Dumfries and Galloway encourages schools to take a proactive approach to attendance.  It is however essential that the focus should be on a child or young person’s level of resilience and risk not simply the attendance percentage when making a professional judgement in relation to supporting attendance.

Resilience and risk are crucial factors when addressing attendance in schools, both play a significant role in understanding and mitigating the underlying issues that contribute to absenteeism.  Resilience and risk considerations provide a more comprehensive understanding of an individual student’s situation. It goes beyond the surface level of absenteeism and delves into the root causes, allowing for a more nuanced and effective intervention approach.

Resilience

Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to respond and recover from challenges and adversity.  Developing children and young people’s resilience, supports the better manage various stressors that may lead to negative attendance.

Children and young people facing difficulties at home or in their personal lives may struggle with attendance.  Developing resilience can enhance emotional wellbeing, enabling pupils to effectively navigate these challenges and remain engaged in their education.

Schools are encouraged in Dumfries and Galloway to promote a culture of resilience, contributing to a positive learning environment and effectively supporting pupils’ wellbeing.

Risk

Assessing risk involved identifying factors that may make children and young people more susceptible to negative attendance.  These could include socio-economic issues, mental health challenges, bullying or academic challenges.  A school’s ability to accurate identify these risks and effectively implement targeted interventions is essential.

Understanding and assessing risk factors enables early intervention, allowing staff to implement preventative measures and interventions.  This proactive approach can prevent escalation, therefore reducing the likelihood of chronic absenteeism.  Schools can develop policies and strategies informed by an understanding of the risks contributing to negative attendance. This ensures that interventions are targeted and resources are allocated effectively.

Schools should be closely and regularly monitoring the attendance and punctuality of all pupils. Parents/carers should be kept informed with levels of attendance through the school’s tracking and monitoring system for attendance and advised when attendance has fallen below the threshold set by Dumfries and Galloway.

Where written communication is used, contact details should be provided for a member of staff who can support the pupil and parent/carer to improve attendance, as well as signposts to other supports that are available. For care experienced children and young people, their social workers should be copied into all communication.