At Liskeard School we are committed to helping all students achieve excellent attendance. In some cases, SEN students can have additional barriers to achieving this. Therefore, it is vitally important for the school, parents and the student concerned to work together to overcome these difficulties.

How can parents / carers help?

Parents can help by regularly communicating with school. If your child is attending, however, is saying they are not happy at school, please let us know as soon as possible. If your child does not have an identified SEN need, the Assistant Head of Year should be your first point of contact. If your child has an identified keyworker due to their SEN need, please discuss your worries and concerns with them. Early intervention is vital, often small changes can make a big difference in helping a child feel happier and able to attend school every day. 

If you are a parent, you can also help a huge amount by ensuring your child has a structured routine at home and gets enough sleep. Devices should be removed from bedrooms at nighttime and school uniform and equipment easily on hand for the mornings.  If your child has a deep-seated sleep issue, please ask school to refer to the school nurse, or take your child to the GP. It is crucial that your child not be allowed to get in the pattern of sleeping all day and up all night.

How can school help?

We strive to create a school culture where every child feels they matter and belongs. Relationships are key. If your child has barriers to attending, the first thing we will do is work with parents to establish more trusted, secure bonds with your child. As barriers to attendance are almost always unique to the child, we will complete a school triggers form with them, to identify what specifically it is that they find difficult. We will then put support in place to overcome these difficulties. Short-term interventions may consist of one or more of the following:

• Corridor Card (to allow your child to access the corridors at quieter times)  
• Learning Support Card (to give your child the opportunity to talk to a member of the on-call staff if they are experiencing difficulties in a lesson or need a movement break)
• Withdrawal to Learning Support for a specific lesson for a short time to work with a member of staff towards successful reintegration
• Part-time timetable (time limited)
• Invitation to join the virtual register (as part of a part-time timetable arrangement)

The school SENCO and SEN Leads also work closely with other professional services, such as the Autism Team, school nurse, Early Help Hub and County Attendance Team. School can help by referring to these services and hosting meetings with parent involvement, in order to provide a more specific attendance support package.