Supporting school attendance
Published
Reflection and planning tool
Deliver targeted interventions to supplement universal provision
Targeted intervention may be needed for persistent or particularly challenging causes of pupil absence. These should be based on knowledge of your pupils, exploration of relevant data, and diagnosis of need. The type of interventions will depend on your context and the pupils involved, but might include interventions relating to behaviour, social and emotional learning, self-regulationHow children monitor their emotions and thoughts, and adapt their behaviour in different circumstances. strategies, parental involvement, academic content, or support with specific special educational needs.
1. Personalise approaches to meet the needs of individual pupils
Universal approaches to teaching, learning, behaviour, relationships and communication with families will support the majority of pupils and families, but universal systems are unlikely to meet the needs of all pupils. Some, who might have very specific and individual reasons for their absence from school, may need a more personalised approach to support their attendance and engagement.
Individualised and more intensive approaches may require additional resources or time, so should not typically be the first course of action – schools should check that universal approaches are being implemented effectively and consistently first.
The three guidance reports at the bottom of this page all have recommendations about targeting interventions for pupils and families who need additional support. In addition, there are further recommendations about interventions in literacy and maths in the relevant guidance reports, which can be found here.
Further reading
Key guidance reports
Improving Behaviour in Schools
This EEF guidance report is designed to support senior leaders in primary and secondary schools to make better-informed decisions about their behaviour strategies.
Working with Parents to Support Children's Learning
This EEF guidance report reviews the best available research to offer schools and teachers four recommendations to support parental engagement in children’s learning.
Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools
This guidance is designed to help you support pupils with SEND in mainstream schools.