Support First Approach

The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the Support First approach to school attendance in Norfolk. The Working Together to Improve School Attendance 2024 statutory guidance states:

"Good attendance starts with close and productive relationships with parents and pupils. Schools should treat all pupils and parents with dignity and staff should model respectful relationships to build a positive relationship between home and school that can be the foundation of good attendance. In working in partnership with parents, schools should discuss the link between attendance and attainment and wider wellbeing, and challenge parents' views where they have misconceptions about what 'good' attendance looks like. Where a pupil or family needs support with attendance, it is important that the best placed person in the school works alongside and supports the family and wherever possible the person should be kept consistent."

The Support First approach replaces the Fast Track process in Norfolk and highlights the need for all possible supportive practices to be exhausted prior to the consideration of any legal proceedings.

This approach reduces the need for legal enforcement by taking a supportive approach to tackling the barriers to attendance, and intervening early before absence becomes entrenched. 

The Support First Approach encompasses the following key elements:

• Engagement
• Communication
• Support

A requirement for all schools as outlined in Working Together to Improve School Attendance is to build strong relationships and work jointly with families, listening to and understanding barriers to attendance and working in partnership with families to remove them.

To access the training webinar for the Support First Approach, please visit our Training and webinars page.  You'll find this recording under 'Webinar recordings'.

We have developed a range of templates and resources to support schools with the Support First Approach these can be found within the Attendance forms and templates section. Please ensure that any templates and resources you use, even an adapted version, are reference in your school's attendance policy.

The first step in the Support First approach is successful parental engagement. This can be achieved in several ways, for example, by engaging parents through organising diverse activities. These could include parent-teacher conferences, workshops, open houses, and volunteering opportunities. By involving parents in different ways, schools can foster a sense of community and build strong relationships.

Schools should be flexible and creative in ways to encourage engagement from parents. If a parent does not respond or engage with a particular member of staff, the school should consider another professional who could be more successful. Sometimes relationships break down with a particular staff member and a fresh start is needed to get meaningful engagement and build relationships.  

Examples of encouraging engagement through communication

Research shows that parents tend to underestimate the total number of days their child has been absent. Parents cannot address problems if they do not realise that there is a problem. Therefore, schools need to ensure that they keep parents fully informed of their child's attendance at school and raise any attendance concerns in a timely manner.

People are more motivated to change their behaviour at milestones in time or in their lives, such as New Year, birthdays, or new school terms.

Communication with parents should be personalised, easy to understand, and show a way to move forward. Communication should capture parent's attention, motivate action and should demonstrate a supportive approach which is solution focussed.

Here are some examples of ways to engage parents through creative communication to ensure that they are fully informed of their child's current attendance.  

Example text message to send at the end of half term:

Good morning/afternoon, Pupil has missed X days of school this half term.  Please help pupil attend school regularly to give them the best possible chance of making progress.  The next half term is a fresh start and we would appreciate your help in improving pupil's attendance.

Example letter to send at the end of half term:

Dear Parent

Our records show that pupil is missing more school than their classmates.
 

This half term, pupil has missed X days of school.

 

When pupils miss school they fall behind and it can be hard to catch up.  You can have a big impact helping pupil to attend this year, giving them the best possible chance of making good progress.

The next half term is a fresh start and we would appreciate your help in improving pupil's attendance. 

Good communication between school and families is essential to build trust and understanding between all parties and plays a crucial role in children's success at school. All teaching and non-teaching staff should know the importance of good attendance and should be consistent in their communication with pupils and parents. Schools should establish the best way to communicate with families on an individual basis. Taking into consideration family circumstances such as their work commitments, caring responsibilities, mental and physical health.  

Methods of communication

• All methods of communication should be considered to successfully engage parents, and parental preference should be accommodated as far as possible, for example:
• Telephone appointments: consider timing, parents' credit, length of call.
• Virtual appointments: don't just assume parents have access to laptop/internet.
• In person appointments: consider caring responsibilities, transport availability and venue accessibility for those with mobility or health issues.
• Written communication: consideration needs to be given to literacy levels and potential language barriers. Engagement may be better if letters are in a language that is easily understood and would be recommended as good practice.

People are more motivated to change their behaviour at milestones in time or in their lives, such as New Year, birthdays, or new school terms. Communicating with parents at the end or start of each half term can be beneficial to motivate change.

Ensuring the method of communication is accessible and convenient helps to promote engagement and gives the Support First approach every chance of being successful.

Who should be included in school communication

All parents should be included in attendance correspondence.  Schools should investigate the family dynamics, understand who the child lives with, and whether there is a non-resident parent who should be included. Any adult who lives with and takes care of the child should be included. Parents who do not live with the pupil still retain the responsibility to ensure their child's regular attendance at school. Please note there will be occasions when it is necessary to check with your Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) whether inclusion of a non-resident parent is appropriate.

If the pupil has school age siblings, then contact should be made with their schools to ensure there is an effective joined up approach. Invite any other professionals working with the family and make additional referrals as necessary. By doing so the number of meetings that parents are invited to will be reduced and the information shared in meetings will be consistent.    

Further guidance and advice around communicating with families to support attendance can be found on the Toolkit for schools: communicating with families to support attendance.

First-day response to any absence

Any unexplained absence must be followed up on the same day to determine a reason for absence.  Schools must remain professionally curious and remember that they have the right to challenge absence as part of their duty of care for all pupils. When schools contact home, they should use this as an opportunity to get a better understanding of the wider picture and the circumstances which could be impacting the pupil and their attendance. The support first - absence call prompt sheet is a useful tool to aide schools in ensuring that they explore the reasons behind absence and can offer support at the earliest opportunity.

Best practice example of first-day response:

• School should contact the primary carer on the first day of absence and any subsequent day and ask the reason for absence (this could be done via telephone, text, e-mail, school app etc). If a response is not forthcoming, then schools should consider alternatives methods of contacting and not just solely rely on one method.
• When a reason for absence has been established this should be recorded on the attendance register notes.
• If school is unable to get in touch with the primary carer, they should ensure that all emergency contacts are used to identify the reason for absence. It is important that all contacts held our regularly updated.
• If no reason for absence has been identified, then home visits might be appropriate and should be considered on a case-by-case basis determined by the safeguarding risk. This should be discussed with the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). If a reason for absence has been shared, but school are unsure on the authenticity of the absence, a home visit should be considered. If school are concerned about the welfare or safety of a pupil, they should contact the Children's Advice and Duty Service  (CADS) immediately and share their concerns. 
• The person undertaking the home visit must understand the wider context in which the visit is being conducted and take the opportunity to discuss Wishes and Feelings and barriers to attendance. 

Meetings with parents

The Support First approach aims to successfully address attendance issues without the need for escalation. Each situation must be addressed on a case-by-case basis considering the pupil's and family's individual circumstances. The expectation is for a minimum of three meetings to take place with the family. However, a successful Support First approach may result in considerably more meetings being held, as plans are regularly reviewed and amended to reflect developments in the case.

We would recommend that schools contact parents fortnightly to discuss progress and to re offer support before the review meeting takes place. The primary principle of the Support First Approach is that when parents are engaging there should not be the need to escalate to legal intervention.

You should adapt and respond to the barriers highlighted to continue supporting an improvement in the pupils attendance.

Pupil's Voice (Wishes and Feelings)

Wishes and Feelings are a child centred tool that can be used by professionals to gain the pupils voice and to understand their perspective. The pupils voice must be central to all plans. It is an expectation that schools complete this as part of the Support First approach.

Best practice example for including the voice of the child:

• Work with the pupil to understand their views on why they are absent from school and what they feel would support them to attend school more regularly.
• School should also consider who is the best adult to work with the pupil e.g. a pastoral support worker, the pupil's favourite teacher, or someone that they trust and have a good relationship with.  
• Schools should be professionally curious and ask open questions. For example "talk to me about why you're finding it difficult to come into school at the moment" or "tell me why you're worried about coming in on Mondays". Avoid yes or no questions which shut down conversations and prevent us from understanding the child's lived experience.
• Explore factors at school and at home that could be contributing to absence patterns and discuss with the pupil.
• Compare the pupil's herringbone with their timetable and look for patterns of absence. Explore these with the pupil e.g. why is the pupil absent on a Friday when they have music? What might the pupil do on a Tuesday night that results in them being consistently late for school on a Wednesday? 
• The trusted adult should "check in" with the pupil regularly to continue to build a positive relationship and to ensure that the pupil is given opportunities to raise any concerns or worries. The onus is on the staff member to seek out the pupil and check how they're getting on, and to discuss any concerns they may have. Issues can then be addressed and supported as they arise. 

It is important that consideration is also given to the parent's voice and opinions as ultimately when they are fully engaged, and feel that they are meaningfully contributing, the outcomes are likely to be much more positive. Any plan that includes the parent's voice along with the pupil's wishes and feelings are far more likely to succeed.

Schools should be aware of barriers for parents that may impact on pupils' attendance and schools should sensitively address these with the parents and offer appropriate additional support through relevant agencies and services. Making referrals to wider support service where appropriate.   

• The Matthew Project and Change Grow Live for parental drug and alcohol misuse.
• The Salvation Army, local food banks - financial difficulties
• Leeway and Pandora Project for domestic abuse
• Rose Project for sexual abuse 
• Gingerbread for parental separation    
• Benjamin Foundation and YMCA for housing concerns  
• Solihull Approach for support with parental experience or parenting styles
• Nelson's Journey for bereavement
• Just One Norfolk for parenting support
• Kooth for wellbeing support
• MAP Norfolk for mental health support
• SENDIASS for advice and support for children with SEND
• Social Prescribing in Norfolk for support around services in the local community so that needs can be addressed in a holistic way
• Young Minds for mental health wellbeing support
• The Client Hardship Service (CHS) - Budgeting support and advice
• Mental health resources for children, students, parents, carers and school/college staff 

Additional help, advice and guidance can also be sought through Norfolk's Early Help team.

Examples of commonly identified barriers and reasonable adjustments that could be made to support attendance:

A Notice to Improve is a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve attendance before a referral for legal intervention is made to the Local Authority Attendance Team. If the national threshold (10 sessions of unauthorised absence within 10 school weeks) has been met but offers of support have not been engaged with by the parent or is not supporting an improvement in the pupil's attendance than a Notice to Improve should be issued to give parents a final chance to engage in support. This final warning will encompass a six-week period (30 school days) the notice will ensure that parents are aware of their legal responsibilities regarding ensuring their child's regular attendance at school.

During the notice period the pupil's attendance record should be reviewed daily and if there is further unauthorised absence recorded, consideration should be given as to whether a Legal Intervention referral should be submitted to the Attendance Team.

Schools are not required to wait until the 30 school days have passed before considering a referral - decisions will need to be taken on a case-by-case basis, based on the level of parental/pupil engagement and/or level of attendance improvement noted.

Sufficient improvement during the Notice to Improve validity period may include evidence of no further unauthorised absences within the improvement period or a sufficient amount of improvement tailored to the specific family circumstances.

Referrals for legal intervention should only be made once all avenues of support have been exhausted and parents are not engaging.