Research evidence from the USA suggests “psychosocial” interventions such as counselling can improve school attendance. So a team from the University of Cambridge and charity Place2Be, which specialises in school-based mental health support, set out to explore whether school-based, one-to-one counselling has an impact on pupils’ attendance.
Method
The researchers analysed data on 7,405 children and young people aged four to 19 from 392 primary and secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales. All received school-based one-to-one counselling delivered by trained Place2Be counsellors between August 2016 and December 2019. The study team compared children’s school attendance records before and after receiving the counselling to see if there were any improvements.
Key findings
Attendance rates among the study group were reasonably high but 23.6% of participants were persistently absent from school, missing 10% or more school sessions.
The researchers didn’t find a link between counselling and overall attendance but they did find it reduced the chances of pupils being persistently absent by 18.5%.
Overall persistent absence decreased from 23.6% to 21.9%.
The findings suggest counselling was most beneficial for younger children aged four to nine. Their attendance improved after attending counselling and the risk of persistent absence reduced.
However, older pupils aged 15 to 19 missed school and were more likely to be persistently absent after attending counselling compared with before.
Counselling seemed to improve attendance for Asian, Asian British and Chinese students and reduced persistent absence among white British pupils.
The biggest decrease in persistent absence was seen in children whose parents and carers had no formal qualifications.
Children who showed increased engagement and enjoyment of school also demonstrated greater improvements in school attendance and a reduced risk of persistent absence.
The findings suggest completing all planned sessions and agreeing together when to end counselling may be important for it to work. Average attendance increased and the odds of persistent absence reduced for children whose counselling ended by agreement.
But unplanned endings to counselling were associated with a 1.3% average decrease in attendance and 1.6% increased odds of persistent absence.
Implications for practice
The researchers say their findings suggest one-to-one counselling may improve attendance among persistently absent pupils, particularly at younger ages. However, they say further research is needed to explain why some children’s attendance improves following one-to-one counselling, while for others, it may be ineffective or even detrimental.
They stress poor attendance is a complex issue driven by many factors unique to each child so a tailored approach is key. This might include a mix of peer support, mentoring, academic support and family engagement programmes with a particular focus on issues affecting older pupils.
Authors: Jennifer Saxton, Katalin Toth, Obioha Ukuomunne, Hannah Wilkinson, Jemma White, Sarah Golden, Tamsin Ford
Published by Archives of Disease in Childhood, July 2024
Further reading
- Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence from over 30,000 young people in England, ImpactEd Evaluation, January 2024
- Persistent Absence and Support for Disadvantaged Pupils, Seventh Report of Session 2022–2023, House of Commons Education Committee, September 2023
- The Association Between Child and Adolescent Depression and Poor Attendance At School: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Katie Finning and others, Journal of Affective Disorders, February 2019
