Understand your responsibilities...
You should work alongside families to make sure that pupils who experience normal (but difficult) emotions that make them nervous about attending school still attend.
This is explained in paragraphs 53 and 54 of the DfE's working together to improve school attendance, which applies from 19 August 2024 as statutory guidance.
The usual processes for supporting a pupil with attendance include:
- Understanding the individual needs of the pupil and family
- Working in partnership with the pupil, their family and the local authority (LA), and other agencies (where appropriate)
- Regularly reviewing and updating the support approach
However, pupils with long-term mental-health challenges can often have far more complex barriers to attendance, and you may need to provide additional support.
Provide specific pastoral support from a named member of staff, such as a head of year or form tutor, to help improve attendance while supporting the underlying health issue Consider adapting practice and
