The Attendance Support Team received a referral from an alternative provision, for support with a Year 11 pupil. This pupil was classed as severely absent (less than 50% attendance) and there were concerns about the impact on their education and future outcomes. The Education Welfare Officer worked with the school, parent, and pupil to try and resolve the barriers to them attending, and a personal plan was produced with clear next steps for everyone involved. To devise this personal plan, the pupil was asked what they thought would support them to improve their attendance at school. The pupil felt able to express the difficulties they faced and was able to suggest some actions/ideas they could adopt to support their attendance. It was agreed which ideas could be tried and were added to the plan. The action plan was owned by the pupil, as much as everyone else who attended that meeting.
Between the initial meeting and the first review, the pupil managed to increase their attendance by 17.4%. It was recognised by a range of people at the school, that the pupil’s attitude had improved towards school, along with their school attendance and confidence. It was viewed that this positive change would continue through until their exams and enable them to attend their chosen college course.