Attendance Booster

The attendance booster package is designed to improve overall school attendance by working collaboratively with the attendance team within a school. The school health practitioner can facilitate early interventions and act as a catalyst for communication with pupils, parents/carers and the school to help break down resistance to improving and maintaining attendance. Working collaboratively with parents, liaison with the GP and other agencies where necessary additional health information can be obtained and explained. Introducing early intervention strategies which may reduce the possibility of problems becoming an established pattern of behaviour.

Home/school liaison

The School Health team can facilitate dialogue between pupils, parents, school and professionals and can encourage attendance through unbiased and non-judgemental support. By empowering parents through behaviour management support, improved attendance can be encouraged. Working one-to-one with pupils and by providing information the school health practitioner can promote healthy lifestyles and improve behaviour.

Issue identification

Home visiting to assist in the identification of other issues impacting on school attendance and identifying unauthorised and authorised absences can greatly affect accurate attendance-reporting. The school health practitioner can perform a medical history review and identify any behavioural issues that may be affecting attendance, signposting the pupil and family to other agencies where appropriate.

One-to-one medical absence referrals

By addressing medical needs to promote school attendance, the School Health team can support pupils with chronic or ongoing medical conditions. The school health practitioner can assist with health care planning and can provide a listening ear to alleviate anxieties by giving reassurance that a child with a medical condition will be safe in school.

Educational welfare and pastoral support

Emotional health support is intrinsic to good attendance and this forms a major part of the School Health+ service. Whilst helping schools to address non-productive issues such as bullying and by helping schools to provide an all-round support network for pupils an integrative approach to attendance can be achieved. The School Health team can facilitate parents’ groups and give extended pastoral and family support.

How to access School Health+

The School Health+ team will conduct a needs assessment and tailor a package of support appropriate to each individual school environment. Following this assessment, a pilot (try before you buy) will be instigated where the school can evaluate the service and changes to provision can be made in line with the schools requirements. Once success has been measured and the benefits recognised, a programme of one, two or three year contracts can be made available subject to individual school negotiation.