Schools In England Research Articles

Feasibility and acceptability of a whole-school social-marketing intervention to prevent unintended teenage pregnancies and promote sexual health: evidence for progression from a pilot to a phase III randomised trial in English secondary schools

BackgroundReducing unintended teenage pregnancy and promoting adolescent sexual health remains a priority in England. Both whole-school and social-marketing interventions are promising approaches to addressing these aims. However, such interventions have not been rigorously trialled in the UK and it is unclear if they are appropriate for delivery in English secondary schools. We developed and pilot trialled Positive Choices, a new whole-school social marketing intervention to address unintended teenage pregnancy and promote sexual health. Our aim was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and trial methods in English secondary schools against pre-defined progression criteria (relating to randomisation, survey follow-up, intervention fidelity and acceptability and linkage to birth/abortion records) prior to carrying out a phase III trial of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.MethodsPilot RCT with integral process evaluation involving four intervention and two control schools in south-east England. The intervention comprised a student needs survey; a student/staff-led school health promotion council; a classroom curriculum for year-9 students (aged 13–14); whole-school student-led social-marketing activities; parent information; and a review of local and school-based sexual health services. Baseline surveys were conducted with year 8 (aged 12–13) in June 2018. Follow-up surveys were completed 12 months later. Process evaluation data included audio recording of staff training, surveys of trained staff, staff log books and researcher observations of intervention activities. Survey data from female students were linked to records of births and abortions to assess the feasibility of these constituting a phase III primary outcome.ResultsAll six schools were successfully randomised and retained in the trial. Response rates to the survey were above 80% in both arms at both baseline and follow-up. With the exception of the parent materials, the fidelity target for implementation of essential elements in three out of four schools was achieved. Student surveys indicated 80% acceptability among those who reported awareness of the programme and interviews with staff suggested strong acceptability. Linkage to birth/abortion records was feasible although none occurred among participants.ConclusionsThe criteria for progression to a phase III trial were met. Our data suggest that a whole-school social-marketing approach may be appropriate for topics that are clearly prioritised by schools. A phase III trial of this intervention is now warranted to establish effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Births and terminations are not an appropriate primary outcome measure for such a trial.Trial registrationISRCTN65324176.

A Qualitative Study of How Adolescents’ Use of Coping Strategies and Support Varies in Line With Their Experiences of Adversity

BackgroundAdolescence is associated with a rise in the incidence of mental health issues. Thus, the factors, processes, and contexts that protect and promote positive mental health in adolescence are of key interest to policymakers.ObjectiveOur aim was twofold: First, to explore the coping strategies and sources of support that adolescents identify as protective (or not) in the face of difficulty over a three-year period; second, to examine how and why this may vary in line with the levels of adversity that they report experiencing in life.MethodsParticipants were attending schools in England implementing a mental health prevention programme called HeadStart. 93 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 adolescents (age 11–12 at the outset of the study; 58% female) once per year over three years. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsSix coping strategy themes (e.g., ‘Disengaging from problems’) and five support themes (e.g., ‘Parents as a source of comfort and advice’) were derived from the interviews. The types, quality, and consistency of reported coping strategies and support varied in line with whether adolescents were experiencing higher or lower levels of adversity in life over time, and according to the resources that they had available within their physical and social contexts.ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance for mental health prevention programmes of bolstering both individual-level coping strategies and the resources available within adolescents’ environments to help them to manage adversity.

Religion and Intergroup Boundaries: Positive and Negative Ties Among Youth in Ethnically and Religiously Diverse School Classes in Western Europe

BackgroundIn the past decades, Western European countries have become increasingly religiously diverse; furthermore, a growing share of their population is now youth with a migration background. Little is known about the role religion plays in social ties among children of native and immigrant origins.PurposeThis study examines religious group boundaries among youth in secondary schools in England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. To this end, it describes to what extent youth’s positive and negative ties in the classroom are segregated along religious lines. Furthermore, it analyzes the role of structural opportunities and religious in-group preferences in the formation of religious boundaries in the social networks of youth.MethodsThe data come from the first wave of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU), which contains more than 18,000 adolescents (aged 14–15) in England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. First, we describe overall religious segregation in the social ties of youth by using the full survey data. Second, we test our hypotheses by analyzing the complete social networks of 5236 students in 247 classes.ResultsThe analysis reveals that friendships are more likely between classmates with similar religious affiliations than classmates with different religious affiliations. In particular, in terms of friendships, there is clear segregation between non-religious and Christian youth on the one hand and Muslim youth on the other. This segregation is partly driven by structural forces that constrain intergroup meeting opportunities. However, group segregation goes beyond the patterns expected from opportunities alone. The results show strong preferences for intrareligious friendships and a tendency to avoid ties between Muslim and non-Muslim youth.Conclusion and ImplicationsThere are religious boundaries in the social relationships of youth in ethnically and religiously diverse school classes in Western Europe. In particular, social boundaries between Muslim and non-Muslim youth are the strongest. Creating opportunities for positive intergroup contact, such as the promotion of religiously diverse schools, apparently is not sufficient to avoid religious boundaries among youth. To reduce segregation along religious lines, interventions would also need to address the factors that shape youth’s preferences for intrareligious friendships.

The wild blue yonder: a speculative glance at English education policy and practice in the mid-century

This article looks back in imagination from the mid-21st century at the development of education policy and practice in England's school system since 1944.

Adaptive school grounds design in response to COVID-19: Findings from six primary schools in South East England

The purpose of this research is to look at how primary schools in England have adapted their outdoor spaces in the context of COVID-19 rules and guidelines to meet the needs of students returning from school closures and national lockdown of Spring/Summer 2020, how that impacted play and learning value of their grounds, and to consider how these findings might inform future school grounds design. Thus, we used a mixed-method approach that included qualitative interviews with representatives from six primary schools (three in rural and three in urban areas), quantitative desk research, and in-person site surveys. We used literature-based scoring criteria to quantify changes in the playground before and after the implementation of COVID-19 measures. The research reveals that the zoning of play areas and other aspects of the school grounds may negatively affected the value of play and learning. We also found a substantial disparity in the amount of outside space per pupil (OSPP) available across schools. Those with the lowest OSPP also had the lowest outdoor and environmental learning provision, lacking the flexibility to accommodate this alongside other requirements of staggered play breaks and PE. The amount of outdoor space that a school has available per pupil averaged at 32 m2 for urban schools and 43 m2 for rural schools. Finally, we have explored how spatial layout and design elements may have supported or inhibited schools' abilities to respond to children's needs, and how this might inform adaptive school grounds design considerations for the future.

‘No true or just test of merit’: ‘The Public School Record’ 1886–1900

ABSTRACT ‘School league tables’ summarising the performance of secondary schools in England have been published annually since 1992. Although now a firmly established feature of the educational landscape, they have attracted criticism from those who point to their unintended negative consequences. These include ‘teaching to the test’, entering pupils for easier examinations, and resitting examinations multiple times in order to massage success rates. However, neither the concept of league tables, nor these alleged side-effects are new. Between 1886 and 1900, a series of London newspapers published rudimentary tables that attempted to rank and compare schools based on performance. Initially conceived as an exercise in investigating whether leading public schools really provided educational value, and against a background of political conflict over elite classical education, they provoked intense debate over how to judge the quality of secondary education in late Victorian Britain. This paper examines their short history.

Headteachers in Catholic schools in England: contemporary challenges. A follow-up research study: part 2

This paper is a follow up to a previous article published online in this journal (Fincham; 2019) in which the writer describes the first phase of research into contemporary challenges facing headteachers in Catholic schools in England as expressed from the perspective of headteachers within one diocese. It was evident from the first phase that leaders in Catholic schools are subject not only to pragmatic concerns about funding and recruitment but also to both implied and overt challenges to Catholic identity and integrity, which are tested by pressures of social media, which have an impact upon the mental and emotional health of young people, and a pervasive secular mind-set, which impinges on faith practice in families and in the community. It was noted that the reduction in the number of priests in Catholic dioceses in England has also often left the school as the single focus of the Catholic community, which has implications for sustaining spiritual capital. The first phase of the investigation examined responses to an open question in which headteachers at a Catholic diocesan conference were invited to indicate their three most pressing challenges. The responses were subject to a process of Thematic Analysis (TA), as a result of which five pre-eminent issues were identified. The opportunity was also taken to investigate the extent to which spiritual capital was being renewed in Catholic schools. These ‘categories of discourse’ informed the face-to-face interviews that were conducted with five primary headteachers and four secondary headteachers in the second phase of the investigation. The data gathered enabled the researcher to ascribe meaning to headteachers’ unique experiences.

“Lost All Hope in Government”: Learned Helplessness of Professionals Working in Specialised Education Settings in England During COVID-19

COVID-19 has had substantial impact on children’s educational experiences, with schools and educators facing numerous challenges in adapting to the new reality of distance learning and/or social distancing. However, previous literature mostly focuses on the experiences of families [including families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)] and those of teachers, predominantly working in mainstream settings. This article aims to gauge the perspectives of educators working in specialised education settings that serve children with SEND in England on how they experienced working in those settings during the pandemic, including in during lockdown. A mixed (qualitative and quantitative) online survey was responded to by 93 educators. Responses denote emotionally charged views and a sense of learned helplessness. Most special schools were unable to implement social distancing measures in full or provide adequate protective equipment. The main challenges the respondents mentioned included lack of guidance from Governmental authorities, staff shortages, work overload, challenging relationship with parents and issues in meeting children’s complex needs. Professionals working for less than 3 years in a special school were more likely to say they would change jobs if they could, when compared to professionals with more years of experience. No effects of demographic characteristics were found in relation to professionals’ ratings of their own wellbeing during lockdown. Findings are discussed in light of the concept of learned helplessness and suggest that there is a need to reform provision in special schools in England to foster its sustainability and positive outcomes for children.

Secondary attack rates in primary and secondary school bubbles following a confirmed case: Active, prospective national surveillance, November to December 2020, England.

BackgroundFollowing the full re-opening of schools in England and emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant, we investigated the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in students and staff who were contacts of a confirmed case in a school bubble (school groupings with limited interactions), along with their household members.MethodsPrimary and secondary school bubbles were recruited into sKIDsBUBBLE after being sent home to self-isolate following a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the bubble. Bubble participants and their household members were sent home-testing kits comprising nasal swabs for RT-PCR testing and whole genome sequencing, and oral fluid swabs for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.ResultsDuring November-December 2020, 14 bubbles were recruited from 7 schools, including 269 bubble contacts (248 students, 21 staff) and 823 household contacts (524 adults, 299 children). The secondary attack rate was 10.0% (6/60) in primary and 3.9% (4/102) in secondary school students, compared to 6.3% (1/16) and 0% (0/1) among staff, respectively. The incidence rate for household contacts of primary school students was 6.6% (12/183) and 3.7% (1/27) for household contacts of primary school staff. In secondary schools, this was 3.5% (11/317) and 0% (0/1), respectively. Household contacts were more likely to test positive if their bubble contact tested positive although there were new infections among household contacts of uninfected bubble contacts.InterpretationCompared to other institutional settings, the overall risk of secondary infection in school bubbles and their household contacts was low. Our findings are important for developing evidence-based infection prevention guidelines for educational settings.

Minimising young children\u2019s anxiety through schools (MY-CATS): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an online parent-led intervention compared with usual school practice for young children identified as at risk for anxiety disorders

BackgroundIdentifying and supporting young children who are at risk of developing anxiety disorders would benefit children, families, and wider society. Elevated anxiety symptoms, inhibited temperament, and high parental anxiety are established risk factors for later anxiety disorders, but it remains unclear who is most likely to benefit from prevention and early intervention programmes. Delivering an online intervention through schools to parents of young children who have one or more of these risks could maximise reach. The primary aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of delivering an online parent-led intervention, compared with usual school provision only, for children (aged 4–7) identified as at risk for anxiety disorders on the basis of at least one risk factor. We also aim to identify the characteristics of children who do and do not benefit from intervention and mechanisms of change from the intervention.MethodsThe design will be a parallel group, superiority cluster randomised controlled trial, with schools (clusters) randomised to intervention or usual school practice arms in a 1:1 ratio stratified according to level of deprivation within the school. The study will recruit and randomise at least 60 primary/infant schools in England, and on the basis of recruiting 60 schools, we will recruit 1080 trial participants (540 per arm). Parents of all children (aged 4–7) in sampled Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 classes will be invited to complete screening questionnaires. Children who screen positive on the basis of anxiety symptoms, and/or behavioural inhibition, and/or parent anxiety symptoms will be eligible for the trial. Parents/carers of children in schools allocated to the intervention arm will be offered a brief online intervention; schools in both arms will continue to provide any usual support for children and parents throughout the trial. Assessments will be completed at screening, baseline (before randomisation), 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 12 months post-randomisation. The primary outcome will be the absence/presence of an anxiety disorder diagnosis at 12 months.DiscussionThe trial will determine if delivering an online intervention for parents of young children at risk of anxiety disorders identified through screening in schools is effective and cost-effective.Trial registrationISRCTN 82398107. Prospectively registered on Jan. 14, 2021.

The Impact of Collaboration Between Science and Religious Education Teachers on Their Understanding and Views of Argumentation

Teachers’ understanding and teaching of argumentation is gaining more attention in science education research. However, little is known about how science teachers engage in argumentation with teachers of different subject taking an interdisciplinary perspective that may inspire new pedagogical ideas or strategies. In particular, the positioning of argumentation at the juncture of science and religion is rare. This paper reports an empirical study involving science and religious education (RE) teachers who collaborated on teaching argumentation in three secondary schools in England. Their interdisciplinary collaboration was sustained by a series of professional development sessions over 18 months. Analysis of the interview data unfolds how the teachers’ collaboration impacted their understanding of argumentation and views of teaching their subject. Through working relationally in exploring and teaching argumentation, the science teachers reflected more notable changes than their RE counterparts. Science teachers came to appreciate student voice in the learning process and the role of argumentation in fostering students’ scientific reasoning. The paper is a salient step to researching argumentation in a cross-curricular terrain, particularly in relation to RE. It also sheds light on how collaborating with teachers of another subject bolstered science teachers’ professional development and broke subject barriers.

‘I worry about getting it wrong and looking like a silly billy’: does explicit classroom-based strategy intervention change pupils’ attitudes towards speaking in the modern foreign languages classroom?

ABSTRACT A number of factors among schoolchildren in England are currently contributing to poor attitudes towards speaking in the modern foreign languages (MFL) classroom. Although multiple explicit strategy-based instruction (SBI) intervention studies have appeared in recent years, very few studies have focused on its effect on oral skills and, in particular, pupils' attitudes towards speaking in the target language (TL). From the small pool of SBI investigations into schoolchildren whose first language (L1) is English, there is some evidence of success among boys in particular. The present quasi-experimental, two-cycle action research and development study of beginner (Year 7) and intermediate (Year 10) learners of L2 French (N = 148) investigated the impact of 12 hours of strategy intervention training on attitudes towards TL speaking skills in the MFL classroom in an all-boys selective secondary school in England. To assess the impact of the intervention, a mixed-methods approach was adopted; data were captured via questionnaires, lesson observations and interviews. In Cycle 2, pupils navigated the ‘Strategy Island Map', an innovative tool to track their strategy use when speaking in the TL. Results suggest that explicit SBI improved attitudes towards speaking among both age groups. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Marginalisation, autism and school exclusion: caregivers' perspectives

The article presents findings from interviews with five caregivers of children with autism excluded from schools in England. Objectives: to determine the barriers and enablers to mainstream schooling for children with autism and to explore the emotional effect of the journey to school exclusion on the child and caregivers. Background: research has highlighted that some mainstream schools do not listen to caregivers concerns about their child's development, behaviours and mental health. Methods: interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to understand how participants made sense of their lived experiences, revealing four superordinate themes: inadequate special educational needs and disability (SEND) support, psychological impact, health‐imposed barriers to diagnoses, and effective support. Findings: Theographs present the caregivers' journeys, illustrating that the onus fell on the caregivers to advocate for effective support from schools. A lack of prompt diagnose and effective school support is detrimental to the emotional and physical health of both children and caregivers. Training is needed to ensure thresholds for education, health and care needs assessments are understood, alongside evidence‐based approaches to support children with SEND. There is a policy need to address barriers to prompt health assessments across services and the impact of decreased funding on schools.

What is the evidence on the impact of Pupil Premium funding on school intakes and attainment by age 16 in England?

AbstractThe use of targeted additional funding for school‐age education, intended to improve student attainment, is a widespread phenomenon internationally. It is slightly rarer that the funding is used to improve attainment specifically for the most disadvantaged students – often via trying to attract teachers to poorer areas, or encouraging families to send their children to school. It is even rarer that funding is used to try and reduce the attainment gap between economically disadvantaged students and their peers, and almost unheard for the funding to be intended to change the nature of school intakes by making disadvantaged students more attractive to schools. These last two were the objectives set for Pupil Premium funding to schools in England. The funding started in 2011, for all state‐funded schools at the same time, so there is no easy counterfactual to help assess how effective it has been. The funding is a considerable investment every year and it is therefore important to know whether it works as intended. This paper presents a time series analysis of all students at secondary school in England from 2006, well before the funding started, until 2019, the most recent year for which there are attainment figures. It overcomes concerns that the official attainment gap between students labelled disadvantaged and the rest is sensitive to demographic, economic, legal and other concurrent policy changes. It does this by looking at a stable group of long‐term disadvantaged students. It is argued that this group would have attracted Pupil Premium funding if it had existed in any year and under any economic conditions. After 2010, these long‐term disadvantaged pupils became substantially less clustered in specific schools in their first year and throughout their remaining school life. This improvement cannot be explained by economic or other factors used in this paper, and so it looks as though the Pupil Premium has been effective here. The picture for the attainment gap at age 16 is more mixed. It is partly confused by changes in the grading of assessments in 2014 and again from 2016. The reasons why the improvements are less clear than at primary school are discussed, and they involve the nature of evidence available to secondary schools to help them improve the attainment of their most disadvantaged students.

Reading wars or reading reconciliation? A critical examination of robust research evidence, curriculum policy and teachers' practices for teaching phonics and reading

AbstractTeaching children to read is one of the most fundamental goals of early years and primary education worldwide, and as such has attracted a large amount of research from a range of academic disciplines. The aims of this paper are: (a) to provide a new critical examination of research evidence relevant to effective teaching of phonics and reading in the context of national curricula internationally; (b) to report new empirical findings relating to phonics teaching in England; and (c) examine some implications for policy and practice. The paper reports new empirical findings from two sources: (1) a systematic qualitative meta‐synthesis of 55 experimental trials that included longitudinal designs; (2) a survey of 2205 teachers. The paper concludes that phonics and reading teaching in primary schools in England has changed significantly for the first time in modern history, and that compared to other English dominant regions England represents an outlier. The most robust research evidence, from randomised control trials with longitudinal designs, shows that the approach to phonics and reading teaching in England is not sufficiently underpinned by research evidence. It is recommended that national curriculum policy is changed and that the locus of political control over curriculum, pedagogy and assessment should be re‐evaluated. The video abstract for this article is available at https://youtu.be/bJImJ79JKNI. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyTeaching children to read is one of the most important elements of primary education because it is fundamental to children's educational development. For this reason it is vital that the teaching of reading, and curriculum policies on reading, are informed by robust research.Why the new findings matterIf children are not being taught to read in the most appropriate way, because curriculum policy and teaching practices are not informed sufficiently by robust research evidence, then children's education will not be as effective as it should be.Implications for practitioners, policy makers, researchersThe outcomes of the survey of teachers in England, and the new analysis of systematic reviews and meta analyses, and randomised controlled trials with longitudinal designs, reported in the paper show the need for changes to the teaching of reading and to national curriculum policy on the teaching of reading.The teaching of phonics and reading in curriculum policy and practice should more closely reflect the evidence that contextualised teaching of reading, or balanced instruction, is the most effective way to teach reading.

An investigation into the impact of government austerity measures on school‐based approaches to adolescent neglect in England

AbstractThis research examines the role of secondary schools in safeguarding adolescents experiencing neglect that does not meet the threshold for social care intervention. Six semi‐structured interviews were conducted with Designated and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) in secondary schools in South East England. Findings show that adolescents experiencing neglect were disproportionately impacted by public sector funding cuts. Length and breadth of DSLs' in‐service experience is found to be connected with the development of proactive school‐based preventative interventions. While interviews were conducted prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, discussion reflects on the impact of the pandemic and school closures.

Point of care SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing in schools improves school attendance

Background: National lockdowns have led to significant interruption to children's education globally. In the Autumn term in 2020, school absence in England and Wales was almost five times higher than the same period in 2019. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools and ongoing interruption to education remains a concern. However, evaluation of rapid point of care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in British schools has not been undertaken. Methods: This is a survey of secondary schools in England that implemented PCR-based rapid POC testing. The study aims to measure the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, to assess the impact of this testing on school attendance and closures, and to describe schools experiences with testing. All schools utilised the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 testing platform. Results: 12 fee-paying secondary schools in England were included. Between September 1 st 2020 and December 16 th 2020, 697 on site rapid POC PCR tests were performed and 6.7% of these were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. There were five outbreaks in three schools during this time which were contained. Seven groups of close contacts within the school known as bubbles had to quarantine but there were no school closures. 84% of those tested were absent from school for less than one day whilst awaiting their test result. This potentially saved between 1047 and 1570 days off school in those testing negative compared to the NHS PCR laboratory test. Schools reported a positive impact of having a rapid testing platform as it allowed them to function as fully as possible during this pandemic. Conclusions: Rapid POC PCR testing platforms should be widely available and utilised in school settings. Reliable positive tests will prevent outbreaks and uncontrolled spread of infection within school settings.Reliable negative test results will reassure students, parents and staff and preventdisruption to education.

Love for Allah and love for self: exploring the connection between religious affect and self-esteem among Muslim adolescents in England

ABSTRACT The connection between religious affect and self-esteem has been supported by a series of studies conducted among Christian or post-Christian samples. The present study extends this research tradition among a sample of 919 self-identified Muslim adolescents (between the ages of 11 and 14 years) attending schools in England. The data demonstrated that, after controlling for personal factors (age and sex) and for psychological factors (extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism), there was a significant positive association between the two core variables (religious affect and self-esteem). From the perspective of the empirical psychology of religion this study confirms among a Muslim sample a finding previously recorded among Christian or post-Christian samples.

How Capital generates capitals in English elite private schools: Charities, tax and accounting

The sociological literature on elite private schooling is frequently informed by Bourdieu’s signature concepts of cultural, social and symbolic capital. Yet, his insistence that economic capital is the ‘root’ of these other capitals is often overlooked or downplayed. This paper addresses this lacuna. While it gestures to Bourdieu’s other capitals, its primary focus is on finance itself and the various legal and accounting regimes that facilitate schools’ financial capital acquisition, accumulation and conversion into other individual and organisational capitals. We interrogate these schools’ income-generating and spending strategies on fees, infrastructure and scholarships, explicating how charity law, tax regimes, and accounting rules work to their advantage. In so doing we demonstrate how ambiguous law and accounting regimes enable them to produce exclusivity through pricing and luxury infrastructure. In short, we show how elite private schools in England keep fees high, scholarships low and luxury pervasive KEYWORDS Private schools; financial capital; charities; tax; accounting; social class.

School staffs’ experiences of supporting children with school attendance difficulties in primary school: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT Children’s absence from primary school is associated with lower attainment and social difficulties, and persistent absence at this age often continues or worsens as children progress into secondary education. It is therefore important to intervene early to interrupt this negative trajectory. This study used individual semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of eight members of primary school staff, who had experience supporting children with difficulty regularly attending school, from both mainstream and special primary schools in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants perceive school non-attendance to be a complex and challenging issue that can have a significant negative impact, and can be caused and maintained by multiple factors related to the child, family and school/education. Participants believe prevention is key and identify several different social/emotional and learning-focused interventions they have used to support children to attend school regularly, with varying degrees of success. Participants emphasise that success of any intervention relies strongly on collaboration between parents, school staff and other agencies involved. Findings from this study suggest that sufficient resource, early intervention, development of a school community, collaboration with families, liaison with other professionals and targeted evidence-based strategies are all important in improving attendance in this age range.