due recognition of the need to embed the proposed training within existing multi-agency
procedures and protocols, an audit of need of key staff in the authority was carried out in the
initial phase of the project. This involved providing a written proposal to the Pupil Support
42

Management Group in the authority, a presentation and consultation meeting with the Joint
Assessment Team (JAT) school cluster coordinators and an audit questionnaire to the Pupil
and Family Support Workers (see appendix 1).
The responses from the audit were overwhelmingly positive at each level sampled and
provided confirmation both of the need for training and the model proposed. More
specifically, a number of key points were extracted on the basis of the responses.
1. Just over 71% of the respondents (total of 21) indicated they would like more
training to help them support pupils with attendance problems.
2. 95% of the respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that they had a role to
play in supporting young people achieve certain experiences and outcomes of
CfE.
3. JAT School Cluster Coordinators unanimously agreed to the training of PFS
workers and felt the Kearney model had merit in terms of assessment.
4. JAT School Cluster Coordinators were keen that future training is extended to all
Pupil Support Staff in each of the Secondary Schools and the authority
Attendance Review Committee (ARC).
5. The Pupil Support Management Group regarded the initiative positively and
provided authority permission to disseminate the training as appropriate.
Following this initial phase, the format and time of the training for staff was negotiated with
JAT School Cluster Coordinators. It was thus agreed that the training would comprise of two
half day sessions a week apart, with session 1 introducing the functional model and SRAS
and session 2 at practical intervention strategies for pupils and families. (see Appendix 2 for
training slides)
Evaluation
At the end of session 2 of the training an evaluation questionnaire was distributed to all of the
staff in attendance (see Appendix 2). A total of 19 staff attended both sessions, comprising of
16 PFS workers, 1 teacher from a programme that caters for young people with social and
emotional behavioural difficulties and 2 teachers from flexible support service who provide
individualised support for children and young people who are looked after.
43

Results of Non-attendance Training Evaluation Questionnaire
As figure 1 below illustrates, 69% of staff strongly agreed or agreed that the training had
improved their understanding of how to assess pupils with attendance problems.
Figure 1
Number of Respondents
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Did respondents think that the training improved their
understanding of how to assess pupils with attendance problems?
n = 0
(0%)
1, Strongly
Disagree
n = 1
(5%)
n = 5
(26%)
n = 3
(16%)
n = 10
(53%)
2 3 4 5, Strongly
Agree
Respondents rating of understanding
Importantly, when these ratings are combined with several responses from question 4
regarding what staff found most useful in the training and from question 6 what they would do
differently, the functional assessment and the SRA scale featured prominently as delineated
in box 1.
Box 1
The School Refusal Assessment forms will be very helpful when working with parents
and children.
Most useful is the school refusal assessment scale revised.
I think I would tackle school refusal referrals in a more systematic/structured way.
Be more aware of the triangulation of evidence.
More care in assessing reasons for non-attendance and incorporate idea of contract
where appropriate.
44

Figure 2
Number of Respondents
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Did respondents think that the training improved their knowledge of
specific strategies for supporting pupils with attendance?
n = 0
(0%)
1, Strongly
Disagree
n = 2
(11%)
n = 6
(32%)
n = 2
(11%)
n = 9
(47%)
2 3 4 5, Strongly Agree
Respondents rating of knowledge
As figure 2 illustrates well over half of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the
training had improved their understanding of specific strategies for supporting pupils with
attendance difficulties. Again, respondents mentioned that they would use or attempt to use
the specific strategies covered in the training such as the ‘contract’ between young person
and parent in response to question 6 what they would do differently. (see box 2)
Box 2
Use the Kearney strategies that will be useful in school absence
Will try various strategies that we spoke about.
Be more aware of the strategies that can be used and adopt or try to, the triangulation
model/method.
Strategies suggested that were never tried by me before. Reinforcing what I already
knew but made it clearer.
For children with anxiety – the relaxation will be useful.
Different ideas on dealing with school absence.
45

Figure 3
Number of Respondents
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Likelihood of respondents adopting information and ideas from
training into practice
n = 0
(0%)
n = 0
(0%)
n = 2
(11%)
n = 6
(32%)
n = 11
(58%)
1, Not likely 2 3 4 5, Very likely
Respondents rating of likelihood
As figure 3 illustrates, 90% of respondents indicated that they felt it was likely or very likely
that they would incorporate the training ideas into their practice.
The majority of responses to question 4 - what aspects of the training did you find most
useful and why? Made reference to the general usefulness of the functional model overall, as
delineated in box 3 below.
Box 3
PowerPoint presentation was very enlightening as was Kearney’s model.
The Kearney model and the associated information on the functional model.
The 16 th March – explaining the 4 functions in depth.
I will use the 4 functions/read up on all functions/ and use when needed.
Reasons for non-attendance and discussions; contracts – involvement of young person
and parents. Videos.
Clarification of the various reasons a pupil might not attend and how these reasons can
be interlinked or separate.
For me school refusal is so messy – it was helpful to compartmentalise functions of
school refusal and importance of tackling the dominant feature
46

The responses to question 5 - What aspects of the training did you find least useful and
why?, are outlined in box 4 below.
Box 4
Nothing/all useful
Nothing was least useful all aspects were useful although we do carry most out.
I found it all useful.
Can’t say that I found anything least useful.
None.
Found the training useful to reaffirm we were doing the work right.
Suggestions
Some of the information I felt that these methods are already being practised.
Really only that a lot of what was discussed I already do. But it was all very relevant.
Strategies and contracts seemed to fit better with parenting classes.
Would have been good to hear more examples from the group and heard what worked
and what didn’t.
The responses to question 6 - What will you do differently in your place of work in the future
as a result of this training?, have already been incorporated into boxes 1, 2 and 3 above.
The responses to question 7 - If further input on this topic is offered to you in the future, what
issues would you like to have addressed?, fell into two categories in relation to parents and
bullying as Box 5 illustrates.
47

Box 5
Parental issues
The uncooperative parents – how to get them to engage.
What could be effective in dealing with parents who allow child’s absence for no good
reason.
Bullying etc.
Figure 4:
Number of Respondents
More on dealing with the family values, how to empower the parents.
Perhaps more detail on dealing with the uncooperative parents or non parenting.
I would like to start parent drop in coffee centre’s and not labelling e.g. non attendance,
mental health. Parents don't like labels.
I think a parenting course would be useful.
Parenting issues.
Psychological aspects of truanting/non-attendance.
Bullying and peer pressure.
Bullying
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Respondents ratings of overall satisfaction with training
n = 0
(0%)
Extremely
dissatisfied
n = 0
(0%)
n = 2
(11%)
n = 7
(37%)
n = 10
(53%)
2 3 4 5, Extremely
Satisfied
Respondents level of satisfaction
Figure 4 illustrates that 90% of respondents were either extremely satisfied or satisfied with
the training overall.
48

Discussion
In a general sense, the evaluation ratings suggest that the main aims of the training in terms
of providing PFS workers with a functional model that included tools for assessment linked to
specific strategies were broadly achieved. If one considers the qualitative feedback provided
as a whole (see box 1-3) then the training based on Kearney’s functional model appeared to
support the case for a relatively high level of face validity amongst staff at the sharp end of
supporting vulnerable young people and their parents both at school and at home and in their
local community. Indeed, given that the functional model in general appeared to be positively
approved by 90% of such staff at ‘grass-roots’ level who can traditionally be more sceptical is
in itself noteworthy.
One of the main advantages of the model was the way it appeared to provide staff with a
more systematic framework for assessment in terms of the ‘triangulation’ of evidence
gathered within a sound theoretical base. Certainly reviews of the research of what improves
outcomes for disengaged young people suggests that interventions underpinned by a sound
theoretical base delivered by well trained staff with the right attitudes are a key factor. In
addition, providing staff with a common language, common forms of assessment and shared
definition of ‘need’ within a multi-agency partnership were highlighted as features of
successful strategies (Kendall, et. al., 2008). Again the qualitative evaluations suggest that
training based on Kearney’s functional model potentially offers this to staff not only in the
provision of the SRAS as a reliable practical tool but also in terms of using a behaviourist
perspective and the language of the four functions (e.g. reinforcement, aversion) to think
about and analyse the complexities of the issues involved in a more systematic way.
A further advantage of the model used for training was the means by which the functional
assessment linked with recommended interventions. Although evaluations appeared to
suggest an improved understanding of the strategies that could be used, it was also apparent
from the feedback that significant proportions of the interventions recommended in the
training such as gradual reintegration, establishing a morning routine and restructuring
parental commands, proved more to be confirmation of the good current practice staff were
already carrying out. However, this was not interpreted as a significant weakness of the
training for two reasons. First, the main rationale behind the model and training was to
support staff to be more focused and informed about why a specific intervention was being
49

applied, according to the dominant reason identified through assessment, rather than the
introduction of new strategies per se. Second, research suggests that interventions should
build on existing practice in mainstream provision to aid sustainability and embed effective
and innovative practice (Edwards et al., 2006; Dartington Social Research Unit, 2004).
That said the evaluation feedback did suggest that certain strategies introduced in the
training that were previously less understood by staff such as the use of contracts and
techniques for supporting pupils to cope with anxiety were well received. On reflection, while
it is the case that awareness of these techniques potentially promotes joint working with
other professionals such as practitioner psychologists, an area not covered in the training
was instances where more intense therapeutic support should be sought e.g. in situations
where individual Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) would be appropriate. In addition, the
training would also have benefited from a section that specifically looks at relapse
prevention, of which Kendall, Chansky et al. (1992), for example, have suggested some
innovative strategies including young people producing a videotaped commercial as a
reminder of the success and methods they used to overcome their difficulties.
A further development required in terms of the content of the training would be to examine in
more detail how the processes involved in the interventions recommended articulate with the
experiences and outcomes for Mental Health and Well Being (HWB) within the Curriculum for
Excellence (CfE) and thus enable pupils to develop the four capacities. This was in part due
to time constraints but also because of the evolving nature of how such experiences and
outcomes will be implemented by schools. Nonetheless, there appears to be a strong
circumstantial case for such links to be made as illustrated in Table 1 below.
50

Table 1: Mapping of CfE mental Health Well Being (HWB) Experiences and Outcomes with
intervention strands of Kearney’s Functional Approach to Non-Atttendance.
CfE - Experience and Outcome Intervention strand
I am aware of my feelings and developing
the ability to talk about them. HWB 0-01a
I know that we all experience a variety of
thoughts and emotions that affect how we
feel and
I am learning ways of managing them.
HWB 0-02a
I am learning skill and strategies that will
support me in challenging times…
HWB 0-07a
As I explore the rights to which I and others
are entitled, I am able to exercise these
rights appropriately and accept the
responsibilities that go with them.
HWB 0-09a
I understand that there are people I can talk
to and there are a number of ways in which I
can gain access to practical and emotional
support to help me…
HWB 0-03a
Conclusions and Recommendations
Anxiety and stress management
- PowerPoint slide 12 & 13
Identifying automatic negative thoughts
– PowerPoint slide 14 & 15
Developing more realistic thoughts
– PowerPoint slide 18 & 19
STOP strategy – PowerPoint slide16
Helping young people refuse offers to miss
school
- PowerPoint slide 38
Adhering to contract of privileges and
responsibilities for attending school.
- PowerPoint slide 36 & 37
Gradual reintegration back to school and
involvement of key worker.
- PowerPoint slide 21, 22 & 23
The process of implementing this training was deliberately based on a ‘bottom up’ strategy
for key support staff on the ‘ground’. To a large extent this decision was a pragmatic one as
work was already being undertaken on a ‘top down’ approach through the development of
procedural and policy guidelines for inter-agency staff elsewhere based on Kearney’s
functional model (see Myant and Graham, 2010, in this PDP project). Hence, the
development of training at more practical level was viewed as complimentary to this. At the
same time, there was a recognition based on the research that unless parents and carers
were actively engaged and provided with support in any approach to tackling non-attendance
there was a real risk of regression (Fraser, Hawkins and Howard, 1988)
Furthermore, at a national level at least two out of the thirty six recommendations of the
Better Behaviour, Better Learning discipline task group (Scottish Executive, 2001) made
51

eference to the Scottish Executive and local authorities need to prioritise funding for the
provision of home-school link workers and ‘auxiliary’ staff to assist with the care and welfare
of children and young people; and ‘that consideration should be given to appropriate training
for these staff’. Better trained staff who offer young people the opportunity to establish
positive personal relationships with an adult and model pro-social values along with engaging
parents and carers by building a trusting and collaborative partnership with them also has
firm support in the research literature in terms of improving outcomes for young people
(Kinder and Wilkin, 1998; Carpentier and Lall, 2005)
Notwithstanding, in terms of making a sustained impact it was further recognised that this
training would still need to be embedded within the development of future authority
guidelines on non-attendance. In addition, it was also recognised that unless other key
school staff were trained on at least the principles of the functional model, the impact was
likely to have only very partial value given the evidence of the importance of a multi-agency
and systems approach to the problem (Lauchlan, 2003; Kendall and Kinder, 2005). To this
end, as an initial pilot a second phase of training was providing for pupil support staff in one
of the cluster secondary schools. Although not formally evaluated, informal feedback again
suggested that the model had particular merit in terms of assessment and a proposal to the
Attendance Review Committee (ARC) in the authority to adopt its use more widely and
evaluate its impact on the quality of assessment information provided to JAT was
recommended.
Finally, as Kendall et al. (2008) found, if programmes and interventions are to make a real
difference in terms of outcomes for disengaged children and young people a long-term focus
is required. At a basic level, this does mean an investment of time and resources to ensure
that there is a continuing programme of staff development in this area at different levels in
the system and with different agencies. Indeed, a recall day for the PFS workers was
suggested which should also serve to evaluate the extent to which the training has had an
impact on practice. More generally, however, research clearly points to a holistic and joinedup
approach that values and utilises the skills of different service partners to address the
range of barriers that contribute towards the disengagement of the most vulnerable young
people in the widest sense rather than single-issue interventions (Cummings et al., 2007).
52

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Kendall S, Straw S, Jones M, Springate I and Grayson H (2008) A Review of the
Research Evidence (Narrowing the Gap in Outcomes for Vulnerable Groups) Slough: NFER.
Scottish Executive (2001) Better Behaviour, Better Learning – Report of the discipline task
group Edinburgh: The Stationery Office.
Scottish Government (2008) Curriculum for Excellence - building the curriculum 3: a
framework for learning and teaching Edinburgh, Scottish Government.
Thambirajah M S, Grandison K J and De-Hayes L (2008) Understanding school refusal: a
handbook for professionals in education, health and social care London: Jessica Kingsley
54

Name
Appendix 1 Non-Attendance Survey Audit
Please complete this survey and bring it with you on the first training day on 9 th March 2010. Thank
you!
School Address
E-mail
Phone
Non-attendance is often a significant factor in
addressing the needs of the pupils I support.
I am aware of different methods of assessing
the needs of pupils with attendance problems
I feel I can make a valuable contribution to the
Joint Agency Team approach to addressing the
needs of pupils with attendance problems.
I am familiar with local authority policy &
procedures to support pupils with attendance
problems
I am familiar with wider good practice in
helping to address pupils with different kinds of
attendance problems
I am aware of specific strategies that could be
deployed to help address pupils with different
kinds of attendance problems.
I feel that I have a role to play in supporting
young people with attendance problems
achieve certain experiences and outcomes of a
curriculum for excellence.
I have a good understanding of the impact of
serious attendance problems on young people's
life opportunities and well being
I am satisfied with the amount of training I
have received to help me support pupils with
attendance problems.
Additional comments:
Strongly
Agree
55
Agree Neutral Disagree
Strongly
Disagree

Appendix 2: Non-Attendance Training Evaluation Questionnaire
I value your opinion and would be very grateful if you could provide me with some feedback on the training you have
received by completing this brief questionnaire. This information will be used to adapt the training for others and to help
inform future actions required in relation to this topic.
Thank you for your time and co-operation.
NAME: SCHOOL:
DATE Tuesday 9 th March and Tuesday 16 th March 2010
Please rate the following questions by circling the appropriate number:
1. The training improved my understanding of how to assess pupils with attendance problems.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
2. The training improved my knowledge of specific strategies for supporting pupils with attendance problems.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
3. How likely are you to adopt the information and ideas presented in this training into your practice?
1 2 3 4 5
Not at all Very Likely
4. What aspects of the training did you find most useful and why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. What aspects of the training did you find least useful and why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. What will you do differently in your place of work in the future as a result of this training?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. If further input on this topic is offered to you in the future, what issues would you like to have addressed?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the training?
1 2 3 4 5
Extremely Dissatisfied Extremely Satisfied
9. Please note over the page any comments or suggestions that you would like to make about the training.
56

Secondary Nurture Groups: An Effective Contribution to
the Continuum of Learning and Support
Gillian Dury and Charlotte Kidd
Non attendance – a responsibility for all
As highlighted by McIlree in chapter 1 the relationship between non-attendance at school
and engagement with the curriculum is not a new issue. Studies show that being absent from
school is detrimental to learning and academic achievement. An increase in absences may
exacerbate academic and sociological risk factors in later years (Dryfoos, 1990; Finn, 1993:
Lehr et al., 2004; Loeber and Strouthamer-Loeber, 1998). The authors take the view that two
key aspects of school life that are compatible and maintain school attendance are
relationships within the school community; and relevance of the curriculum. When these
aspects are nurtured and attended to then engagement or re-engagement is likely to follow.
Many findings reinforce assertions that non-attendance is a response to dissatisfaction with
the ‘service’ on offer, suggesting that interventions should be directed towards improving this
(Blyth, 1999). If this is the case, one way of reducing non-attendance is to change what is on
offer to children and young people. This could be in relation to curriculum (relevance),
facilities or ethos (relationships). In these ways the school becomes a more attractive place
for pupils to attend (Withers, 2004). The best motivators for attendance come from pupils
experiencing success, knowing attendance at school has a purpose, and feeling part of an
energetic and successful school (Reid, 2000).
Research finds that sustained non-attendance becomes more complex throughout
secondary school, as multiple factors emerge as reasons for non-attendance, with the
problem becoming harder to resolve (Reid, 2000; Zhang, 2003). This highlights the
importance of prevention and early identification of risk factors rather than reactive
measures.
As non-attendance can be multi-causal, Pelligrini (2007) highlighted the importance of
devising and implementing interventions at all levels of the individual, group and the system.
The authors’ intention was to study some examples of good practice within the area of
secondary nurture groups to see how far we can confirm this school based approach as a
57

positive and preventative action which meets the needs of young people who may be at risk
of disengagement and sustained non-attendance.
Nurture Groups - the core values and principles
There are more than 1000 nurture groups in the UK, mostly targeting earlier school stages. A
number of secondary schools are adopting nurture groups as a means of enhancing school
based provision. Colley (2009) has made a comprehensive study of the benefits to
vulnerable young people and the key issues for development of nurture groups.
Nurture Groups and the nurturing principles within which they operate (see fig.1) seem
intuitively fair. They are consistent with the philosophy of ‘inclusion’ and the commitment to
removing barriers. They also fit with the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) – two
tenets of which are that a person’s worth is independent of their abilities or achievements
and that real education can only happen in the context of real relationships. Good
relationships and relevance of the curriculum support and are supported by inclusion and
nurturing principles.
Figure 1.
The Six Principles of Nurture Groups
Children’s learning is understood developmentally
The classroom offers a safe base
The importance of nurture for the development of self-esteem
The importance of transition in children’s lives
Language as a vital means of communication
All behaviour is a communication
Source: Lucas et al. 2006
Nurture Groups are intended to foster a sense of belonging and educational attachment.
Within the context of the educational setting, children and young people are encouraged to
develop trusting and caring relationships with adults, which are carefully focused on enabling
children and young people to learn and practice pro-social skills and engage in the
challenges of formal curricular tasks. (Cooper and Whitbread, 2007)
58

Research on the impact of Nurture Groups on the wider school
community
The perceived benefits of the Nurture Group approach are not simply restricted to the
recipient children and young people. The approach arguably contributes to staff development
and the wider school community. They have a significant contribution to make to mainstream
schools by helping them to expand their capacity to support children with behavioural, social
and emotional needs.
Research studies
The Binnie and Allen study of 2008 provides an evaluation of a nurture group intervention
across six schools. They concluded that theoretical underpinnings of nurture groups can be
fully integrated into a mainstream environment. Head Teachers felt that the intervention had
allowed their school to be more proactive in their support of children with social and
emotional and behavioural difficulties and had led to a more “nurturing school”.
Cooper, Arnold and Boyd (2001) found that as well as there being significant factors for the
children, Nurture Groups led to whole school developments. They showed that staff viewed
children with social and emotional needs more positively and were more likely to adopt
supporting strategies in their classroom.
Sanders (2007) showed that in addition to significant improvements for the children, the class
teachers reported feeling more empowered to meet the needs of this group.
March and Healy (2007) consulted parents and they reported improvements in both
academic skills and personal relationships.
Priestnall School in Stockport, Lancs offers an example of a secondary nurture group in
action; where in its first year of operation staff effectively embedded the principles and
practice of other interventions and whole school responses. (Morewood, 2009). David
Colley’s 2009 article, Nurture Groups in Secondary Schools provides other examples of the
same.
59

In the Nurture Group Network Study (2008), Head teachers reported that the existence of the
nurture group had led to the nurture group principles influencing wider school policies, such
as the policies on behaviour, where the emphasis had moved from punishing deviant
behaviour to identifying unmet needs. Teachers reported that the school as a whole became
more nurturing and that interaction between mainstream and nurture group staff gave the
former insights into new ways of understanding and approaching pupils.
The Cooper and Whitbread study (2007) concluded that there is a need for mainstream
classrooms to be re-conceptualised in a way that is informed by an understanding of
educational nurturing.
In schools where nurture groups exist and in others where school improvement plans
recognise the need - staff can be supported with continuing professional development which
considers what is required from them in establishing or maintaining a culture and ethos of
nurturing. As part of work associated with the current study, one of the authors provided inservice
training to staff in three establishments on the principles and practice of’ Developing
a Nurturing School.’ (See PowerPoint slides on the linked web site). This example given can
be expanded upon - depending on the feedback and the self-evaluation process that the
training provides. It is noted that another Professional Development Programme group this
year, focusing on emotional health and well-being, have developed ‘Signposting’ which
incorporates reflective discussion questions for school staff on nurturing aspects of their
school.
Nurture Groups and Curriculum for Excellence
A simple mapping exercise of the 4 capacities and the core features of nurture groups are
provided below. The features are reported from the Nurture Group Network Study, November
2008. Where the themes of relationships and relevance are obvious these are indicated.
Successful learners
Provides a sociable, safe and emotionally warm environment for children to build and fulfil
potential (relationships). The curriculum offered includes four areas namely; self-control and
60

management of behaviour; self-awareness and confidence; social skills; and skills for
learning. It is recognised that there needs to be more data to show the impact on raising
attainment in English language and mathematics.
Effective contributors
Young people are encouraged to be more self-aware and reflective about their behaviour in
social and learning situations (relationships). It is recognised that there is a need to ensure a
wide range of learning experiences in order to create effective transitions with the
mainstream setting (relevance).
Responsible citizens
Young people are supported to develop co-operative and collaborative working skills.
Supported to help and respect one another. This is modelled by adults (relationships). A
need is recognised for well managed transition arrangements in order to sustain confidence,
self-respect and motivation on return to the mainstream setting.
Confident individuals
Children learn to recognise a range of emotions in themselves and others; to be more aware
of when they are successful; develop their confidence and social skills (relationships),
become more independent in the organisation of learning materials (relevance). A need
recognised for jointly planned learning targets within the school to aid monitoring of impact
and less teacher-led activity within the group so as not to inhibit creativity and confidence
(relevance).
More recently, with the publication of Curriculum for Excellence Health and Wellbeing:
Experiences and Outcomes (2010) there are now quite specific measures against which
establishments, working with partners can take an holistic approach to promoting health and
wellbeing. Learning environments are expected to be positively developed. The expectations
are set out below in figure 2.
61

Figure 2, I can expect my learning environment to support me to:
> develop my self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others
> meet challenges, manage change and build relationships
>experience personal achievement and build my resilience and confidence
>understand and develop my physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing and social skills
>understand how what I eat, how active I am and how decisions I make about my behaviour
and relationships affect my physical and mental well-being
>participate in a wide range of activities which promote a healthy lifestyle
>understand that adults in my school community have a responsibility to look after me, listen
to my concerns and involve others where necessary
>learn about where to find help and resources to inform choices
>assess and manage risk and understand the impact of risk-taking behaviour
>reflect on my strengths and skills to help me make informed choices when planning my next
steps
>acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge
discrimination
Source: CfE Health and Wellbeing
A wide range of relevant and realistic learning experiences are encouraged to ensure that
“every child and young person is progressing in his or her development and learning.”
Nurture Groups are well placed to support children and young people with these experiences
in mind. Many of the outcomes as developed are particularly relevant to the nurture group
approach and nurturing principles e.g. HWB 0-03a. “I understand that there are people I can
talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and
emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances.”
Nurture Groups and Attendance
There is a paucity of research in the field of Nurture Groups and attendance and therefore
the current evidence base is very limited. The Glasgow Study of 16 Nurture Groups (2006)
was the only study that kept data on attendance but these were not reported on. The study
however reported that the children experienced increased social and emotional well-being,
self-esteem and gains in basic literacy skills.
62

Another authority wide study reported in the literature is The Wirrall Nurture Group Project
(2003). Their main reported findings are that their Nurture Group supported parents; opened
ways to parental involvement; turned unhappy withdrawn children into happy, curious
children; reduced exclusions; and improved punctuality and attendance.
The Nurture Group Network Summary Evaluation of 28 reports and associated documents
(November, 2008) observed that several reports mention improved attendance and
punctuality amongst children who had previously poor records in these areas. The authors
concluded that where school was perceived as a negative experience this would appear to
be resolved by the nurture group setting (relationships) and / or curriculum (relevance).
The Nurture Group Network Summary Evaluation also noted scope for development of the
core principles adapted to the secondary school environment, confirming that many children
come to secondary school in need of support for the development of social and emotional
maturity. They confirm also that there are existing examples of good practice in this regard.
The Nurture Group Network also comments that there was limited evidence that canvassing
children and young people’s views had been accorded priority. The study’s conclusions
would have been improved if their voices had come through more clearly. The present
authors support this view and propose that this be reflected in future evaluations and
research.
Findings from three nurture groups
In order to gain greater knowledge of functioning Nurture Groups, the authors of this report
visited three established nurture groups operating in Scotland. The visits served to provide
practical insight to see the work that they do and to listen to the views of staff as to their
impact with their young people. In return the authors offered guidance and support in aiding
the groups to review and refine their approach to evidence gathering to two of the groups.
One of the groups had effective and extensive support from their link Educational
Psychologist. This impacted on systematic gathering of evidence, the strategic profile within
the school and the contribution to planning within the authority.
The three nurture groups differed in many ways as can be seen from the table in appendix 1,
however they had several key features in common. These are noted below.
63

Involvement of the school senior management team (SMT)
From the outset and in an ongoing basis, the support and involvement of the school senior
management had made a huge difference in terms of the setting up, involvement of wider
school staff and the future planning for the groups. There was a careful judgement to be
made by the SMT - a balance between the support for ownership of the Nurture Group by the
staff involved in running the group and the essential wider supportive stance within the
school. Where schools had achieved this balance, the group had a higher profile and was
seen as an embedded aspect of the school’s system of support.
A curriculum tailored to the needs of the group.
The curriculum tailored to the needs of the group is a core principle in nurture group
philosophy. This was seen by all staff as vital in engaging this group of young people. Staff
from the groups all stated that a number of these young people would possibly not sustain
their place in mainstream schools were it not for the support offered by the groups. Often
plans had to be completely rethought because of a particular situation in the lives of one of
the group members. They had the flexibility within a curricular structure to respond to these
needs.
Individual staff to be flexible motivated and see relationships as key
It was considered by all staff that those involved had to be genuinely interested in and had to
want to work closely with the young people. The importance of being resourceful in a calm
and measured way was stressed – this so that the learning experiences on offer were flexible
enough to engage the young people.
Control over the carefully assessed composition of the group
All three groups had a set assessment process which involved use of the Boxall Profile
(1998), curricular and pastoral information from the primary schools and direct observations
over time in primary and secondary school. On occasion, strategic decisions may have been
taken by senior management in a school or at authority level to place a given young person
in the group on a sudden and unplanned basis. This was recognised by Nurture staff as
sometimes problematic and detrimental to the functioning of the group. Equally it was also in
these instances reported as unhelpful for the particular young person.
64

Planned links with the mainstream school staff
All three groups had carried out awareness training with school staff and planned to do more
of this work. All three groups had regular events with the aim of including staff members
which were successful in that staff participated and comments received showed that staff
had seen the young people in a fresh light and had an enhanced understanding of the work
of the groups.
Continuing links with group members
All of the staff maintained informal links with the young people in the wider school. This
included the time period when they were supported and later when they had been previously
supported by the Nurture Group. This was seen by Nurture Group staff as a positive and
important contribution to the progress made for these young people.
Evaluation
Views of staff within the Nurture Groups
Without exception, all staff members observed significant improvements in the behaviour of
the young people in the group over the course of the session. Evidence was shared from
one group of pre and post Boxall profiles that noted positive change for 10 of 12 group
members. The same Nurture Group also noted behaviour within the group and it was seen
that 6 of the 12 group members improved and 5 remaining group members sustained
positive behaviour throughout the life of the group.
Staff in all three schools stated that many of the children supported by the nurture group
remained in school because of this intervention. In one of the schools where there were S3
and S4 students who had been members of the group, links were maintained and former
members were able to demonstrate their skills of hospitality and negotiation during the visit
by the authors. All of the young people supported by the nurture group were viewed
positively as active participants within their mainstream school and this was being sustained
over a number of sessions.
65

Views of staff within the main school
All three groups systematically gathered and recorded staff views on individual progress by
young people and these were used to monitor progress, provide feedback and to celebrate
success within the group. Staff for example constructively recorded a scenario whereby a
young person had calmly responded to a volatile situation and sought help appropriately.
Other written comments were for example, about ability to stick with tasks and perseverance,
being kind and caring, making progress within school, being friendly, cooperative and other
positive skills and qualities. The PDP authors formed the view that a more systematic
gathering of staff views at the beginning, during and at the end of each session would be
useful.
This noticing of impact by the wider school community fits with the findings of Colley (2009)
whereby the credibility of nurture practice begins to emerge as staff notice the practical
benefits. Embedding nurture further in secondary schools comes with the further dialogue,
invitations to the group and exchange of information between staff.
Views of parents / community police
Reported comments from parents suggest that they see the nurture group as a very positive
support for their child. In all three schools, to varying degrees parental involvement featured
the process and the three groups planned to extend their involvement yet further in the
future.
From discussion with the community police officer at one of the schools, positive outcomes
were observed at a community level. The officer attributed it to the opportunities he has had
to develop personal relationships within the group and school setting. This has since
transferred to more positive interactions and expectations outside school.
Impact on attendance
Staff involved in all three groups considered that the nurture group members’ attendance is
better on days when the nurture group was available to them. There was significant
anecdotal evidence from staffs personal experiences but limited hard data to call on. Staff
66

however felt confident that several young people had become good attendees, in contrast to
past histories.
The present authors studied attendance in the three groups to ascertain any trends. Analysis
of the hard attendance data was a difficult exercise due to the variability in the way that the
different staff, schools and authorities had recorded their data. This made the reliability of
within and cross group comparisons somewhat problematic.
It has not been possible to compare attendance for nurture group members with that of a
control group. However, a comparison of the overall attendance percentages for the schools
for years S1 and S2 in the relevant sessions indicates that nurture group members’
attendance was similar or slightly above the overall figure for the school.
Given the challenges faced by nurture group members, these percentages perhaps indicate
a better than anticipated rate of attendance for this group.
Conclusions
Progress within school
The evidence available is centred on staff views of young people’s progress within the
nurture group and in mainstream classes.
From Boxall profile assessments and within group observations there is steady progress in
students’ emotional capacity and ability to cope with and benefit from the curriculum within
the group.
Mainstream staff comments show that nurture group members are making a good
contribution to the broad curriculum in school over the school session. They indicate that
many of these behaviours are evidenced in the areas of emotional health and well being.
Relevance to inclusion
All of the young people within the nurture groups in the three schools have sustained their
place in mainstream school. These students were identified as needing additional support to
67

make the transition to secondary school. It can be argued therefore that the nurture groups
in these three schools have made a significant contribution to the inclusion of these young
people in their local community.
In one school, the nurture group has been running for four years and therefore these young
people have sustained their place in mainstream for this period of time. From teacher
comments, the students from the nurture group are making a valuable contribution to school
life within the classrooms.
Attendance
Hard data here is less reliable, but the soft measures indicate that in providing a relevant and
tailored curriculum within the nurture groups, young people’s attendance is at least as good
as or slightly better than that of their peer group within the same school. Those supported by
nurture group intervention would be vulnerable and liable to poor school attendance but it
can be evidenced that the support provided within the nurture group encourages and enables
them to attend school more reliably. Evidence is therefore suggestive that nurture group
intervention can support young people who would otherwise find the transition to secondary
school very difficult
Recommendations for future work in this area
Motivational and caring relationships alongside a relevant and flexible curriculum are seen as
vital in enhancing the skills, competences and personal attributes needed for young people
at risk of missing out on successful transition and a positive sustained destination. This
provides a continuum of learning and support based on individual needs. The principles
operating within Secondary nurture groups provide a situation within which this can
effectively happen.
The authors have presented a review of relevant literature and research, examples of
success and good practice and carried out a small scale evaluation looking at both
qualitative and quantitative data. From this it is clear that the issue is not one of searching for
impact but of planning for evaluation and gathering evidence systematically. The planning for
evaluation needs to start before groups begin.
68

Records of attendance are part of data gathering for impact, but these are problematic to use
as cited evidence, as noted earlier. A framework of evidence gathering would also include:
evidence of individual progress over time:
• through Boxall Profile assessment (secondary version in process)
• Curriculum for Excellence assessment
• personal comments from parents, teachers and other adults
• and most importantly of all young person’s views on their situation
Further research as to the effectiveness of Nurture Groups should be commissioned.
Psychological Services are in a central position within the local authority to provide
consultancy, advice and assistance in planning and evaluation.
At school and authority level, nurture group and nurture group principles need to be
embedded within a range of strategies that support emotional health and wellbeing.
As Scottish Government policy is to seek a national, coherent response to the needs of all
learners including those requiring additional support, consideration should be given to
funding and support to set up nurture groups. This would enable a widespread development
of nurture groups, nurturing principles and approaches in schools and would be part of a
national strategy to provide the continuum of learning and support based on individual needs.
This would impact positively on transitions and lead to more likelihood of positive and
sustained destinations.
69

References
Blyth E (Ed. 1999) Improving School Attendance (London, Routledge Farmer).
Binnie L and Allen K (2008) Whole school support for vulnerable children: The evaluation of
a part-time nurture group. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Vol13:201-16.
Boxhall M and Bennathan M (1998) The Boxhall Profile Handbook for Teachers London:
The Nurture Group Network Ltd, ISBN 0 902788 21 3 www.nurturegroups.org
Colley D (2009) Nurture Groups in Secondary Schools. Emotional and Behaviour Difficulties.
Vol 14:4 291-300.
Cooper P Arnold R and Boyd B (2001) The effectiveness of nurture groups: preliminary
research findings. British Journal of Special Education Vol 28:4 160-166.
Cooper P and Whitbread D (2007) The effectiveness of nurture groups on student
progress: Evidence from a national research study Emotional and Behaviour Difficulties Vol
12:3: 172-90.
Dryfoos J G (1990) Adolescents at Risk: Prevalence and Prevention Oxford University
Press.
Finn J D (1990) School engagement and students at risk Washington D C, Centre for
Educational Statistics.
Lehr C A et al (2004) Addressing Student Engagement and Truancy Prevention. Journal of
Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) Vol 9 279-30.
Leober R and Strouthamer-Loeber M (1998) Development of juvenile aggression and
violence; some misconceptions and controversies American Psychologist Vol53, 242-259
March S and Healy N (2007) What is the parental perception on progress made by nurture
group children Educational Psychology in Scotland Vol 9:1 2-7.
Morewood G (2009) online article The 21 st Century SENCO www.teachingexpertise.com
70

Nurture Group: Paper to Education Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee,
Glasgow City Council (September 2006).
Pelligrini D (2007) School Non-attendance: definitions, meanings, responses, interventions
Educational Psychology in Practice Vol 23 No 1.
Reid K (2000) Tackling tuancy in schools: a practical manual for primary and secondary
schools (London Routledge).
Sanders T (2007) Helping Children Thrive at School: The effectiveness of nurture groups
Educational Psychology in Practice Vol 23 No 1.
Scottish Government (2010) Curriculum for Excellence health and wellbeing outcomes
www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/experiencesandoutcomes/index.asp
The Wirral Nurture Group Project (July 2003) described in “Making Our Experience Count:
The views of nurture group practitioners throughout the UK. Messages from evaluation
studies” The Nurture Group Network (November 2008).
Withers G (2004) Disenchantment, disengagement, disappearance: Some recent statistics
and a commentary on non-attendance in school Australian Council for Educational
Research.
Zhang M (2003) Links Between School Absenteeism and Child Poverty. Pastoral Care in
Education Vol 21 10-17.
71

Appendix 1, FEATURES OF THREE SECONDARY NURTURE GROUPS
School 1
Roll: 1398
Staff: 125
School 2
Roll: 564
Staff: 57
School 3
Roll: 1136
Staff:124
Age S1 S1 + S2 S1 + S2, some S3 and continued links
Number 10 5 per group. Mostly boys
8 per group
Days 3 x 1 period 2X2 periods for each group 4 X 1 period for each group
Links Staff come to events Staff come to events
Parents come to activities, tea and chat
bring a friend – lunchtime
Assessment Boxall profile
Primary School P7 information
Curriculum includes Emotional vocabulary
Tea & toast
Circle time
Games
Art projects
Support - internal and external SMT Support
Careful staff selection
Care in group composition
Linked in with NG Network
Evaluation Anecdotal:
Campus Cop – difference in community
Attendance better on NG days
Examples given of parent and staff feedback
Plans/Next Steps flexible “rotating door” membership
in-intervention- out
Boxall profile
Observe over 2 day primary school visits
Primary schools suggest membership
Summer school – 20
4 weeks of observations
Games
Eating together
Ownership by school
Linked in with NG Network
Anecdotal:
Attendance better on NG days
Written comments from staff and parents re:
Confidence, self-esteem, willing to try more in
class
Within NG assessments:
Observed better social behaviour - meals
Boxall – pre and post
Dec-June written observations
PSG and EP link would be good
Involve more staff – contribute to curriculum?
Links with older pupils
Collaborative assessment with primary school
Link with parents at earlier stage
72
Awareness raising to all staff
Boxall profile
Collaboration assessment P6 –P7
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Planned themes set out termly in written format
Games
Breakfast
Authority (EP) and SMT support - instrumental in staff
awareness raising
School timetable accommodates predictable start to
day.
Anecdotal:
Attendance better on NG days
Participated in debating club
Positive talk about coming to class / school
Extended friendship groups
Primary/Secondary difference – better than expected
attendance and behaviour
EP has link to Strategy Group within authority
- Roll out to other schools in Authority

Children with Attendance Difficulties Due to Long-term
Medical Conditions: Accessing Curriculum for Excellence
Gail MacDonald
Introduction
The group of children and young people with attendance difficulties includes a small but
ubiquitous group of non-hospitalised children who are unable to attend school due to medical
difficulties, for physical and mental health conditions. The following (box 1) is a consideration of
how the curriculum is being delivered to this group and how their educational needs are being
met.
Box 1 Curriculum for Excellence and the four capacities
The Curriculum for Excellence sets out four capacities in which children are expected to learn
and develop as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective
contributors -
“The experiences and outcomes in the range of curricular areas build in the attributes and
capabilities which support the development of the four capacities. This means that, taken
together across curriculum areas, the experiences and outcomes contribute to the attributes and
capabilities leading to the four capacities.
The expanded statements of the four capacities can also form a very useful focus for planning
choices and next steps in learning. The attributes and capabilities can be used by
establishments as a guide to assess whether the curriculum for any individual child or young
person sufficiently reflects the purposes of the curriculum.”
- The Curriculum for Excellence 2004
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Figure 1 Model of the four Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) capacities
The curriculum will provide challenges for children with attendance issues being educated at
home. Table 1 as follows, indicates a summary of the learning outcomes as per the new
curriculum with some of the potential challenges for teaching and learning out-of-school.
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Table 1 the four capacities and teaching challenges
Capacity Examples At home teaching
What may help?
Successful Learner Thinking and
reasoning skills
Attainments in literacy
and numeracy
Using technology
Confident
individuals
Physical, mental and
emotional well-being,
self awareness,
independent living and
risk assessment.
Responsible citizen Respect others,
awareness of
environmental issues,
understanding
complexity
Effective
Contributors
.
Enterprising, problem
solving,
communication skills
75
Technology – useful
route for children
maintaining contact
with school –
particularly with
GLOW in place.
One-to-one teaching
allows more tailored
discussion of the
particular child’s
difficulties and the
impact on the
lifestyle
An understanding of
differences between
individuals may be
more likely
understood by a
child at home
An opportunity to
problem solve with
the child – to
consider their own
learning experience
and to maximise his
learning outcomes
with the resources
available
At home teaching
What will be
difficult?
Limited time
available likely to
lead to prioritising
knowledge based
teaching and
attainments in core
skills.
Breadth of
curriculum will be
compromised in
short teaching
times, and novelty
of these aspects as
formal education
may lead to
sacrifice in these
areas.
Examples are
usually provided by
class room life and
therefore difficult to
illustrate at home.
Fewer joint learning
experiences require
careful planning to
ensure child has an
opportunity to share
their work and to
learn co-operation
and learn from
practical experience

The basis of the Curriculum for Excellence differs from the earlier Scottish 5-14 curriculum in
that it takes explicit account of the whole child’s needs and formalizes outcomes in children’s
health, social and emotional development. This has provided particular challenges to educators
and partners at a school and class level. For teachers working with children with attendance
difficulties due to long term illness the challenges are even greater given the vulnerability of the
group and also the practical implications for catering to the needs of children who are being
educated at home through the significantly limited home tuition resource whilst remaining on the
school roll.
The following is a consideration of the issues that arise in terms of resourcing and adaptation of
the new curriculum and in doing so, covers the journey from theory to practical experience.
1. The legislative context
2. Risk factors for children with long term illness
3. A small scale study of home tutors experiences
4. A case study of an individual child
Legal context
Children with attendance difficulties include a group of young people who are provided with long
term state education at home due to chronic medical difficulties. In 2009 there were 827
children educated in Scotland under Section 14 of the Education (1980) Act – i.e. education for
children with long term illness - and the group remains small but consistent in numbers.
Education authorities have a duty to educate children who are long term absent from school due
to medical conditions (Section 14 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (as amended by Section
40 of the Standards in Scotland's Schools Act 2000) through home tuition or outreach support.
More recently, the ‘Included, Engaged and Involved’ document (2007) produced after the
implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scottish Schools has replaced earlier
documents. However, advice within the document remains consistent with, and refers to the
comprehensive 2001 (Standards in Education Circular) ‘Guidance on Education of Children
absent from school through ill-health’.
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The guidelines suggest a variety of child-centred supports including:
• 3-7 hours tuition weekly from a qualified teacher, with flexibility based on the child’s
ability to cope
• a definition of long term is provided suggesting that local authorities respond following 15
days of illness (or sooner if predicted as long term)
• access to a learning support co-ordinator or specialist teaching agency, either through
direct or indirect support is advised with an identified staff member to take lead
responsibility for a young person
• home education may be available during holiday periods in order to increase the
flexibility of curriculum delivery within the 3-7 hours
• class teachers are also advised to keep a note on missed work and where appropriate
resources to be made available for self-study
• an Individual Education Plan is recommended
Is a Co-ordinated Support Plan required?
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act (2004) and (2009) and suggests
that a co-ordinated support plan is deemed necessary should additional needs be significant and
long term. In practice there can be some ambiguity as to whether certain non-attendees with
medical problems has a need for a CSP. However, in a case of significant and long term multiagency
involvement it is appropriate at least to consider initiating a CSP. For children with a
predicted return date to school there would seem less need, but children who have no return
date, may indeed benefit from a framework of regular reviews amongst professionals.
.
It is sometimes the case that a child with an enduring condition has no educational needs based
on cognitive ability or educational attainments but could be argued that missing significant
elements of school life will impact significantly on the integrated curriculum supporting health
and well-being which is delivered through the whole school day experience.
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What are the risk factors for children and young people who come within this
category?
Three significant American studies took account of children with chronic illness leading to school
absence. Bauman et al (1997) found that children with chronic illness as children are more likely
to develop mental health problems. Furthermore, Pless et al (2008) suggests that the increased
risk to mental health remains with the child in their adult lives. Bennett’s 1994 study in the
Journal of Paediatric Psychology involved a meta-analysis, and his results led to the conclusion
that children with chronic medical conditions have a higher risk of depressive symptoms.
The Curriculum for Excellence provides methods for promoting resilience against mental health
difficulties in life. An underlying assumption is made that there are clear and measurable ways
to teach resilience in young people, and that the skills can be useful in facing the challenges that
young people will face as they move into adulthood. Skills such as understanding how
circumstances affect feelings, and the development and maintenance of friendships, are no
longer informally developed in school but are now part of the formal curriculum. This reflects a
national priority in building good mental health amongst the population in Scotland. Children
with long term illness would seem to need access to the broader curriculum, at least as much,
and possibly more so than their peer group.
Project survey
Twenty teachers, including home tutors, primary teachers and guidance teachers involved with
children with long-term illness were surveyed via questionnaire (see appendix 1). The
questionnaires sought data about the curriculum and experiences of ten young people with long
term illness, absent from school and in receipt of home tuition. Three children were primary
school age and seven young people were of secondary school (all S3 and above). The results
are summarised in the following table 2:
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Table 2 Results of survey responses
Question domains Responses Responses by sector
Responses by role Home Tutor (10)
Guidance Teacher (7)
Primary Class teacher (3)
Subject taught Maths (2)
English (3)
Biology (1)
Chemistry (1)
Primary subjects (3)
Medical Condition of child Clinical Depression, (2)
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (2)
Chronic Pain Syndrome (1)
Erytheromelalgia (1)
Undiagnosed Condition or unknown
(3)
ME (1)
Is an IEP being used? Yes – 6
No – 16
Inclusion in social activities at
school
Inclusion in social activities – visits
to home
Yes –6
No - 11
Don’t know – 3
Yes – 2
No – 14
Don’t Know - 4
Co-ordinator identified? Don’t Know (7)
Guidance teacher (7)
Class teacher (6)
79
Primary (6)
Secondary (14)
Primary (3)
Secondary Subjects (7)
‘Yes’ responses -
Primary (6)
‘No’ responses
Secondary (14)
‘Yes’ responses -
Primary (6)
Secondary (0)
‘No’ response
Secondary (11)
Primary (0)
Don’t Know response –
Secondary (3)
Primary (0)
‘Yes’ responses –
Primary (4)
Secondary (0)
‘No’ responses
Primary (0)
Secondary (14)
‘Don’t Know’ responses
Primary (2)
Secondary (0)
‘Yes’ response
Primary (6)
Secondary (7)
‘Don’t know’ response
Primary (0)
Secondary ( 7)

Responses from the group revealed a significant gap between the experiences of children and
young people in primary and secondary education. Primary children appeared to have provision
from a wider range of sources with more clarity about how non-academic targets such as
socialisation were being met. The presence of a class group (even when the child remained
absent for a long period) is an identifiable resource when developing Individual Education Plan
(IEP) targets in social and emotional components of the curriculum. Also, an individual class
teacher who is able to co-ordinate support between learning support and home tutors seems to
be more successfully implemented, than with the young people in secondary education which
appears to have the disadvantages of a committee led curriculum with the same level of support
but no single identified leader or co-ordinator.
Secondary aged young people across all years were reported as having a core subject
curriculum based around examinations. The social components of the curriculum relied on the
child themselves maintaining contact with friends. The need for exam support was prioritised
above all other curricular outcomes given the relatively short teaching time. The guidance staff
unanimously supported the young person’s progress through exams in terms of exam pressure
and ensuring co-ordination with learning support in terms of special exam arrangements.
The results of this small study, suggests that for this group, there is a difference in the curriculum
delivery between secondary and primary education. Primary education does appear to be able
to accommodate greater flexibility and retain the child as a classmate, and to provide a smaller
staff group with greater co-ordination. In secondary education there is a difficulty in that the
curriculum remains subject driven with greater challenges for staff to liaise amongst themselves
and more focus on exam timetables. The judgements made regarding the curriculum reflect in
practice a prioritising of the time available and core knowledge wins out consistently. This
approach seems to have remained unchanged and a challenge to incorporate newer aspects of
the curriculum is unlikely to be the remit of home tutors acting alone.
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Some reflections
Based on informal discussion with other teachers in other authorities, there does not seem to be
any suggestion that Inverclyde teachers are different in their implementation and approach of
the new curriculum when dealing with this particular group. However a further study would be
valuable to consider whether teachers in Inverclyde are representative of Scotland’s teachers of
this group of children, as a whole.
The study carried out in Inverclyde suggests that the recommended automatic IEP for a child
with long term absence is not being implemented routinely. It would also appear that the
breadth of the curriculum has not yet been adjusted to incorporate the four capacities. The
following is an example of set practice in Inverclyde – in which breadth is enabled using
teachers creativity and problem solving skills to create a wider curriculum that makes good use
of resources to ensure a child is being developed in line with all four capacities.
Case Study – an exemplar of practice
Joshua is a P5 pupil on the roll at his local primary school despite not having attended regularly
since P2. Following a request from the school who felt that they required some clarification of
their role with Joshua, Psychological Services became involved.
At that time, it was agreed that Joshua required formal support through home tutoring and
resources from the class teacher. It was also agreed that Joshua maintain regular links with the
school in two ways:
1. Visits to the school were planned on a weekly basis during Golden Time, with input
requested from the occupational therapist to ensure that Joshua’s flat bed wheelchair
could be accommodated. It was agreed that this would be a continuing plan with parents
contacting the school to cancel if Joshua was too ill.
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2. Small groups of children would visit Joshua on a weekly basis to ensure that he
remained an identifiably member of the class community.
3. Liaison between the home tutor, learning support teacher and the class teacher by way
of an IEP.
From the first meeting it was clear that there had been no diagnosis of Joshua’s difficulties nor
did staff know if any medical officer had particular case knowledge or links to the child.
Questions that arose in the first meeting between school staff, parents and Psychological
Services, included questions regarding the suitability of the present school arrangements given
that the child who had not been in school since primary 2. Key information about Joshua’s
conditions and its impact on his education was essential from medical services and as a starting
point a lead medical officer was identified.
Following the identification of the medical officer, queries were raised by school staff about the
well-being of Joshua. In order to comprehensively assess Joshua’s needs an Integrated
Assessment Framework was instigated. Following this process clarity was provided regarding
the role of social workers, and nursing staff were able to predict a minimal timeline for Joshua’s
return to education. This was predicted as at least eighteen months and allowed for a
formalising of Joshua’s IEP into a CSP. Social workers were able to follow the targets provided
on the IEP to identify work to be done at home, particularly supporting the self-awareness and
understanding of circumstances work identified on his individual plan.
Further and regular reviews by medical staff produced a diagnosis of Chronic Pain Disorder and
although this did not change the educational needs of Joshua or his attendance, this allowed for
work to focus on Joshua’s good and bad days and to incorporate school visiting into a flexible
pattern.
Joshua’s visits to school and his classmate’s routine visits to his home led to a greater feeling of
inclusion for a youngster who was previously spending most of his day with adults. His class
82

teacher provided work for him and a laptop allowed Joshua to deliver pieces of written work for
assessment. In addition his home tutor worked on ensuring Joshua kept up to date with skills
required for national attainment testing. Within this model, Joshua’s curriculum tends relies
heavily on co-ordination between teachers and between agencies. However the work being
done, is both in line with the requirements of the Curriculum for Excellence, and takes account of
the individual requirements of Joshua.
Could this be adapted for secondary aged young people?
The identification of a peer group is crucial to success. In secondary education, particularly from
S3, there is more movement and it may become a little artificial to present (for instance) the
registration class as a peer group. Particularly when a child has had significant long term illness
and their registration group may include children with whom there is no shared history. The
identification of such a group would be best carried out by parents, the child and the guidance
teacher with consideration given to any friendship groupings or simply a group of children who
are from the same geographic area.
In addition it is necessary to identify the most appropriate member of staff to take a lead role in
ensuring a child’s social and emotional needs are being addressed. In developing an IEP with
learning support it would be beneficial to consider ways of ensuring a child retains a necessary
feeling of inclusion, despite their absence. In the primary sector, there is possibly more flexibility
and secondary staff will be more limited and require a greater sense of creativity.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the following Inverclyde teachers and staff for their contribution.
Mrs Bruce, Mr McAllister, Mr Mills, Mr McDonald, Mrs MacKay Jones, Mrs Craig, Mrs Murdoch,
Mrs Marshall, Mrs Gillen.
83

References
Bennett David S (1994) Depression Among Children with Chronic Medical Problems: A Meta-
Analysis Journal of Pediatric Psychology 19(2) pp149-169, 1994.
Closs A (2000) The Education of Children with Medical Conditions London: David Fulton
Laurie J B, Drotar D, Leventhal J M, Perrin E C, and Pless B I (1997) A Review of
Psychosocial Interventions for Children With Chronic Health Conditions Paediatrics Vol 100 No.
2 August 1997 pp244-251.
Pless I B, Cripps H A, Davies A M and Wadsworth M E J (2008) Chronic Physical Illness in
Childhood: Psychological and Social Effects in Adolescence and adult life Developmental
Medicine and Child Neurology Vol 31 issue 6 pp746 – 755.
Scottish Executive Education Department (November 2004) A Curriculum for Excellence
Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Executive Education Department ISBN: 0-7559-4215-9
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/11/20178/45862
The Scottish Government (December 2007) Included, engaged and involved - part 1:
Attendance in Scottish schools ISBN: 978-0-7559-5546-6.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/12/05100056/1
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Appendix 1
Survey questions
Question 1
You are currently supporting at least one child with a medical condition who is unable to attend
school. What is the medical condition that prevents attendance?
Question 2
What is the type of teaching input are you currently providing?. Which subjects are you
covering?
Question 3
Are there any other key teachers currently involved in the child's education? If so, can you
provide details?
Question 4
Do you provide curricular support for the Health and Well-being aspects of the child's
education?
Question 5
Is there an IEP for the young person? If so, who writes the IEP and if not, is there an alternative
paper framework that is used?
Question 6
Is the child that you are currently working with primary or secondary age?
85

Non-attendance at Secondary School – What’s the Problem
and What Can We Do About It?
Kirsty Mackay, Wendy Inch and Malcolm McGovern
Introduction
This chapter discusses the findings and implications of surveys conducted in City of
Edinburgh and Fife, two of the largest local authorities in Scotland. The focus of the surveys
was to seek the perceptions of secondary schools on the following questions:
- What are the main reasons for attendance difficulties in secondary schools?
- What supports are in place for pupils with attendance difficulties?
- What else can be done to improve attendance in secondary schools?
- Does Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) present opportunities for secondary schools to
meet the needs of pupils with attendance issues more effectively?
Why school perceptions?
There are a range of interactive and contextual factors that contribute to attendance issues
for pupils in secondary schools. There remains a persistent professional and cultural
perception that the location of attendance issues lie within individual pupils and their families.
Such differences in attributions are apparent between school staff and pupils/parents, where
school staff are more likely to identify within pupil/family factors for causing attendance
difficulties, and pupils/families are more likely to blame within school factors (Lauchlan, 2003;
Malcolm, Wilson, Davidson and Kirk, 2003).
Over the last three decades there has been a growing recognition within research literature
that within school factors are at least as important as individual or family factors in identifying
the source of perceived attendance issues, and for determining solutions.
Why secondary schools?
Statistical data from all 32 local authorities across Scotland clearly demonstrates year on
year that school attendance figures drop significantly when young people make the transition
86

from primary to secondary school. A MORI youth survey in 2004 found that 47 per cent of
young people who play truant started in their first two years of secondary school. National
data also shows a persistent trend that attendance declines during secondary years, with the
lowest school attendance at the S3 and S4 stages.
Table 1 Summary of Attendance data (%) for all Local Authority Schools in Scotland
School Year
Year Group
04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09
P7 95.1 95.0 95.3 95.2 95.2
S1 92.8 92.9 93.1 93.2 93.1
S2 90.9 91.1 91.2 91.4 91.6
S3 88.8 89.1 89.2 89.5 89.8
S4 88.2 88.8 88.9 89.2 89.7
Recent attendance data collated by the Scottish Government (table 1) indicates that there
have been improvements at the S3 and S4 stages. However these remain the year groups
with the highest levels of non-attendance. These figures there would suggest there is an
issue about how effectively the needs of young people who become and remain disengaged
from secondary school are being met. ‘Missing Out’ (HMIE, 2006) considered the reasons for
pupil disengagement and identified the need for schools to focus on the lowest attaining 20%
of pupils who are at risk of missing out on educational opportunities. The Government
strategy ‘More Choices, More Chances’ (2006) outlines the need to support post-school
transition for young people at risk. Attendance difficulties were identified as a risk factor for
young people being more likely to leave school without a positive destination.
Reasons for non-attendance
There are a number of well-established interactive factors that can contribute to reduced
school attendance and a wide variety of terms and definitions to describe it. These were
described in the introduction to this document and are repeated overleaf.
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Individual Family / Home School
Personality: Laziness,
curiosity, anger
Parents putting a low value
on education
Learning Difficulties Children expected to act as
carers / worries about
parents well being
Behavioural difficulties Domestic violence
Emotional state Recent Family transition:
parental separation, divorce,
birth of a sibling.
Not wanting to get into trouble Parents working long and
atypical hours
Psychological or mental
health difficulties
Family history of nonattendance
Low self-esteem Loss and Bereavements
Embarrassment at personal
attributes e.g. overweight
What works to reduce the issue?
Financial Stress: families not
being able to provide uniform
or equipment
Being Bullied
Problems with lessons (e.g.
boring) and teachers (e.g.
dislike of)
Fear of returning to school
Primary to Secondary
Transition & Complexity of
Secondary School
Disruptive behaviour in
class
Opportunism e.g.
inadequate monitoring
Peer Pressure
Social Isolation
Attendance difficulties in secondary schools are complex and there is a need to be creative
in finding solutions. Well established proactive and preventative measures exist that can be
implemented at systemic levels to help minimise the issue, as well as a range of individually
tailored intervention approaches (Lauchlan, 2003; Malcolm et al. 2003; NWREL, 2004;
Pellegrini, 2007).
The recent Scottish Government publication ‘Included, engaged and involved: part 1
attendance in Scottish Schools’ (2007) outlines a range of systemic processes and practices
that local authority schools should implement and embed to promote positive school
attendance for all pupils and families. Whilst lacking a clear blueprint for eradicating
attendance issues in our schools, this document does provide guidance for local authorities
and schools to have a positive impact on attendance issues through informal and formal
approaches. These can be summarised under the following headings:
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• attendance policy in place for the local authority and every school
• rigorous and reliable attendance monitoring and recording processes
• early and staged response/intervention to school absence
• partnership working with pupils and parents to raise awareness of responsibilities
and expectations regarding school attendance
• partnership working with community services, Further Education (FE) and
voluntary agencies to provide alternative learning experiences
• promote, celebrate and reward positive attendance patterns
• promote an ethos of safety, support and care for all pupils and families
• engage multi-agency support and advice where appropriate
Many of the above processes and practices are embodied within other Scottish Government
policy. For example, Getting it Right for Every Child (2006) aims to promote early
intervention, multi-agency working and engagement with parents / carers and young people.
What opportunities does CfE present for this group of learners?
Scotland’s new curriculum aims to provide a more coherent, flexible and enriched curriculum
from ages 3 to 18. It aspires to offer relevant, inspiring, and engaging education for every
child and young person, with greater personalisation and choice. CfE aims to prepare young
people more effectively for life after school by supporting them to become successful
learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. It is an
opportunity for secondary schools to change and to offer more meaningful and rewarding
experiences for all young people, but is also of particular relevance and benefit when trying
to respond proactively to the ongoing problem of attendance issues and how to motivate and
engage learners.
At a recent conference, a member of HMIE emphasised the imperative for Scottish schools
to embrace the opportunities for change inherent within CfE to ensure that our education
system remains fit for purpose in meeting the needs of all our pupils. A key target group
identified were those who are often described as ‘disenfranchised, disenchanted,
disempowered and disengaged’ with the school experiences currently on offer: pupils who
are highly likely to have attendance difficulties and to be at risk of leaving school without a
positive destination.
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Within a context of national policy, guidance and inspection processes that promote the need
for schools to offer opportunities and approaches to learning that will engage and motivate all
pupils, this chapter will present and discuss findings from a sample of secondary schools
regarding their perceptions of what is being done and what else can be done to impact
positively on pupil attendance in secondary school.
Methodology, Results & Discussion
The authors of this chapter worked collaboratively, however priorities within respective local
authorities led to separate processes for data collation and analyses. As such respective
methodology, results and discussion sections are presented separately, with a joint
conclusions section. A summary of key themes and implications for future practice are
outlined within the conclusion chapter.
City of Edinburgh
Methodology
Research design
The research was conducted in two phases and as a result, the details of the data gathering
process at each stage are detailed separately.
Stage one: Education Welfare Officers and Educational Psychologists Joint Training
Day
Concern was raised within a Psychological Services working group about the number of
attendance based referrals being discussed at Pupil Support Group (PSG) meetings and the
difficulty in identifying appropriate intervention strategies. Following this a joint training event
was held with 35 Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) and Educational Psychologists (EPs)
from across the authority. This provided an opportunity to widen the scope of this research to
include the views of other professionals working within secondary schools.
As part of this event, participants were asked to work in groups to consider the reasons for
attendance difficulties under the following headings; loss/change, family dynamics,
90

psychological/wellbeing, social/personal, curriculum/learning and other. These headings
came from the guidelines on emotionally based school refusal produced for school staff and
support agencies by West Sussex County Council (Emmerson et al., 2004), and were
provided to ensure the information gathered reflected the wide range of factors that influence
attendance.
Stage 2: Questionnaire to secondary schools
The researchers met with the strategic lead in the authority for Curriculum for
Excellence/More Choices, More Chances in October to discuss the research proposal. It was
established that gaining an authority overview of current practice in addressing attendance
difficulties would be helpful. A questionnaire to all secondary schools was deemed to be the
most convenient means to gather this information.
A draft questionnaire was developed and shared with the strategic lead, as well as senior
management within Psychological Services. The initial part of the questionnaire required
schools to complete the same profiling exercise that was done by the EWO and EP groups at
the joint training event. A semi-structured design format using open ended questions was
considered appropriate as a result of the study being explorative and the depth of exploration
this type of question allows (Robson, 2002; Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2007). A copy of
the final questionnaire is provided in appendix 1.
Procedure
Questionnaires were emailed to senior management representatives within secondary
schools with a covering letter written by the strategic lead. Reminder emails were sent to all
schools and followed up by the EPs that link to each secondary school in order to try and
ensure a higher return rate.
Sample
13 of the 23 secondary schools across the four neighbourhoods in the authority returned
questionnaires, giving a return rate of 57%. According to the attendance figures for the
session 08/09, average attendance across all 23 secondary schools was 89.9%, with a range
of 81.1%-94.1%. For the current sample of schools, the average rate was 90.3% with the
same range. Scotland wide, the percentage attendance figures for the same period ranged
from 89.1% to 94.3%. Collectively this indicates that whilst self-selected, the sample here is
91

epresentative in terms of attendance rates, school size and socioeconomic status across the
authority.
Data analysis
The majority of the questionnaire data was subject to content analysis as described by
Cohen et al. (2007). Thematic analysis was employed for the two questions asking schools
to describe a successful case study and the opportunities they felt Curriculum for Excellence
would provide as it was felt the thematic networks described by Attride-Stirling (2001) would
be a more appropriate means of representing this data.
The risk factors identified by EWOs and EPs at the joint training event were analysed
alongside those identified by schools in order to give a broader overview of what contributes
to attendance difficulties within secondary schools and inform the development of a tool for
practitioners to use in the future.
All data was coded by both researchers independently before the two met and reviewed
codes and themes, discussed discrepancies and reached mutual agreement.
Results
What are the reasons for attendance difficulties in secondary school?
The main reasons identified in the data under each category are given in Table 2 (overleaf),
with a full summary of the data available in appendix 2.
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Table 2 Main reasons identified for attendance difficulties in secondary school
Category Identified Reason Frequency
Loss and Change
Family dynamics
Curriculum
/ Learning issues
Psychological /
well-being
Social / personal
Other issues
Family breakdown 15
Transition (change of house/school)
Bereavement (death of a family member, close
friend, pet)
Family values and attitudes 19
Family breakdown (separation/divorce) 15
Family health issues (physical/mental) 14
Curriculum flexibility (access to appropriate learning
opportunities)
Learning needs 10
Exam or test pressure/stress 8
Mental health issues(Paranoia, OCD, eating disorders) 15
Medical/health reasons 15
Self confidence/self esteem 9
Peer relationships 11
Bullying 10
Peer pressure 7
Travel (transport to school/cost/distance) 6
Community issues 4
Domestic violence 3
Transition to secondary school 3
93
14
12
11

How do schools currently support young people with attendance difficulties?
How well are pupils with attendance difficulties supported?
When asked how well their school currently supports pupils with attendance difficulties on a
scale of 0 to 5, where 0 was unsatisfactory and 5 was excellent, 10 of the 13 schools rated
themselves as 4. Two schools gave themselves a rating of 3 with one school indicating that
their rating was between 4 and 5.
Support available for pupils with attendance difficulties
Appendix 3 details the internal school supports and those available externally for pupils with
attendance difficulties. It is notable that Education Welfare Officers are considered in both
categories and as such are the source of support identified most by schools.
Within school support
Within schools, attendance sheets are utilised and refer both to those that are produced daily
by the school’s central administration system to identify pupils who are absent and those that
are used with individual pupils to monitor their attendance throughout the school day.
Support for pupils staff, support for learning and indeed the wider staff group all appear to
have a key role as do the multi-agency PSGs that meet within all secondary schools. Pupil
support bases and flexible timetables are used by schools to reintegrate pupils with
attendance difficulties, with some schools also offering small group work. Contact with
parents through various channels is also recognised. Personal and social education
delivered to all pupils is considered a proactive measure to address attendance difficulties,
although some schools highlight that individual support is also available.
External support
The agencies identified most by schools as an external means of support appear to be those
who are represented on the PSGs in schools and include the EWO, the Social Work Early
Intervention Team, EP, medical support, whether the school nurse or doctor, and Child and
Adolescent Mental Health staff. Links to the community in terms of the Community Learning
and Development staff and Police are also mentioned. College or work placements and
alternative school provisions have been identified as further means of support. Schools also
appear to be drawing on support from a number of local external agencies and voluntary
organisations, although these seemed to be on an individual school basis and as a result
they were not frequently mentioned.
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Target population
Within school supports are offered either to all pupils, or a target population selected on the
grounds of attendance, learning or behavioural needs. With these targeted supports, year
groups also appear to be taken into account with a greater frequency directed towards the
S1-S3 population by comparison to those available to S4-S6 pupils.
By comparison, few of the external supports identified were available to all pupils with the
majority aimed at targeted groups, again on similar grounds to the supports available within
school. In terms of year groups, the spread was relatively even across S1-S4. Parents were
also recognised as the target population for a small number of the available external
supports.
It should be noted that there were a number of schools who did not provide any information
about the target population for identified supports.
Evaluation of measures to support attendance
The majority of schools did not comment or reported that no formal evaluation of their
strategies to support attendance takes place. Where schools did identify a means of
evaluating supports, attendance figures predominated, as well as feedback from school staff.
Review meetings and Pupil Support Groups were also noted, as was the feedback provided
by external agencies. Pupil and parent feedback was also used by some schools but less
often. Other methods that arose in isolation included Getting It Right for Every Child, positive
leaver destinations information, fewer exclusions, support base use statistics, the annual
audit and exam results, although no elaboration was provided making it difficult to ascertain
how these are being used.
Supports that make the most difference
Across the supports available internally and externally, schools were asked to identify the
three that they consider to make the most difference. Education Welfare Officers were
identified most, with a support base in school and methods of monitoring attendance
receiving equal recognition. The role of support for pupils staff was also valued. Though
mentioned less frequently, other supports considered to make a difference included the Pupil
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Support Group meetings, the Early Intervention Team, Education Maintenance Allowance,
flexible timetables, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and two external agencies
operating within the local authority; JET (Job and Education and Training Programme) and
the Youth Agency.
Why does it make a difference?
Family contact was considered crucial to the success of the supports identified as making the
most difference in order to build the relationship between home and school. Similarly,
schools report the benefits of building relationships with pupils which can lead to improved
attitudes and subsequent attendance. Processes for gathering information about a pupil and
their circumstances also make a difference in identifying the most appropriate supports and
solutions. Flexible, proactive support that responds to pupil need is also valued. Some
schools reported that challenging families and making them aware of their legal
responsibilities made a difference. More isolated examples discussed how some supports
helped pupils see the relevance of school, and that incentives such as the Education
Maintenance Allowance also encouraged attendance.
What contributes to effective support?
Schools were asked to describe what happened in a case where they had noted
improvements. Their answers were subject to thematic analysis with the network created
from the organising, global and basic themes displayed in figure 1. Each theme is
summarised with supporting extracts from the data where possible.
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Figure 1 What works in supporting pupils with attendance difficulties?
Support for
Pupils Staff
Wider Staff
role
Attendance
monitoring
School
Support
Support
Base
External
agency links
Group
Work
Gradual reintegration
Reduced
timetable
PSG
Meetings
Collaborative
Multi-agency
working
What works in
supporting pupils
with attendance
difficulties?
Curriculum
Flexibility
Out of
school
activities
EWO
Individual
Planning
Home
visits
Engaging
Parents
AAAG
meetings
EWO
support
Having
Meetings
Global theme: What works in supporting pupil with attendance difficulties?
Collaborative Multi-agency working
This theme has emerged from the references made across schools about the level and
range of multi-agency working that takes place where improvements are noted.
Education Welfare Officers
Although EWO support is also considered a theme in terms of the direct support provided to
parents, it is treated as distinct here as a result of the evidence provided by schools
suggesting they play a key role in working collaboratively with home and school to improve
attendance:
“there was a period of approximately one week where the pupil only managed to get to the
school car park but did eventually manage into school. This strategy was implemented
collaboratively by EWO, guidance teacher and mum”.
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Pupil Support Group meetings
The importance of PSGs was recognised as a number of schools indicated they had made
referrals in order that discussions could take place in this multi-agency forum to look further
at possible supports.
External agency links
The strength of this theme is evidenced by the number of references schools made to
partner agencies and organisations in the wider community. The level of detail was variable;
some schools just made reference to the process of referral and it is difficult to determine the
outcome of this, whilst others provided examples of work going on in schools that is carried
out collaboratively with the relevant services. Others attributed success directly to particular
agency involvement:
‘referral to CAMHS’ (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
‘the student operated a part-time timetable with support from the year head, the Hospital and
Outreach Teaching Service and the Educational Psychologist’
‘a referral to Rathbone (support and advice centre for young people) proved to be extremely
successful’
Group work
Although not as strong a theme, group work opportunities appear to be utilised by schools for
pupils with attendance difficulties in collaboration with partner agencies:
‘Attending group work opportunity provided by Early Intervention Team, EWO and police’
Engaging parents
Home visits
Home visits by the EWO, school staff and police were all recognised as a means of having
contact with a pupil and their family and were seen as valuable in terms of the level of
support this provides:
‘A home visit by the school link police officer and guidance teacher followed’
‘regular home visits have now resulted in more regular and improved attendance’
EWO support
The direct support EWOs provide to families is recognised. Their involvement and the
opportunity they have to make links with home can help engage parents and pupils who
might otherwise be difficult to contact:
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‘intense EWO support improves parental attendance at meetings with guidance and supports
the family’
Having meetings
Recognition was given to the importance of having meetings in school with parents.
Reference was made to meetings between pupil, parent and school staff, as well as
meetings involving other professionals providing support to the pupil or wider family.
AAAG meetings
A number of schools made reference to the Area Attendance Advisory Groups as a means of
engaging parents and helping them recognise their legal obligation to support their child’s
attendance at school.
Curriculum flexibility
Although treated separately, where schools made reference to the following themes, they
generally occurred together.
Gradual re-integration
Virtually all schools highlighted the need for the return to school to be a gradual process for
pupils with attendance difficulties:
‘a phased reintroduction was implemented to ensure regular and stable attendance’
‘re-introduced slowly with support’
Reduced timetable
Closely associated with reintegration, a number of comments were made relating to the
merits of a part-time timetable negotiated with the pupil:
‘the student operates a part-time timetable with support’
‘the EWO brings him to school 2 mornings a week and makes a weekly plan with him about
his time in school each Monday’
Out of school activities
It would appear schools are utilising programmes and taking advantage of opportunities in
the wider community to try to engage pupils with attendance difficulties. Where possible it
seems these are directed towards their interests:
‘Mornings at dance base were negotiated on the promise she attended school in the
afternoon’
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Individual planning
Comments were made that suggest schools are looking at individual needs and as such are
responding to these by being creative in their approaches, for example via the use of time
out and target setting:
‘gave him a job to do in the morning when he arrived at school’
School support
Support base
The number of comments pertaining to support bases in schools highlight that they are used
extensively with this population. Again, they seem to be used in collaboration with reduced
timetables as a means of reintegrating pupils back into the school:
‘this support (support base) helped the pupil settle and catch up on work missed’
Support for pupils staff
The work of the Support for Pupils staff seems to be key. From the comments made it seems
they are integral planning a pupils return to school, as well as providing ongoing monitoring
and support:
‘close monitoring by the Support for Pupils teacher’
Wider staff role
Schools also recognised the role that wider teaching staff can provide:
‘academic pressure eased by asking for cooperation from teachers’
Attendance monitoring
As would be expected, the systems in place across schools to monitor attendance make a
key contribution as well as those applied at an individual level for identified pupils:
‘Pupil was supported on attendance checks to allow Support for Pupils to see him on a twice
daily basis’
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How could support in schools for young people with attendance difficulties be
improved?
Schools identified a number of ways to improve their support, including the following:
• more staff
• earlier intervention
• group work
• curricular changes
• pupil engagement
• increased resources
Where schools referred to a need for more staff, the majority referred to external agency
support and the need for this to be increased. More time from the EWO was also identified.
In terms of earlier intervention, it was felt that patterns of attendance were already well
established by the time a pupil reached secondary school and that there had to be earlier
identification in primary school. Some schools felt group work may be a means of supporting
pupils with attendance difficulties better, although where this was mentioned it was closely
linked to the need for more staffing to facilitate this. An appropriate curriculum was seen as a
further means to improve support, with opportunities for college and vocational links. Schools
identified a need for greater pupil engagement if interventions put in place are to be
successful. A number of schools also made reference to recent reductions in the level of
available resources and the withdrawal of valued services.
A Curriculum for Excellence
Schools were asked what opportunities they thought Curriculum for Excellence would
provide in supporting pupils with attendance difficulties. The thematic network produced by
their responses is detailed in figure 2.
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Figure 2 Curriculum for Excellence will provide opportunities to support pupils with
attendance difficulties
Transition
planning and
support
Flexibility
Approaches to
Teching and
Learning
Meeting
Individual
Needs
Curriculum
flexibility
Personal
Choice
Learner
Engagement
Curriculum for Excellence will
provide opportunities to
support pupils with
attendance difficulties
Wider
Achievement
Crosscurricular
Relevance
Health and
Well-Being
College Links and
Vocational Learning
Global theme: Curriculum for Excellence will provide opportunities to support
pupils with attendance difficulties
Health and wellbeing
Health and wellbeing emerged as a particularly strong theme, mentioned by many of the
schools in the sample. It appears that schools believe the integration of this strand across the
curriculum will have a positive impact on both pupils and staff:
‘health and wellbeing will allow a greater focus and input on areas which contribute to nonattendance’
‘more awareness of emotional wellbeing of pupils amongst all teachers’
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Learner Engagement
It was evident from the feedback provided by schools that there is an expectation that CfE
will create opportunities to engage more learners, in particular those with attendance
difficulties.
Relevance
Related to engagement, multiple references were made to the possibility CfE creates to
provide a more relevant learning experience for all:
‘a variety of appropriate courses and learning opportunities which are tailor-made’
Cross-curricular
Schools recognised a merit in the cross-curricular approach of the new curriculum and the
potential this creates to increase learners’ engagement:
‘more interesting cross curricular opportunity to increase motivation’
‘theme weeks, activity weeks, challenge days’
Personal choice
It was thought by schools that the greater personalisation within CfE will be appealing to
learners, particularly those who have attendance difficulties:
‘personal choice should be more engaging for pupils’
approaches to teaching and learning
Teaching and Learning
It is interesting that a number of comments pertaining to teaching and learning approaches
and the opportunity CfE provides to revise and refresh these suggests that this too will have
a positive impact on learner engagement:
‘more focus on the quality of learner experiences’
‘further developing Assessment is for Learning practices’
‘it will potentially lead to a change in some of the classroom approaches some pupils can find
it difficult to cope with’
Wider Achievement
There is recognition across schools that by its very nature, Curriculum for Excellence should
provide an opportunity to celebrate achievement in its widest sense.
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Curriculum flexibility
This theme has developed from the comments made by schools about greater flexibility
within the curriculum:
‘opportunities to have a more flexible and appropriate curriculum with opportunities for wider
achievement’
‘flexibility regarding qualifications and timings’
College links and vocational learning
Schools tended to comment on college links and vocational learning experiences together.
Whilst college links already exist, it is recognised these may increase and alongside
vocational opportunities will encourage wider achievement amongst learners:
‘focus on skills for learning, life and work’
‘provide better sustained links with college for vocational based learning’
‘given the more hands on experiences youngsters should have following a CfE, they should
see education as being more worthwhile than some might feel at present’
Meeting individual needs
Across all the comments made, it is evident that schools believe the personalisation and
choice provided by a Curriculum for Excellence will appeal to all learners which will
subsequently provide opportunities to respond to learners’ individual needs.
Flexibility
The comments related to flexibility within this theme are separate from those that were made
about curriculum flexibility as they refer more generally to an approach that caters to learner
needs:
‘more flexibility to meet the needs of all learners’
Transition planning and support
This theme arose from the responses that recognised that individual planning and support
would be required for learners to ensure their needs are met and that their progression on
from school is supported appropriately:
‘maintaining and improving support arrangements’
‘better transition arrangements – curricular and extra-curricular’
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Concerns
Braun and Clarke (2006) highlight the importance of attending to inconsistencies that exist
across data. Although not treated as a theme, it is worth highlighting that when asked about
the opportunities provided by CfE, a number of schools raised concern about the impact it
would have on current practice, examples of which are provided below:
‘I have some concern that the lack of focus and recognised achievement will lose some
youngsters’
‘there is a significant group of young people for whom the current curriculum set up works
very well and they meet with great academic success – we cannot risk throwing the baby out
with the bath water’
‘it will have little or no impact on chronic and potential chronic non attendees unless money
and personnel are put in to support the young people and their families’
Discussion
Early identification of pupils at risk of attendance difficulties is essential
School staff within this study reported that current support within school is targeted more
towards the S1-S3 population. Comments were also made about the need for earlier
identification and intervention for pupils at risk of attendance difficulties, both in primary and
secondary sectors. Early recognition and prompt intervention is essential for supporting
young people at risk of missing out on educational opportunities and managing nonattendance
(Elliot, 1999; HMIE, 2006; Lauchlan, 2003;). As such, consideration has to be
given as to how pupils at risk of attendance difficulties are identified.
Research shows that there are a wide range of risk factors associated with attendance
difficulties and this was supported by the findings of this study. It is also important to
recognise that the reasons for attendance difficulties often result from a complex interaction
of multiple factors. If non-attendance is the manifestation of these difficulties and
interventions target only the attendance itself, there is little opportunity to fully address the
underlying causes. As such, it is important that intervention is timely and sensitive to the
unique context of the young person. This fits well with the principles of early intervention and
the child planning approach within GIRFEC.
The profile of risk developed by Emmerson et al (2004) was designed as a tool to aid
practitioners to identify young people at risk of ‘emotionally based school refusal’. This tool
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has been adapted and updated using the information from this study. As well as considering
risk factors, it also encourages practitioners to reflect on those that serve to protect the
young person. It is hoped that this will aid the early identification of pupils at risk of
attendance difficulties and help inform appropriate interventions. A copy is provided in
appendix 4.
Whilst acknowledging that non-attendance is often multi-causal, it is notable that issues with
loss, change and family breakdown were frequently mentioned. Interestingly recent research
looking at medical absences in secondary school students found that the incidence of
divorce or separation was significantly greater in students with frequent medical absence
compared to controls with good attendance records (54% vs 24%), as was the percentage of
pupils living with non-parental carers (17% vs1%) (Jones, R., Hoare, P., Elton, R., Dunhill, Z.
and Sharpe, M. 2009). The MORI Youth Survey (2004) also found that truancy rates were
higher among young people in single parent households compared to those who live with two
parents (32% compared with 24%). This suggests that there may be a need for schools to
consider the supports available to young people who are experiencing loss and change.
Parents and carers also need to be included, engaged and involved
Research has shown increased parental involvement, especially of ‘hard to reach’ parents, is
linked to improvements in attendance, behaviour and achievement (Harris and Goodall,
2007). The importance of involving parents in its widest sense has been recognised in recent
legislation. In the Scottish Government publication ‘A guide for parents about school
attendance’, it states that ‘parents and carers are by far the most important influence on
children’s lives and learning and it is parents and carers who are responsible for making sure
their child is educated’ (p.3, Scottish Executive, 2009). Subsequently, it is little surprise that
engaging with parents and carers was identified as a necessity by schools in this study.
As with previous research (Malcolm et al., 2003), the value placed on education within the
family was viewed as having a significant impact on attendance. It has been found that family
attitudes, whether directly or indirectly, do contribute to attendance difficulties in schools.
Findings from a study by Reid (2009) suggest earlier engagement with parents of children ‘at
risk’ is required. Harris and Goodall (2007) report that parents tend to view schools as a
barrier and make reference to the complexity and the number of staff they have to relate to in
secondary schools. They found engagement is increased when parents are supported to
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develop skills in effective parenting and are provided with strategies to assist with education
at home. This receives further support from Dalziel and Henthorne (2005) who suggest
activities in schools to promote self-esteem and confidence amongst parents would be
beneficial.
Dalziel and Henthorne (2005) also highlight that parents and carers often lack information
about ways in which they can help to improve their child’s attendance. Whilst they valued the
input of the EWO, they felt that earlier involvement of other agencies would be helpful.
However, Reid (2009) found that although parents sought help from a number of agencies,
they received conflicting advice. This suggests a need for greater coordination of support for
parents, and this is a key aim within Getting It Right For Every Child (2006).
These findings suggest that schools need to be mindful of how they are involving parents
and working with them to promote the value of education and the importance of school
attendance. They also need to consider approaches for engaging with parents to address
attendance difficulties. In this study, home visits and time invested in building relationships
with parents and carers were viewed as very valuable. There is also a need for greater coordination
of support for parents and carers which is a key aim of GIRFEC. Within City of
Edinburgh, Psychological Services has been working with schools and the GIRFEC team
within the local authority to develop solution-focused meetings, with a key aim of trying to
engage and empower families. Given that research outlines the merits of providing support to
parents by workshops and other means, EPs may wish to consider how they can work with
secondary schools to develop this further.
Collaborative working is valued but needs to be promoted and better
understood
Research highlights the importance of school staff working with partner agencies to
strengthen support to parents and pupils (e.g. Malcolm et al. 2003; Ofsted, 2008; Pelligrini,
2007; Scottish Government, 2007). Schools considered multi-agency working to be
fundamental in supporting pupils with attendance difficulties. In particular they
acknowledged the involvement of the EWO service, external agency links, multi-agency
meetings and group work.
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The EWO Service was viewed as the support that makes the most difference in supporting
pupils with attendance difficulties with schools reporting that they would like support from the
EWO to be increased. EWOs were considered to play a vital role in engaging with parents as
well as contributing to multi-agency working. Malcolm et al. (2003) found that many teachers
valued the work of EWOs but raised issues about the location and independence of the EWO
Service. In this study, EWOs were referred to by school staff as both internal and external
supports, suggesting that there may be need for greater clarity about their role.
Schools identified a wide range of external agencies they work with to support pupils with
attendance difficulties. Agencies that were frequently mentioned across schools tended to be
those that are involved in PSG meetings, including EPs. There were also a range of
voluntary organisations identified but these were largely mentioned on an individual basis.
Research has highlighted issues around schools working in isolation and the lack of
dissemination of good practice (HMIe 2006; Reid, 2003). It is important that schools are
made aware of the range of agency support available to them and are encouraged to share
this information. This may suggest a need for greater co-ordination and guidance at a local
authority level in order to establish an overview of supports that exist and their availability.
Whilst viewed as essential it is also recognised that effective multi-agency working can be
difficult to achieve (PDP, 2004). Recent research identified the need for staff training to
promote multi-agency working and more specifically to raise awareness of attendance issues
(Reid, 2009). In many ways this can be addressed by the implementation of GIRFEC, which
promotes collaborative working and presents authorities with an opportunity to consider
appropriate training for staff to better support young people and their families.
Engaging the disengaged: The opportunity of Curriculum for Excellence
Learner Engagement
One of the implications of the research carried out by Malcolm et al. (2003), was that schools
had to change; pupils who regularly truanted from school were bored and it was deemed
necessary to develop appropriate curricula and teaching styles, as well as promoting a
positive school ethos. The Scottish Government (2007) also highlight pupil motivation as key
to attendance and engagement with learning. It is therefore reassuring in this study that
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schools commented positively on the opportunities CfE will provide in improving learning
engagement with the greater potential for personalisation and choice.
Research carried out by Falkirk Council Educational Psychology Service (2007) investigated
factors that promote engagement with learning across secondary schools. Interestingly,
pupils perceived themselves to be well motivated, with older pupils expressing concern about
the quality of teaching and learning. A recommendation of this study was that teaching
approaches that promote self belief and intrinsic motivation should be developed. This was
based on supporting literature that quality teaching is more motivating for pupils than
systems in place that focus on extrinsic motivation. Indeed, the Scottish Government (2007)
assert that understanding what motivates pupils and ultimately leads to their engagement
with the curriculum is an essential skill of school staff. It is of interest that a number of
comments were made by schools in this study related to teaching and learning approaches
and how these can be developed to be more appealing to young people currently at risk of
disengaging. Thus it would appear that CfE is an opportunity to focus on the how, and not
the what of teaching to engage learners and encourage attendance in schools.
Wider achievement
HMIe (2006) and Ofsted (2008) found that accreditation in its various forms was a helpful
means by which to motivate and engage pupils. Although not mentioned by schools in the
current sample, it would be worth exploring the extent to which accreditation is being used
and how this might be developed further.
Recent policy has focused on the need to develop opportunities for vocational learning and
the need to create parity of esteem for vocational and academic learning (e.g. HMIe, 2008;
OECD, 2007; Scottish Government, 2007). Curriculum for Excellence and other programmes
such as Determined to Succeed and Skills for Work, promote a shift in thinking towards an
education for all which focuses on the development of ‘skills for learning, life and work’ and
where vocational learning, development of employability skills and learning about the world
of work are integral to the curriculum.
Schools in this study did recognise the value of links with FE colleges and vocational learning
opportunities for supporting young people with attendance difficulties. A recent HMIe report
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(2008) highlighted that school-college partnership programmes have helped many
disaffected young people to reengage with learning. It identifies a need for schools and
colleges to work together to share good practice in teaching and learning approaches and to
support young people to develop the 4 capacities.
A review of attitudes towards vocational learning (Edward, Weedon and Riddell, 2008) found
that there was a lower uptake of vocational than academic subjects. It highlights the positive
impact of the Skills for Work courses within Scottish Schools and the need for further
research into levels of participation and the impact on leaver destinations. It also suggests
that it would helpful to investigate the organisational impact of such programmes on schools
and FE colleges, recognising that there are often a number of barriers such as timetabling
and transport which need to be overcome. It is essential that we explore with schools how
school-college programmes and other links are being used currently and how they will be
developed with the opportunities afforded by Curriculum for Excellence.
Health and wellbeing
In this study, as with previous research, mental health and health issues were recognised as
key contributors to attendance difficulties. However, school staff identified that the greater
focus and input on health and wellbeing across CfE should impact positively on pupils and
promote wider staff involvement.
The Scottish Executive (2007) emphasise that school attendance should be clearly linked to
the approaches schools use to provide pastoral care, which are underpinned by the
development of positive relationships. In 2004, HMIe drew attention to the changing social
climate of recent years and the growing number of pupils requiring support. The report
stressed the need to continuously re-assess existing practices to ensure the most effective
support is provided. This seems particularly pertinent in the current climate where schools
report a number of supports that were previously available are being withdrawn and support
for pupils staff are under increased pressure. In the face of these demands, there could be a
risk that pupils with attendance difficulties become ‘out of sight, out of mind’. As such and
with the introduction of CfE, it is timely that schools consider the availability of support and
perhaps the role that staff in the wider school community could play.
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Meeting individual needs
All schools reported curriculum flexibility to varying degrees in order to support the return of
pupils with attendance difficulties to school. Reduced timetables are commonly used to
promote a gradual reintegration and this often involved the use of a support base within
school. As support bases were identified as one of the supports that makes the most
difference for young people with attendance difficulties, it would be interesting to explore
further how they are used and what it is about their set up that makes a difference. Though
speculative, it may be that some of the key principles contributing to their success are
synonymous with those adopted by nurture groups which have been explored elsewhere in
this PDP.
Schools identified that young people with attendance difficulties often have learning needs
and can find it difficult to access the curriculum. They recognised that for greater flexibility
within the new curriculum to help meet individual needs. Individualised transition planning
was also raised and the need to improve support for young people to help ensure their
progression on to a positive and sustained destination.
Projects run by external organisations are used by schools to capitalise on pupil interests
and encourage them to engage with education. These findings are supported by surveys of
schools identified as being effective at re-engaging disaffected pupils (Ofsted, 2008) and
enhancing the attainment of low achieving pupils (HMIe, 2006). A key feature of good
practice was personalising the curriculum to suit the individual needs of the learners. HMIE
suggest that schools need to develop flexibility further to enhance what, when and how
education is delivered.
There is a need for more accurate data collection
There seemed to be a lack of systematic evaluation of intervention strategies across schools.
Some did refer to the use of attendance, attainment and destination figures, though the lack
of detail did not permit causal links to be established. This is a shortfall that is recognised by
Malcolm et al. (2003) who found that although schools were using a wide range of strategies,
they needed to develop more rigorous systems to demonstrate their effectiveness.
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Ofsted (2008) found that monitoring was one of the key characteristics of secondary schools
demonstrating good practice in re-engaging disaffected students. Schools used a variety of
both quantitative and qualitative measures. Attainment and attendance data was checked
regularly and the views of parents, carers and pupils were gathered. Other indicators were
also used such as the reduction in referrals, detentions and exclusions and the number of
school leavers in education, employment or training. It is apparent that schools need to
consider how to improve their systems for measuring impact and effectiveness of
intervention strategies, taking into account the views of young people and their parents or
carers. EPs are well placed to support schools with this. Improved systems of evaluation
would also help develop an evidence base for sharing good practice across schools and
authorities.
Methodological considerations
A number of methodological considerations have inevitably impacted on the conclusions of
this study. It is notable that schools reported that they currently support pupils with
attendance difficulties well. These findings may reflect the self-selecting nature of the
sample, in that those with greater confidence in the support strategies they have adopted
may have felt more able to respond. However, five of the schools had attendance rates
under 90%, suggesting a need for greater guidance and clarity at an authority level about
expectations for attendance within secondary schools.
Whilst it was helpful to provide categories for the profiling exercise to ensure a wide range of
responses, this has influenced the data gathered. In a sense it also treats the risk factors as
discrete and as such it does not acknowledge the complex, multi-causal nature of nonattendance.
It would have been better to ask participants to rate their responses to gather
information about the risk factors they view as the most important overall.
The use of a questionnaire was considered the most appropriate means of data gathering
from schools, owing to time constraints and staff availability. It was unfortunate that piloting
of the questionnaire was not possible. For the questionnaire design, open ended questions
were used to avoid restricting responses. However, whilst we hoped this would lead to richer
data, a number of schools had commented on time pressure for completing the questionnaire
and often responses were brief or bullet pointed. When asked about the opportunities
presented by Curriculum for Excellence, responses often included key words or phrases
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such as. ‘personal choice’, ‘relevance’, ‘health and well-being’. However, there was a lack of
detail about how these issues were being progressed. This may reflect the fact that schools
are still at an early stage of implementing CfE. If there had been time, it would have been
helpful to conduct follow up focus groups or interviews to explore emerging themes. A further
consideration is that the questionnaire was completed by staff with a responsibility and
overview of pupil support, but may not reflect the views of the wider staff population.
Fife Council
Methodology
A questionnaire survey was considered to be the most feasible and effective way of
collecting feedback from the 19 secondary schools in the local authority. This involved a
three page questionnaire (appendix 5) seeking to elicit feedback in the following areas:
• Data collection and monitoring practices
• School perceptions of the reasons for attendance issues
• Current supports and interventions, including their perceived impact
• Barriers to meeting the needs of pupils with attendance issues more effectively
• Opportunities presented by a curriculum for excellence
• Effectiveness of approved flexible packages in supporting pupils with attendance
issues
The questionnaire was circulated to all 19 secondary schools electronically with the request
that it be completed by a member of the senior management team with responsibility for pupil
support and/or pupil attendance. Schools were also encouraged to complete and return the
questionnaire electronically.
Results
Each of the 19 secondary schools completed and returned the questionnaire representing a
100% response rate, although not every school provided a response to every question. The
quantitative and qualitative data contained in the returns was analysed using basic statistical
methods and content analysis to highlight key themes.
Data collection and monitoring
All 19 schools collated data on pupil attendance for all year groups using an IT based
system. This data confirmed the national trend of pupil attendance reducing at each stage
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etween S1-S3. However, the vast majority of schools (17/19) reported that pupil attendance
actually increased from S3 to S4.
The thresholds at which schools would formally respond to attendance issues demonstrated
a relative lack of consistency in practice. Most schools action some form of initial response
(e.g. phone call / letter home) after 1 to 3 days absence. The threshold at which more formal
responses would be triggered (e.g. closer monitoring, meeting with pupil/parent, referral to
School Liaison Group etc.) varied between 90% – 70% attendance.
The majority of schools (17/19) monitor attendance via their School Liaison Group (regular
multi-agency meeting), however this tends to be on an ad hoc individual case basis, with a
only a minority of schools reviewing attendance as a theme on a more systematic basis (e.g.
monthly, once a term, or once per school session).
Criteria for deciding which pupils considered to have attendance issues to discuss at
respective SLGs varied between schools, although the following common factors were widely
referenced:
• Case dependent (Guidance teacher decision)
• Attendance dropping below a set threshold (e.g. 80%)
• Care and welfare / child protection concerns
• Looked After Child status
• Known family history of poor attendance
What are the reasons for attendance difficulties?
School responses indicated a range of factors that they attribute attendance issues. Those
attributions that were referenced by 25% or more (at least 5/19) schools are as follows:
• Parents (collusion/lack of control) 18 (of 19 schools)
• Emotional difficulties 16
• Social / peer difficulties 13
• Physical illness 13
• Care and welfare 13
• Lack of interest in the curriculum 11
• Difficulty following school rules and expectations 11
• Difficulties accessing the curriculum 5
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It is acknowledged that the factors highlighted above are often likely to be interactive rather
than discretely causal. The majority of attributions made by schools are at the level of the
individual and/or family rather than those which are school based. This reinforces previous
research findings that schools are more likely to attribute attendance issues to factors outwith
their domain influence.
How do schools currently support young people with attendance difficulties, and what
works?
Schools currently offer a wide range of supports to pupils and families for whom school
attendance is an issue. These supports and interventions can broadly be split by those which
are internal to the school and those which are external to the school, and are presented
under the following sections in order of frequency in which they were referenced
Within school supports
The within school supports offered to pupils and families included:
• Pastoral support (Guidance/Pupil support) 16 (of 19 schools)
• Home School Link Officer 10
• Flexible curricular options 6
• Approved flexible packages 6
• Celebrating/rewarding positive attendance 4
• Home tuition 4
• Senior Management Team / Year Head 3
• School counsellor 2
• Attendance committee 2
• Targeted small group work 1
External to school supports
A range of supports from partner agencies are accessed for pupils and families as deemed
appropriate, including input from:
• Educational Psychology 11 (of 19 schools)
• School Nurse 7
• Integrated Community Schools 7
• Social Work 6
• Allied Health Professionals 4
• Behaviour Support Service 3
115

• Skills Development Scotland 1
• Community Education 1
• Community Learning and Development 1
• Joint Action Team (strategic multi-agency group) 1
Of the above supports identified by schools they report that the effectiveness of any type of
intervention is dependent on the presenting needs in each situation, as such they did not
identify specific supports that always worked. The common thread for any support to work
seemed to be the quality of relationship and engagement any professional has with the pupil
/ parent concerned.
How could support in schools be improved?
In response to the question ‘do you feel that, as a school, you meet the needs of pupils with
attendance difficulties effectively?’, almost three quarters (14/19) of schools responded that
they ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’, with only one school reflecting that they did not meet the
needs of these pupils (the others responded that they ‘didn’t know’ whether they met their
needs).
In response to the question ‘what else could you do as a school to meet their needs more
effectively?’ the school responses highlighted a number of areas for potential action, as
follows:
• More effective monitoring systems 13 (of 19 schools)
(inc. IT system, early warning alert, staff/pupil contact)
• More effective partnership working to support YP/families 6
• More relevance/choice/flexibility in the curriculum 6
• More effective partnerships with parents 4
• Earlier intervention 4
In response to the question ‘what are the barriers to you meeting the needs of these pupils
more effectively?’ schools identified a range of barriers they perceived to be preventing them
from having a positive impact on pupil attendance. The most frequently recurring themes
were:
116

• Lack of Home School Link Officer time allocation 9 (of 19 schools)
• Lack of parental co-operation/engagement 8
• Lack of meaningful consequences for pupils/parents 8
• Time and resources 6
• Lack of alternative educational options 4
• Ineffective multi-agency working 3
What opportunities does A Curriculum for Excellence offer?
In response to the question ‘Do you think Curriculum for Excellence provides opportunities to
meet the needs of pupils with attendance difficulties more effectively?’ 10 out of 18 schools
stated that they either agreed or strongly agreed that Curriculum for Excellence does provide
potential opportunities to meet needs more effectively. Their reasons for this were very much
in line with the principles and language of Curriculum for Excellence, in that they felt the
curriculum would offer ‘More relevance, choice, personalisation, creativity, flexibility, support
and fun’ through offering access to courses that are more tailored to specific groups needs
e.g. personal and life skills focus, vocational learning / skills for work. Those who responded
positively about the options Curriculum for Excellence will offer felt that as a result of the
above factors there would be enhanced engagement, motivation and attendance from more
pupils, in particular those who become switched off and disengaged from the traditionally
academic focus of the current curriculum on offer in most secondary schools.
The majority of the remaining respondents (7/18) reported that they ‘didn’t know’ whether
CfE represented opportunities to meet needs more effectively as it was too early to tell, and
there is a lack of clarity around how it will impact on secondary schools. The remaining
respondent felt that their school was already very creative at meeting the needs of pupils with
attendance issues, and that CfE will not necessarily offer scope for additional flexibility or
change.
Approved flexible packages
In response to the growing awareness that traditional full-time education programmes in
mainstream school environments does not always meet the needs of pupils, and that a more
flexible approach may be in their best interests, Fife Council Education Service developed
guidance for schools on Approved Flexible Packages (AFPs). The guidance complements
the development of flexible approaches as a feature of options available for pupils within
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mainstream schools, including flexible curricular approaches within traditional subject areas,
and in extending activities beyond the school towards personal, social, vocational and life
skills. Such personalised packages aim to support successful achievement for pupils by
using experiences outwith the normal timetable and sometimes, outwith the school campus.
The circumstances where an approved flexible package may be considered include:
• Where the pupil has experienced ongoing difficulties with the standard curriculum
• Where there is a likelihood of interrupted attendance for whatever reason
• Where school attendance has proved difficult despite intervention and support from Pupil
Support services and other supports/interventions
In response to the question ‘Do you feel that approved flexible packages are effective at
supporting pupils with attendance difficulties?’, the vast majority of schools (17/19) agreed
that AFPs did enable them to better meet the needs of some pupils/families through allowing
for a more pupil/family centred approach that enhanced relationships and is relevant to
individual needs and circumstances. Schools identified the key outcome indicators of AFP
effectiveness as:
• Increased attendance, including reductions in both part and full-day truancies
• Increased confidence, motivation and engagement
• Improved achievements and attainment
Some concern was identified by schools regarding the limited access to appropriate
alternatives to school based education to ensure that pupils continue to receive a
comprehensive educational programme. It was also acknowledged that one of the risks of
providing guidance on AFPs is that in some circumstances it may be used to legitimise nonattendance
at school without an appropriate alternative educational package being in place.
As such, the importance of monitoring and evaluating the usage and effectiveness of AFPs
by all schools is a key element of the guidance.
Discussion
The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 states that: “It shall be the duty of the parent of every
child of school age to provide efficient education for him suitable to his age, ability and
aptitude either by causing him to attend a public school regularly or by other means.”
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This duty is most often met through enrolment within local authority education service
schools. As such, the duty outlined in the legislation could be considered to create the very
issue we are trying to solve. Within the context of this study it is also important that we reflect
upon the aims and purposes of our education system, and whether what is currently on offer
in our schools reasonably meets the needs of all our children and young people, particularly
those who present with attendance issues.
The secondary school system in Scotland is historical, with timetables that are notoriously
resistant to flexibility and change. However, over the last decade there have been ongoing
developments in course choices, newly established links with partner agencies (including the
FE sector), and an emerging appreciation that we have a growing population of pupils for
whom traditional school subjects, environments, and teaching approaches do not meet their
needs. Such changes have emerged within a national policy and legislation framework (e.g.
The Children’s (Scotland) Act 1995, ASL Act (2004), CfE, MCMC, GIRFEC) that aims to
respond to and provide for the increasingly wide ranging needs of our young people and
families.
The findings of this survey highlight that secondary schools do continue to recognise pupil
attendance as an issue of concern which consumes a significant amount of time, effort and
resources with limited gains.
The perceptions of why pupil attendance reduces were relatively consistent across the
schools that responded in this survey, and can broadly be attributed to the following
categories in order:
• it’s the parents fault (lack of authority, compliance, engagement, commitment)
• there’s something wrong with the pupil (physical, emotional, social, and/or learning
difficulties)
• what schools offer isn’t meet all pupils’ needs (curriculum, rules & expectations,
available support)
Monitoring attendance and responding to concerns
Whilst each school records attendance data there was significant variance in when and how
they respond to issues of non-attendance. Some schools indicated that they made a clear
response/intervention after one day of unexplained absence, with others not making a formal
response/intervention until attendance dropped by a relatively significant amount, on
119

occasion down to 70%). There was also wide variation in the range of responses /
interventions carried out by schools, outlined above as internal and external supports. With
respect to the variety of practice described it would appear that secondary schools would
benefit from working within a clear and coherent policy context with practice guidelines
offering a framework within a model of staged intervention for managing and responding to
attendance issues. This should then enable schools to develop consistent practice and
ensure that responses for pupils and families are both appropriate and proportionate to their
respective needs. Within a model of staged intervention there would assessment led
signposts prompting specific courses of action dependent on the presenting needs, including
joint working with pupils, parents and partner agencies as and when deemed appropriate.
Improvements in practice
Within the responses received there was incongruence between schools reporting that they
met the needs of pupils with attendance issues effectively (14/19 or 74% of schools) whilst
also identifying a number of areas where they recognised barriers preventing progress, and
also areas where they need to adapt their own practice. The key barriers highlighted were;
lack of resources, parental attitudes, lack of consequences for pupils/parents, and the need
for a wider range of educational options for some pupils.
Within a climate of efficiency savings across local authorities there is a growing need for
services to rationalise and prioritise supports and interventions through more effective
working practices. In achieving this it is imperative that schools (and partners) are clearer
about where and when to deploy resources to pupils/families through intelligence led
assessment of need within a model of staged intervention (as indicated above).
A consistent theme emerged regarding the perception that schools lacked access to real and
meaningful consequences for pupils/parents who choose not to attend or engage with school
in a productive manner (e.g. those whose main reason for not attending is personal choice).
The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 outlines measures that local authorities can apply to
parents (including attendance orders, referral to justice services etc.), and such options have
been applied more systematically in England and Wales over the past decade with no overall
improvement in school attendance. It may be that clear guidance within an attendance policy
for schools regarding staged approaches to support pupils and parents to recognise their
responsibilities (e.g. local school/area attendance committee) may support schools to feel
120

that there are clearer measures at their disposal. However, for those pupils and families
considered to be vulnerable or at risk it would also be vital to have clarity regarding when to
engage with Social Work and/or refer to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
(SCRA) for further support.
The challenge of adequately providing for the needs of all pupils is one that a comprehensive
education system is required to meet. Secondary schools face competing demands from a
range of stakeholders with regard to improving attainment, enhancing inclusive practices,
improving attendance and reducing exclusions, amongst others. In striving to offer
educational experiences that meet the needs of those pupils who find regular attendance at
school difficult to achieve there may be a need to reflect upon the current restrictions of the
school timetable, in particular the locations and courses on offer. In achieving this more
effective and wide ranging involvement from partner agencies to support the development of
alternative / flexible learning packages is an area that could be further explored and
developed.
A Curriculum for Excellence is considered to offer secondary schools opportunities to move
away from the restrictions of the traditional timetable to provide pupils with educational
experiences that are more aligned to their interests and needs. Such principles are
undoubtedly at the centre of Curriculum for Excellence, with the key challenge perhaps being
how secondary schools embrace the changes that need to take place to enable a broader
more encompassing curriculum that is considered more meaningful and engaging,
particularly for those pupils who continue to vote with their feet.
Approved Flexible Packages
A recent development in Fife Education Service has been the introduction of policy and
guidance on ‘Approved Flexible Packages’ (AFPs) which has been received very positively
by all of the secondary schools (the criteria for AFPs has been outlined in the introduction
section of this chapter). The aim of this policy is to provide schools, pupils and parents with
the opportunity to be creative in meeting the needs of pupils for whom full-time school based
education is not considered to be in their interests, which may be for a wide range of reasons
(e.g. enduring poor health, complex family circumstances, chronic disengagement from
school etc.). It is recognised that there are particular challenges in developing alternative
education packages for young people, especially in a time of economic recession and the
121

subsequent impact on all services, however positive examples of individual support
packages which involve pupils, parents and partner agencies in facilitating schools to provide
relevant and meaningful education programmes are emerging. With the clearly defined
criteria, in addition to quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that AFPs are not used by
schools inappropriately as a means of legitimising non-attendance, this approach would
seem to offer scope to ensure that interventions for pupils with attendance issues (and their
family) are proportionate and respectful of individual circumstances and needs.
So where do we go from here?
It may be naively optimistic to think that we can effect enough change to what is currently on
offer through our secondary schools to engage all young people in formal education.
However, there would seem to be some fairly clear steps that can be taken with the aim of
reducing the perceived problem of non-attendance at secondary school that would then
enable the more appropriate targeting of resources towards those whose needs are most
pervasive and/or resistant to the routine measures that are applied. As indicated previously,
there is no clear blueprint to eradicate attendance issues; however there are adaptations to
current practice that may enable us to have a positive impact on school attendance.
We have also established that secondary schools are likely to attribute attendance issues to
factors out-with their domain, whilst recognising that there are also areas in which they can
improve both systemic and operational aspects of practice within their own organisations.
Below is a summary of potential implications.
If it is the parents fault, what can we do?
• better partnership working between home and school, especially in situations
where there is a family history or awareness that parents don’t value education
highly
• intervention at the earliest indicator of attendance dropping
• better co-ordinated and targeted support involving partner agencies
If there is something wrong with the pupil, what can we do?
• make sure that their needs are appropriately assessed by the relevant
professional/agency
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• make sure that assessment information is used to inform relevant support
packages/interventions
• make sure that the pupil (and family) feel fully involved in the process of clarifying
their needs and relevant supports
If schools aren’t meeting the needs of all pupils, what can we do?
• offer a more relevant curriculum, and learning opportunities & experiences
• offer experiences that are more in line with pupils’ interests and needs
• be more creative in how resources are deployed, and make more effective links
and working agreements with partner agencies who can support the educational
experiences (in its broadest sense) for young people
• recognise there are situations in which full-time education within a school context
is not appropriate for some pupils, and allow for approved flexible packages to
meet respective needs
So, what is needed?
• Education Service attendance policy with good practice guidance that outlines a
coherent model of staged intervention for schools, and partner agencies, to work
within
• schools with an ethos and culture that is non-threatening and welcoming for all
pupils and parents
• efforts to make effective partnerships with pupils and parents to ensure they feel
valued
• choice, relevance and personalisation in the educational experiences and
opportunities on offer
• effective recording and monitoring systems to enable early identification of
emerging attendance issues, followed by timely and proportionate responses
• interventions informed by intelligence led assessment
• multi-agency involvement as and when appropriate, informed by intelligence led
assessment
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Conclusion
“For every child to achieve their potential, all schools must consider each pupil’s positive
engagement with learning and their level of involvement in the school community. The
Scottish policy context allows greater flexibility for professionals to develop creative
approaches to enthusing and engaging learners, and for developing effective responses to
the support needs of their pupils.” (Scottish Government 2007, page 3)
The changing policy context within Scotland is a chance to reconsider secondary education.
It presents an opportunity for greater flexibility and challenges schools to think creatively
about how they can engage and motivate all learners. Involving young people and valuing
their views is essential to ensure learning experiences are relevant and meet their needs.
For young people with attendance difficulties, there is also a need to look beyond the school
curriculum. The principles and values that underpin GIRFEC, the need for early identification,
collaborative multi-agency working and to engage young people and their families, are key to
providing effective support and ensuring positive outcomes.
Within this framework of changing culture and developing practice, secondary schools and
their partner agencies need to seize the opportunity to work together to support the well
being of all young people and enable them to develop the four capacities.
124

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Appendix 1: Copy of Questionnaire
School:
Contact:
City of Edinburgh Council
Psychological Services
Supporting young people with attendance problems
Please list under the following headings the factors that contribute to attendance
difficulties in your school?
loss and change
e.g. bereavement
family dynamics
e.g. young carers
curriculum/learning
e.g. learning needs
curricular flexibility
psychological/wellbeing
e.g. anxiety
social/personal
e.g. bullying
Other
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What within school/external supports are there for this population?
Title Brief description of
aims and content
Title Brief description of
aims and content
Within school supports
Target population Duration How is it evaluated?
External supports
Target population Duration How is it evaluated?
130

Of the supports you have already identified, which do you consider make the most
difference and why?
Support Why does this make a difference?
How well do you think your school currently supports pupils whose attendance is
problematic. Please underline a number on the scale below:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Unsatisfactory Excellent
How do you think you could do this better?
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Please give an example of a case where things improved and describe what
happened.
What opportunities do you think a Curriculum for Excellence will provide for
supporting this population?
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire
132

Appendix 2: Reasons for attendance difficulties
LOSS AND CHANGE
Family breakdown- separation/ divorce
Transition - change of house or school
Bereavement – death of family member, close
friend or pet
Change in key relationships
Moveable populations – army and travelling
families
Health
LAC/ Care placements
FAMILY DYNAMICS
Family values and attitude -
Family history of non-attendance
Family breakdown – separation/ divorce
Health issues – physical and mental
Lack of support from families – parenting,
collusion
Substance misuse
Complex/ chaotic home circumstances
Financial constraints
Young carers
Looked After
Issues around Work – change of job or working
hours, shift, unemployment
Younger siblings/ new baby at home
CURRICULUM/LEARNING ISSUES
Curriculum flexibility – access to appropriate
learning opportunities
Learning Difficulties
Exam or test pressure and stress
Lack of motivation and engagement with
learning
Expectations
Not living up to expectations, lack of expectation
Relationships with teaching staff
Specific Subject issues – issues with PE
Missed learning opportunities/ gaps in learning
133
Frequency
15
14
12
7
8
3
3
Frequency
19
15
14
13
7
6
6
5
5
4
3
Frequency
11
10
8
7
6
6
4
3

SOCIAL/PERSONAL
Peer relationships
Bullying
Peer pressure
Offending behaviour
Family Conflicts
Self esteem/ confidence
Frequency
PSYCHOLOGICAL/WELL-BEING Frequency
Mental Health issues (Paranoia, OCD, eating
disorders)
15
Medical/ health issues 15
Self Confidence/ Self-esteem 9
Phobia/ anxiety 8
Family Health 8
Poor self-image 6
Stress 5
Depression 3
OTHER ISSUES Frequency
Travel – transport to school, travel cost,
distance to travel
6
Community issues 4
Domestic violence 3
Transition to secondary school 3
Social isolation 2
Family member in prison 2
Young mum 2
English as an additional language 2
Family Holidays 2
Homework 2
134
11
10
7
4
3
3

Appendix 3
Within school and external supports
Within school supports Frequency External supports Frequency
Attendance/monitoring sheets 9 Education Welfare Officer 9
Pupil Support Base 9 Early Intervention Team 8
Support for pupils 7 Medical services 8
Pupil Support Groups 7 Educational Psychologist 5
Flexible timetables 7 Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Services
5
Communication with parents 7 Caledonian Youth Project 5
Group work 7 Hospital and Outreach
Teaching Services
4
Education Welfare Officers 6 Social Work 4
Staff support (i.e. class teacher) 6 Community Learning and 4
Development staff
Individual support 3 College/work placement 4
Personal and Social Education 3 Police 3
Support for Learning 3 Alternative school provision 3
Other: Incentives, Area

Appendix 4: Profile of attendance difficulties
This form has adapted from West Sussex County Council EPS
(Emmerson, P., Cains, R., Savage, R., Smith, S., Tikly, R., Woodhouse, L. (2004) Emotionally Based
School Refusal: Guidance for Schools and Support Agencies. West Sussex County Council)
Risk Factors
LOSS AND CHANGE
Family breakdown- separation/ divorce
Transition - change of house or school
Bereavement – death of family member,
close friend or pet
Change in key relationships
Moveable populations – army and
traveller families
Health needs
Note on key items:
FAMILY DYNAMICS
Family values and attitude -
Family history of non-attendance
Family breakdown – separation/ divorce
Family health issues
Lack of support from families –
parenting, collusion
Substance misuse
Complex/ chaotic home circumstances
Financial constraints
Young carers
Looked After/ care placements
Issues around Work – change of job or
working hours, shift, unemployment
Younger siblings/ new baby at home
Notes on key issues:
High Medium Low Not an
issue
High Medium Low Not an
issue
136
Not
Known
Not
Known

CURRICULUM/LEARNING ISSUES
Curriculum flexibility – access to
appropriate learning opportunities
Learning Difficulties
Exam or test pressure and stress
Lack of motivation and engagement
with learning
Expectations
Not living up to expectations, lack of
expectation
Relationships with teaching staff
Specific Subject issues – issues with
PE
Missed learning opportunities/ gaps in
learning
Homework
Notes on key issues:
High Medium Low Not an
issue
SOCIAL/PERSONAL
Peer relationships
High Medium Low Not an
issue
Bullying
Peer pressure
Offending behaviour
Family/ Community Conflict
Notes on key issues
137
Not
Known
Not
Known

PSYCHOLOGICAL/
WELL-BEING
Mental Health issues – phobia, anxiety,
depression
Medical/ health issues
Self Confidence/ Self-esteem
Poor self-image
Stress
Notes on key issues:
OTHER ISSUES
Travel – transport to school, travel cost,
distance to travel
Community issues
Transition to secondary school
Family Holidays
English as an additional language
Notes on key issues:
High Medium Low Not an
issue
High Medium Low Not an
issue
138
Not
Known
Not
Known

PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Key relationships
Family Support
Subject interests
Out of school activities and
interests
Personal strengths/ skills
Peer Group
Future Goals
Other
139
Notes on key issues

Appendix 5
Survey of pupil attendance at Secondary School
This questionnaire aims to explore issues of data collation and monitoring, reasons
for non-attendance, and effective supports and interventions for pupils with school
attendance difficulties.
[1] Collecting Data
What was the attendance rate (%) for all pupils at your school in session 08/09
Overall attendance (%) Authorised absences (%) Unauthorised absences (%)
What was the attendance rate (%) for each year group at your school in session 08/09
S1
S2…etc
Overall attendance (%)
[2] Monitoring Data
Authorised absences (%) Unauthorised absences (%)
Do you have specific trigger points and actions regarding attendance difficulties?
(e.g. Contact with parents, HSLO input, referral to SLG, referral to other agencies etc.)
TRIGGER POINT ACTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Does the School Liaison Group monitor pupil attendance on a regular basis?
(please circle one answer) YES / NO
If YES:
• How often does the SLG monitor and discuss pupil attendance as a theme?
(e.g. every meeting, once a month, once a term, once a session)
• What criteria do you use for deciding which pupils with attendance difficulties to refer to the
SLG? (e.g. attendance falling below a certain % level; sudden drop in attendance; care and welfare
concerns; interventions not having an positive impact etc.)
Please list
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[3] Reasons for non-attendance
What are the key factors that contribute to attendance difficulties in your school?
Contributing Factors Yes, an issue amongst our pupils
Lack of interest in the curriculum
Difficulties accessing the curriculum
Social / peer difficulties
Physical Illness
Care and Welfare issues
Emotional difficulties
Difficulty following school rules & expectations
Authorised absence/Parental Collusion
Other...
[4] Supports and Interventions
With regard to the factors outlined above, what Internal school supports (guidance, support base,
HSLO, alternative/flexible curriculum options etc.) and External supports (EP, ICS, SW, School
Nurse, other...) does your school offer pupils with attendance difficulties?
Internal and External Supports (please indicate whether ‘I’ or ‘E’)
Title/Heading Brief description of Criteria for Duration How is the impact evaluated?
aims and content accessing
support
[5] Impact of interventions
Of the supports identified above (internal and external to school) which do you feel has the greatest
positive impact?
What works? How do you know? What could be Improved?
(e.g. positive impact on attendance, engagement,
achievement, attainment, post-school destination
etc.)
Do you feel that, as a School, you meet the needs of pupils with attendance difficulties effectively?
(please circle below)
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly disagree Disagree Don’t know Agree Strongly agree
141

What else could you do as a School to meet their needs more effectively?
(please list)
What are the barriers to you meeting the needs of these pupils more effectively?
(please list)
[6] Curricular / Structural Issues
Do you think Curriculum for Excellence provides opportunities to meet the needs of pupils with
attendance difficulties more effectively?
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly disagree Disagree Don’t know Agree Strongly agree
What are your reasons for this response?
Fife Education Service developed guidance on Approved Flexible Packages (SC NYP4) to
support pupils whose needs are such that they are deemed to require a part-time package of
school attendance
Do you feel that Approved Flexible Packages are effective at supporting pupils with attendance
difficulties?
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly disagree Disagree Don’t know Agree Strongly agree
What are your reasons for this response?
142

Summary Implications/Recommendations for Stakeholders
Supporting Non-attendees in Developing the Four
Capacities
PDP Group
No agency necessarily has a monopoly on solutions to school non-attendance, and often
multi-agency approaches can optimise resources and ideas in a given case. Some
implications and recommendations arising from the work of the PDP projects for Educational
Psychologists, schools, other stake holder agencies and Local Authorities are summarised in
this, the final chapter of the volume. Readers interested in the problem of school nonattendance,
are recommended to also take into account recent important publications i.e.
Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and Included,
Engaged, Involved.
Implications for schools
There should be a clear policy for dealing with non attendance set within a staged
intervention model. This would incorporate the following:
• Early identification of pupils at risk of attendance difficulties
‐ review and enhance monitoring systems that identify young people at risk of
attendance difficulties
‐ using data gathered to inform intervention planning at both an individual and
school level
‐ detailed information about potential at-risk non-attendees at the critical primary /
secondary transition stage should be shared with the receiving school
‐ facilitating ‘pupil voice: seen and heard
• Engaging parents/carers
- reviewing and evaluating communication systems with regard to effective parental /
carer involvement
143

• Roles and responsibilities
- a whole school approach should be taken with regard to school attendance
- all staff should be aware of factors which are good practice e.g. greeting non
attendees on return to school with non judgemental statements
• Preventative strategies
‐ effective pastoral support systems that offer children and young people positive
experiences and outcomes:
anti-bullying policies
establishment of safe areas for use as havens
monitoring of areas known to be hot spots
secondary nurture groups based on whole-school nurture principles -
attachment, resilience and positive learning environments
Implications for Psychological Services
• review guidelines for EPs with reference to recent research evidence on attendance
and transition and support schools and Local Authorities in developing procedures
and implementation strategies
• offer training opportunities for school staff and other agencies on nurturing principles;
and best practice with regard to attendance and transition
• contribute service based expertise in on evidence based skills and knowledge of
effective approaches in multi-agency settings
Implications for Educational Psychologists
Within a Staged Intervention Model, Educational Psychologists can offer significant input and
support in the area of persistent non-attendance. Input via the five core Currie functions of
Educational Psychologists in Scotland can be at an individual, whole school or authority level
through. An example for each core function follows but more detailed
144

1. Consultation
Provide advice to schools and individuals on assessment and preventative approaches,
focusing on identifying and minimising possible school-based barriers.
2. Training
Provide training opportunities for school staff on preventative approaches such as:
• Kearney’s functional approach
• nurturing principles
• attachment
• resilience
• positive learning environments
3. Research
Educational Psychologist’s may be commissioned in support schools to evaluate their
preventative strategies to ascertain the impact of interventions. This should include the
systematic collation and gathering of data including the CfE ‘Child Voice: Seen and Heard’,
ascertaining young people’s views as to their progress.
4. Assessment
At the appropriate level of staged intervention, educational psychologists can be involved in
assessment and should ascertain:
• whether the non-attendance behaviour is symptomatic the primary problem
• whether the non-attendance is subsidiary to another problem e.g. anxiety disorder,
depression, learning difficulty
• whether there are any complicating medical conditions giving rise to additional
support needs and extent to which they are currently met
• implications for intervention
5. Interventions
Educational Psychologists can provide direct intervention at Stage 3 and Stage 4 of the
staged intervention model by developing a programme of intervention for each individual
based on their particular needs whilst using a multi-systemic approach i.e. involving the
school, parents/carers, other agencies and the Educational Psychologist, in responding to
the problem.
145

Implications for other agencies
Other agencies should be aware of education policies with regard to non attendance.
Agencies should be able to delineate clear roles and responsibilities for their workers in this
area.
Implications for Local Authorities
• consider how to disseminate best practice and recent research findings
• consider how schools may be supported in developing preventative approaches and
support longitudinal research into preventative approaches that evidence longer term
outcomes
• develop training courses which encourage multi agency work in this area
• staff development for support workers such as Education Liaison Officers / Education
Welfare Officers
• continue to evolve policies which promotes the four CfE capacities at secondary
stage for those at risk of attendance problems at transition
• pilot the inclusion secondary nurture groups in line with exemplars of good practice
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List of PDP Participants
Bill Allison
(Senior PDP
Coordinator)
West Dunbartonshire
Psychological
Service
Gillian Dury East Dunbartonshire
Psychological
Service
Morven Graham Glasgow, West Area
Psychological
Service
Wendy Inch Edinburgh City
Psychological
Service
Charlotte Kidd
East Dunbartonshire
Psychological
Service
Kirsty Mackay Edinburgh City
Psychological
Service
Gail McDonald
Malcolm McGovern
Inverclyde
Psychological
Service
Fife Psychological
Service
147
Carleith School
Stark Ave
Clydebank
G81 6EF
01389-800491
Gartconnor School
Gartshore Road
Kirkintilloch
G66 3TH
0141-776-2966
Anderson Primary
3 Port Street
Glasgow
G3 8EY
Chesser House
500 Gorgie Road
Edinburgh
EH11 3YJ
0131-469-2800
Gartconnor School
Gartshore Road
Kirkintilloch
G66 3TH
0141-776-2966
Chesser House
500 Gorgie Road
Edinburgh
EH11 3YJ
0131-469-2800
Highholm Centre
Highholm Avenue
Port Glasgow
PA14 5JN
01475-715430
13 Abbey Park Place
Dunfermline
KY12 7PT
01383- 602514

Gary McIlree
West Dunbartonshire
Psychological
Service
Maureen Myant Glasgow, South East
Area Psychological
Service
148
Carleith School
Stark Ave
Clydebank
G81 6EF
01389-800491
Battlefield Primary
Carmichael Place
Glasgow
G42 9SY
0141-632-0638