School attendances improve thanks to support provided to North Lanarkshire families


School attendance rates in North Lanarkshire have seen positive improvement due to the support provided to families in the area. The latest report from North Lanarkshire Council’s Resilient People Programme, which includes a range of support services offered by the local authority and partner organisations, highlights the successful outcomes achieved.

Organisations like Barnardo’s Scotland, Action for Children, Impact Arts, and Home-Start offer a comprehensive family support service at the Newmains and St Brigid’s community hub. This support includes one-on-one assistance, group sessions, drop-ins, family outings, and holiday activities. Over the months of April to July, this service worked with 24 families, successfully averting social work interventions in nine cases. Many of these families faced challenges such as poor school relationships and financial difficulties.

Efforts to improve school attendance have shown progress, especially in additional support needs and early years. Schools have enhanced their attendance monitoring systems and utilised data to address absenteeism root causes. Family support engagement workers, supported by Scottish Equity Funding, play a crucial role in providing practical assistance to families, connecting them with resources, and liaising with schools.

Specialist support workers focusing on neurodivergence have also been instrumental in providing support at home, in the community, and at schools, resulting in fewer referrals to other services like social work. Additionally, initiatives targeting children disengaged from school have shown success in transitioning students from primary to secondary education.

The council has also increased its support for kinship carers, with positive outcomes seen through the Virtual School programme. The recent report was approved at a meeting of the council’s education, children, and families committee.

In summary, the collaborative efforts of various organisations and the council in providing holistic support to families in North Lanarkshire have led to improved school attendance rates and averted social work interventions. The focus on individualised support, community engagement, and specialised services has shown promising results in addressing challenges faced by families and fostering positive outcomes for children in the region.


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