Build the Plan
Now that you have gathered all relevant information on the child and young person, the next step is to begin planning the supports and communicating these to the child and family. Some initial considerations to take on board are:
- Has there been an analysis of the information gathered in Section 3.1 and Section 3.2?
- Who has collated it?
- Who can see all of the information? Who does it get shared with?
- Who needs to be involved in the next steps?
Make Use of Existing Supports
First, as outlined earlier, utilise any SSP supports within the school. If your school has a School Completion Programme (SCP) support, refer to SCP by using the SCP Intake Framework.
Good Practice Tip: When working with parents and guardians, it is important to have the most up-to-date information on services in the area, as there may be outdated preconceptions about engaging with services. We also recommend having a list of supports for parents to avail of through this process, as school avoidance affects more than just the child or young person. More information on services in Dublin 24 is available in Section 5.
Schools based in Dublin 24 might consider a referral to the Nova programme at this point. For more information on how to refer into Nova, and for information on if your school is eligible, please contact the Nova Coordinator.
Second, it is crucial to identify any possible unmet mental health or SEND needs as a separate issue that requires attention alongside the school avoidance behaviour. More information on these areas is available in Section 1. The return-to-school plan may need to be developed with further guidance from NEPS or the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
Good Practice Tip: Often when a child or young person is absent from school for a prolonged period of time, greetings or welcoming them back may draw further attention to their absence. This can be a significant cause of further embarrassment or anxiety. It is often best to allow the child or young person to reintegrate into the classroom without any specific attention being brought to their absence unless otherwise specified.
Areas for Consideration
The table below summarises the intervention options which are discussed subsequently. Resources are provided within the drop-down menu below.
Environmental
Positivity: There may be setbacks, but with the right support to develop skills and with supportive relationships in school, children and young people can successfully return to attending school full-time. If this is not possible for them, encouraging meaningful participation in other educational opportunities is another intervention area. Maintain a positive and hopeful outlook when working with school avoidance.
Routine: Establish routines and allow time for preparation and transition. Be flexible in your approach and allow for delays. Expect some setbacks when working with a complex case of school avoidance.
Relapse: Plan with the student and their family to prevent setbacks. Ask parents/guardians to work with you and inform you about any difficulties as soon as they occur. Keeping information and communication in real time is essential. Encourage everyone to try again if there are setbacks. Encourage the family and child or young person to see these as acts of bravery rather than failure.
Contextual Factors: The school can explore the impact of contextual factors, such as parents’ work schedules or separation, as well as any protective or supportive factors or strengths, such as a student’s interest in school, grades, and important relationships, both offline and online, within and outside school. Consider the 4 Ps model discussed in Section 1.2.
Provide a Safe Space for Parents: School avoidance is often a significant worry for parents and a concern for the school. Parents might be fearful of engaging with the school if they feel they will be blamed, or they may feel ashamed to engage with the school. Guidance for schools on how to start a meaningful and supportive conversation around school avoidance is available under Section 3.1.
School
Collaborative Approach: Work collaboratively with other agencies if they are involved and recognise the resources available in your community. It might be a good idea to ask parents what other services are involved with the family. Draw on these if they are relevant. The CYPSC Directory can be easily searched to get a sense of the available services in Dublin 24. A list of services relevant to school avoidance and their referral pathway is included in Section 5 of this Toolkit.
Two-Way Feedback: Be constructive in your feedback to the child or young person and their family, and praise both effort and success. Support the parents/guardians in developing their understanding and skills to help the child or young person.
“Coming in for just an hour or two might not feel like much, but it helps rebuild the routine“
“We want the same thing, to see your child back, settled, and doing well. Let’s take it one step at a time“
“The school will do everything we can from our side, but we need you to meet us halfway by putting the right steps in at home too“.
Steer Clear of Attributing Blame: When working with the child or young person, question what might be causing the school avoidance, but steer clear of attributing blame. Be careful with the language used. Use a strengths-based approach and positive, affirmative language.
Instead of asking “Why aren’t you coming to school?”, try questions like “What’s been making it hard to come in lately?”
Support and Supervision: Enhance support and supervision for the child or young person in school from key adults and peers. Assigning one lead staff member for the child to check in with each day can be beneficial. Children and young people should have suitable resources that are communicated to them and their families before returning to school. Visual timetables and worry/coping plans can be very useful here. Use the ‘Check and Connect’ Model if in use in your school.
Positive Relationships: Encourage the child or young person to develop positive relationships in school. Consider providing structured peer support through a mentor programme or using ‘One Good Adult’. This is an adult they could turn to when they are in need. Above all, One Good Adult is someone who needs to believe in that young person when they might not have much belief in themselves. Use these valued relationships as rewarding positive factors to encourage and acknowledge successful attendance, especially if the function of school avoidance is attention from significant people.
Obstacles: Remove any obstacles that might prevent success if you can. Ensure that the work and activities provided are those the child or young person is motivated to try and can easily do. Grade activities and work through recognising effort, where possible.
Timetable: Develop a consensual and graduated timetable for return to school by identifying the more positive aspects of school for the child or young person and begin by asking them to attend for these parts of the day. This will reconnect them with school and social interactions that take place there.
Early Return to School: Aim for an early return to school, even if only for a very short period each day, and build from there. This graded exposure involves a graduated return to school (stepladder approach). For example, you might suggest a child or young person come in for a tour of the school when there are no students in the building, e.g. after school, or that a child or young person attends their favourite classes only, such as Art or PE.
Create a Sense of Belonging and Safety for the Student: This can be done by creating a purpose for attendance (assigning small tasks) and encouraging the social aspect of school participation. Creating a positive lunchtime routine can also help the child or young person feel needed and connected to the school.
Child
Connect Home and School: For example, in school, have a photo in their pencil case or an object belonging to their significant person to reassure them that the person is supporting them even if they are not physically with them.
Thoughts and Feelings: Teach the young person about anxiety and how thoughts, feelings, body responses, and school avoidance behaviours can be linked, and the function of these behaviours. The links below provide some guidance on how to structure a session plan for teaching children and young people about anxiety.
Self-Regulation: Support them in noticing and monitoring their own feelings, thoughts, body responses, and behaviours (self-monitoring) and help them develop calming or self-regulation skills. Consider relaxation or mindfulness training with the child or young person.
Stressors: The school can identify the stressors by talking to the child or young person about the things they find particularly difficult and any behaviours that keep the school avoidance behaviour going (e.g. bullying or cyberbullying). The NCSE have created an excellent toolkit for schools on regulation, and there are a number of worksheets on identifying stressors included.
Solutions: Collaboratively brainstorm possible solutions to problems with the student and a key family member. Acknowledge their feelings and difficulty but convey a belief that they can cope. Reassure them that the school will help them learn to do this. The more the child or young person feels part of the plan and empowered to make changes, the better.