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Difficulties attending school: Targeted support

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_What might this look like? _ 

Consistent absence for certain lessons/times of the day, difficulties going into lessons even when in school or a pattern of non-attendance. A child or young person who is communicating high levels of worry about going to school or is showing high levels of emotional discomfort at the prospect of attending school. Attendance levels of around 70-90%. 

**Education services ** 

  • Sutton SEND Advisory Partnership (SSAP) 

  • Consideration of a referral into the SSAP for advice and resources for pupils at SEND Support. See more information here 

Vulnerable Pupil Panel  

  • The Vulnerable Pupils Panel [External Link](VPP) is a multi-agency partnership which can be referred into by school staff to provide support, advice and guidance for vulnerable child and young people where there is a concern about risk of exclusion or poor attendance  

  • A range of support is available through VPP including support from The Limes College and STARs and Cognus School Inclusion Service. See more information about referral criteria and VPP processes here[External Link] 

  • The London Borough of Sutton’s policy forEducating children with emotional, wellbeing and health related needs who cannot attend school [External Link]defines the policy, organisation, and arrangements for cooperating with parents and health professionals to ensure children and young people with medical conditions have full access to education 

  • For primary pupils outreach support from The Limes may be offered including ELSA, Drawing and Talking or an outreach visit to make recommendations  

Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service  

  • Consultation for school staff with a member of the STARS team to problem solve and provide recommendations  

  • Re-Think It – an intervention for the child/young person and their parent/carer to attend together to understand more about anxiety and how to manage difficult feelings that they are having. This programme can be referred into but staff from STARS can also work with other schools to train up members of staff to run this programme in their school  

  • Please contact the team at STARS for either of these interventions   

Cognus Attendance  

  • Attendance advice and guidance for schools through their allocated support officer  

  • Attendance advice and guidance for professionals 

  • Attendance termly school targeting support meeting 

  • Attendance parent consultations  

  • Information for parents/carers available to access online here[External Link] 

For further information or enquiries, please call 0208 323 0461 or email attendance@cognus.org.uk 

Sutton Virtual School 

_Eligibility is for Children Looked After (CLA), Previously Looked After (PCLA), children on kinship orders and children with a social worker _ 

  • Consultations for professionals to offer a problem-solving space to work towards tangible next steps to support the young person.  To book a consultation, please obtain parental consent or consent from a social worker as corporate parent and use this Educational Psychology Consultation form[External Link], then send this to eva.brown@cognus.org.uk. Please then complete the consultation form [External Link] 

  • Coffee mornings for parents/carers and a range of other signposting and support services. For more information see here [External Link]  

Cognus School Inclusion  

  • Inclusion surgeries are available for any member of school staff to sign up to who has a concern about a child or young person to provide information, advice, and guidance to support inclusive practice and the prevention of exclusion. See here[External Link] for dates and sign up information  

  • Inclusion surgeries for parent/carers to provide information, advice and guidance. See here[External Link] for dates and sign up information  

  • For an emergency one-off call to request advice in relation to imminent risk of permanent exclusion: call Louise Blay - 0208 148 7651 or Sarah Westall - 0204 582 7259 

  • Support from Inclusion Coordinators which may involve a TAC/TAF meeting to offer advice and guidance (accessed through referral into VPP)  

SEND Support Advisory Partnership  

  • More information coming soon  

**Social care services ** 

Family Hubs  

  • Parent/carer Coffee Information Sessions. If you would like to find out more about the sessions, please contact Clare Kennedy Parenting Administrator via her email: clare.kennedy@sutton.gov.uk 

  • A range of parent/carer training programmes, support sessions and information which can be found here  

Early Help  

  • Advice and signposting from an Early Help Coordinator  

  • Referral into the Early HelpHelping Early Prevention Panel which is a multi-agency partnership that aims to support children, young people, and families in Sutton by providing early intervention and prevention services. It focuses on identifying and addressing needs early on to prevent issues from escalating and to improve outcomes for children and families (referrals can only be made by external professionals, not school staff)  

  • For professional support or guidance on referrals, you can contact the Early Help Coordinators at 020 8770 6001 and for more information see here[External Link] 

Early Help & Integrated Youth Justice Service (EHIYJS) | Schools Team 

This service is only available for secondary schools with an assigned worker 

  • Individual pupil work for young people who are becoming disengaged with education 

  • Workshops for groups of pupil 

  • For more information please contact Paul Arthur, Team Manager paul.arthur@sutton.gov.uk, telephone 07395 283151 or Laura Noulton, Service Manager 07970955105. 

Sutton Therapeutic Hub  

_This service is only available to children/young people and families open to Sutton’s Children’s Services _ 

  • Hub practitioners work with children and young people to assess and understand their needs, and those of the parents/ carers. Where appropriate, they may then offer therapeutic interventions. 

  • Parent/carer coffee morning sessions jointly run by the Virtual School and Therapeutic Hub. Referral and signposting information to be obtained from the social worker linked to the family or a member of the Virtual School team.  

**Health services ** 

Education Wellbeing Service SWLSTG/Cognus 

  • Guided self-help for anxiety or low mood  

  • Therapeutic groups 

  • Reflective consultation slots for school staff  

  • For more information about this service or to request training and support contact your schools Mental Health Lead. To find out who is your linked worker please email EWSinfo@swlstg.nhs.uk or see here[External Link]. For schools who are part of the team linked to Cognus see more information here[External Link]  

Sutton Alliance services – Tier 2  

  • CAMHS cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety, phobias and low mood for children and young people up to the age of 18 registered with a Sutton GP. Referrals can be made by GP's, other healthcare professionals, schools, and others via the single point of reference. Referrals information can be found here [External Link]  

  • Off the Record for counselling for young people aged 11-25. See here for referral [External Link] information and criteria  

  • Jigsaw4U parent and child programme for parents of children aged 4-11 years old. Referrals for this service are made through Sutton CAMHS 

**Voluntary/community ** 

MAPS Mentoring 

  • Mentoring support for children and young people who would benefit from having a safe space, or support to improve their confidence or raise aspirations. See here[External Link]  for more information about the service and the referral process

Need even more support?

Difficulties attending school: Specialist support


Specialist Support