An increasing number of young people are experiencing school attendance problems (SAPs) (Määttä et al., 2020). SAPs is an overarching term used to refer to difficulties labelled as school refusal, and more recently termed school avoidance or emotional-based school avoidance; as well as other types of school absenteeism, such as truancy, school withdrawal or school exclusion (Heyne, Gren-Landell, Melvin & Gentle-Genitty, 2019).

Attendance problems are complex – they may take many forms, such as struggling to arrive on time, frequently leaving early, or not attending at all (Haddad, 2021). They are underpinned by multiple risk factors at student, caregiver, family, peer, school, community, and macro levels (Gubbels et al., 2019; Thambirajah et al., 2008). By way of illustration, school risk factors include difficult transitions (e.g., from primary to post-primary), inadequate provision for students with additional needs, high academic demands, bullying. Family risk factors include issues like family breakdown, high levels of family stress; and individual level risk factors include experiencing trauma, being neurodiverse, having sensory difficulties, and additional educational needs. These risk factors are complex and often overlapping, resulting in a unique configuration for each young person; they are maintained and exacerbated by broader systemic issues in culture and society (Kearney, 2022).

Whilst It has been common (and often helpful) for researchers to differentiate emotionally-based school avoidance from truancy and other forms of SAP; this distinction belies the fact that that there are likely to be emotional issues associated with all forms of school attendance problems (O’Toole & Devenney, 2020). Indeed, a common theme across all the literature is that emotional distress accompanies SAPs, regardless of the particular pattern of precipitating factors (Devenney & O’Toole, 2022; Knollmann, Reissner, & Hebebrand, 2019).

This suggests that in addressing attendance difficulties we need to recognise and respond to young people’s emotional distress. Trauma-informed practice can be helpful in this regard, since it is an approach that recognises how emotional distress impacts the way people respond and make sense of their world (O’Toole 2022). Trauma-informed practice acknowledges that people’s emotional and behavioural responses makes sense in the context of their life history and circumstances. It enables professionals adopt a more compassionate, hopeful and strengths-based stance in supporting young people who are experiencing difficulties (Wolpow et al, 2009).  

Academics at the forefront of research in school attendance are keen to highlight that our approaches to supporting young people, families and schools need to be recalibrated – perhaps even overhauled - especially in the context of changing educational systems and a more uncertain world (Heyne, Gentle-Genitty, Melvin, et al., forthcoming). By applying a trauma-informed lens, this paper contributes to re-thinking our current ways of working with school attendance problems. The current work emerges from a commissioned research project, the aim of which was to develop trauma-informed principles of good practice to guide professionals working with students who experience attendance problems.

For this conceptual paper, we applied a trauma-informed lens to current knowledge of, and responses to SAPs. In order to ensure a comprehensive understanding of both trauma-informed practice and school attendance, integrative review methods were used to synthesize knowledge in the areas (Broome 1993; Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). Integrative reviews allow for the inclusion of a range of study types including previous systematic/scoping reviews, empirical studies and conceptual papers; they also contribute to theory development, and have direct applicability to practice and policy, thus aligning to the aims of this project. The central question guiding this project was as follows: adopting a trauma-informed lens and state-of-the-art knowledge on school attendance, what are the key principles of good practice that can support professionals responding to school attendance problems?

Based on the analysis and informed by theory, we suggest 10 guiding principles for supporting professionals responding to school attendance problems. These centre around the following points: Safety and tranquility, rhythm, structure and predictability, relationships-centred, compassion-focused, co-constructed, culturally responsive, interagency collaboration, strengths-based, multi-tiered, and reflective praxis. In this paper, we will expand on these emerging principles of good practice and caution that they should act as a guide for professionals working with school attendance problems, rather than a set of rigid rules to be adhered to. The scope of this study did not allow for consultation after principles were drafted; further work is needed to consult with and obtain feedback on these guiding principles across a variety of school community and cultural contexts. Nevertheless, as broad and overarching principles derived from state-of-the-art knowledge, we believe they may have global relevance.

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