A first-of-its-kind service has been launched to provide support to Glasgow primary and secondary school children who are finding it difficult to attend school.
Quarriers has been awarded the contract for Glasgow’s first Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance service which will be available to all primary schools and secondary schools to help children and their families develop a plan towards positive steps back into education.
Within Glasgow City Council schools, the number of children with under 80% attendance has increased from 12.30% to 14.70% between August to December 2020 and the same period last year.
REACH (Respond, Engage, Ask, Connect, Hope), has been launched in association with Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership and will provide targeted support to children who have prolonged non-attendance or are starting to show signs of developing a non-attendance profile at school.
The service aims to promote the well-being of every child to ensure they can be supported to reach their full potential.
There are many complex reasons why children don’t attend school including poor mental health, anxiety, language and communication difficulties or other concerns.
Colin Simpson, service co-ordinator of Quarriers REACH service, said: "What is different about this service is that we are able to go into the community and spend time with the children and their families at home to overcome some of their anxieties and mental health challenges.
“We will provide a supportive relationship in the home and help the young people on a journey back towards their learning.”
Barry Syme, Glasgow City Council's principal educational psychologist, said the aim was to intervene early to support young people and help divert them from the adult mental health system and much worse outcomes and more expensive interventions.
He added: "Covid prevented a lot of young people experiencing opportunities because they were at home and that is going to be a real challenge and we probably haven't seen what the impact of that has been."
REACH has specially trained staff who can offer one-to-one, child-centred support to help build the strengths of each child and discover what works best for them.
Workers can help act as a bridge between the school, help the child gain access to support already available within the school, or where appropriate will refer to services out with, for example, social work or health and educational psychologists.
The team will also help parents understand the pressures on children and help them support their child toward positive destinations.
A request for a referral can be emailed to reachservice@quarriers.org.uk or contact the service on the REACH Team Leader’s direct contact number - 07827 042202.
For more details, go to quarriers.org.uk/reach-service
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