This document outlines a 4-week program to support participants who have children with truancy or behavioral problems at school. Week 1 focuses on identifying the causes of truancy and its impacts, as well as how to deal with bullying. Week 2 focuses on developing communication skills and identifying available support. Week 3 focuses on practicing communication skills like being assertive without being aggressive. The overarching goal is for participants to create an action plan to address their child's specific issues and access relevant support.

1. Support for Participants who
have a Child with Truancy
or Behavioural Problems At School

2. Contents
1. Scheme of Work
2. Week 1
3. Week 2
4. Week 3
5. Week 4
6. Forms
7. Resources

3. Scheme of Work
Supporting for participants who have a child with truancy
or behavioural problems at school.
Week 1
 Causes of Truancy.
 The Impact of Truancy on the Child & Family.
 Dealing with Bullying at School.
 Introduction to Action Plan.
Week 2
 Communication Skills to Support Children with Truancy Behaviour.
 Getting Support.
 Review of Action Plan.
 Identifying Support Needed.
Week 3
Activities to support skills required for accessing support:
 Communication Skills.
 Being Assertive.
 Reviewing Action Plan.
Week 4
 Reviewing Action Plan.
 Celebrating Learning.
 Reviewing & Continuing Action Plan.

4. Week 1
Trainer: Preparation is essential for this module to ensure you are up to date with local support and
access to it. Also, research local statistics regarding truancy and impact it is having. Familiarity with
local schools and building up key contacts at the schools will also be useful.
Session Objectives:
 To Identify the Causes of Truancy & Behavioural Problems at School.
 To Identify How Truancy is Affecting the Child’s Future.
 To Identify How Truancy is Affecting the Family.
 To Define Different Types of Bullying.
 Identify Ways to Support a Child who is Being Bullied.
 To Set Personal Targets.
Introduce overall 4 week programme and how the action plan will be used.
1. ‘Causes of Truancy’
Introduce the topic of truancy and put it in context.
“Around 4% of children truant persistently in secondary school. Persistent
truancy in primary school is on the rise (now around 1.5%). About half of all
children truant at some time.”
Therefore, it’s not that unusual for a school child to miss a lesson or occasional day but if they are
consistently truanting, then obviously much more of an urgent problem.

5. 2. ‘Role Play’
First Teen: "When you’re younger it's very scary to not go into school. You know if your mum ever found
out that would be it - you’d be very scared. As you get older your mum's not scary anymore."
Second Teen: "I was scared of the SATs, I was quite nervous - so that's why I had to pull a sickie."
Third Teen: "I was really not happy with school. I was not happy with the friends I was with. I had a
reputation and I got very depressed because I couldn't lose it. So I truanted."
Kenny Frederick, Head-teacher: "The main reasons for truancy could be all sorts. It might be they don't
like a particular lesson. It might be they haven't brought their kit or their equipment and they know
they're going to get into trouble. It might be that they've heard that there’s a supply teacher and they
think they won't be noticed. It might be somebody in their class they don't get on with. It could be all
sorts of reasons."
Third Teen: "I used to walk in the back gate when my mum dropped me off, give it ten minutes and
then walk out the front door and go back to my house because I left my bedroom window open. So it
was getting bad."
“Truancy is now called 'Unauthorised Absence.’”
Kenny Frederick: "If you get a phone call from the school to say that your child has truanting, don't
panic. The first thing you do is to talk to your teenager - which, let's face it, is very hard to do because
some teenagers are uncommunicative and they won't say anything. And sometimes they might make
an excuse that actually isn't the truth. Well, of course have the dialogue, try to find out what is going on
and say 'Right, we're going to go in, we’re going to face your teachers and we're going to make sure
this doesn't happen again.'"
Fourth Teen: "My mum thought if I do get rude to her then she's going to react to it. So then my mum
thought she'll keep it on the level and just talk to me, and try to explain to me."
Third Teen: "Always be in contact with the school. Like my mum always used to ring up and ask how I
was doing. To be active in their school career is so important so you know what they're up to."
“It's your legal responsibility to make sure your child is in school!”
Kenny Frederick: "Parents often imagine that because their child doesn't go out in the street and
doesn't get involved in crime, that actually it doesn't matter because they're in their own home, they're
not at school and the parent knows where they are.
"It does matter. It's still illegal, and the child isn't being educated there. If we allow children to stay at
home because they don’t feel like coming to the school, they'd rather sit and watch television all day or
you want to them to look after the children, you want to take them shopping - parents are technically
breaking the law. It's actually doing the child a lot of harm. It's regarded as truancy; it's down on their
record as truancy."
“Help them to understand that truanting will affect their education.”
Third Teen: "My mum was like, 'This is your problem now, this is your exams'. And so that's when I
made the decision - I've done it before I can do it again and I thought I'd stop, so that's what happened.
In the end I did do it by myself but I don't think I would have done that if it wasn't for my mum helping
me."

6. “Don't be afraid of being firm.”
Kenny Frederick: "Parents need to understand that their children are not going to hate them - they
may occasionally say they hate them, because that's what teenagers do - but actually they really
appreciate the fact that their parents are being consistent, they're setting boundaries, they’re setting
standards. It's the youngsters who have no boundaries, the parents who are trying to keep them happy
all the time by letting them have their own way, that really are the ones that suffer."
Fourth Teen: "I realised I shouldn't do it again because at the end of the day, when I do have my exams
and everything, I'm going to be the one who's missed out on most of my subjects - I won't know what
to do, I'm going to be the one that's stressed."
There are a lot of issues to pick up in this role play.
Ask:
 What could be the causes of truancy?
Make sure points below are highlighted.
Causes (Could be a variety of reasons, i.e. more than one):
 Parents not Being Firm.
 Forgot Equipment & Don’t Want to get into Trouble.
 Fear of Tests.
 A Supply Teacher is Teaching & Think Won’t be Missed.
 Generally Unhappy/Depressed.
 Another Pupil: Bulling.
 A Particular Lesson/Teacher.
Get participants to discuss what they think could be behind their child’s truancy/behaviour at school.
Note to the Trainer: Some parents may be very negative themselves towards school and teachers.
Carefully explore this and see if this could be part of reason. If so, examine why that may be e.g.
their own negative experiences when they were at school?
If the above is true then will need some individual time to work through how to get around these
feelings in order to give right support to their child.
Ask what is said about the action to take if there is truancy?
Make sure discuss issues below (although will go into more detail on session 2):
What to do:
 Communicate with Child to Find Out Why.
 Contact the School.
 Be Firm.

7. 3. Impact of Truancy on Child & Family
What are the consequences for child and family?
Missing out on education and it is illegal!
The group may have strong feelings about action taken against parents.
Refer to clip from Worcester News (either show on screen or print off). What are their thoughts
about this?:
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/9329385.Jail_warning_to_truant_child_s_mum/
Ask:
 What the impact is on the child?
Children who persistently truant are more likely to get involved with crime as well as miss out on
future job opportunities.
Talk about local problems for truancy and any particular problems for the area:
Ask:
 Does this ring true?
 What are your thoughts?
 How does it affect the family e.g. role model for younger siblings?
If appropriate, get parents to work in small groups and answer last question and present back to
group.
4. Bullying at School
Introduce why the group is looking at this topic—because it’s often a reason for truancy.
Ask:
 What is bullying?
Make sure distinguish between random acts and arguments. There will always be this sort of thing
going on and part of growing up to learn to deal with it. Bullying is when there is deliberate use of
power to intimidate someone.
 ‘Bullying’ (Two Min’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWnpZBT8b0w
This is an example where physical and verbal abuse is not included. Ask them if they think this
constitutes bullying and why? Outline main types of bullying.
Main Types of Bullying:
 Physical: Hitting, Pushing, Damaging Belongings.
 Verbal: Name Calling, Insults, Racist & Homophobic Comments.
 Social (Covert): Spreading Lies, Rumours, Mimicking Someone, Playing Nasty Jokes.
 Psychological: Threaten, Manipulate, Stalk, Exclude
 Cyber: Use of Mobile Phone, Social Networking Sites to Carry Out Verbal Abuse etc.

8. Trainer: Do children tell their parents if they are being bullied. What are their thoughts? It is often
the case that they will not – many suffer in silence. Behavioural changes, loss of possessions, cuts
and bruises and of course truancy could all be signs. Show the following clips about supporting
their child and working with the school. It is Australian (uses ‘principal’ instead of head teacher)
but gives good tips and examples of questions to ask.
 ‘Quick Tips for Parents: How Do You Support Your Child?’ (Three Min’s & Forty-Five Sec’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfjMHIS_9A&feature=relmfu
Ask:
 What did you get from the clip?
Ensure you highlight and discuss main points below:
How to support child:
 Stay Calm.
 Listen Carefully.
 Praise Them For Telling You.
 Get the Details.
 Ask What They Want to Happen.
 Emphasise Bullying is not OK.
 Contact the School.
 Don’t Tell the Child to Retaliate but Instead Tips Like: ‘Walk Away From Them’ etc.
Watch:
 ‘Dealing with Bullying When Visiting the School’ (Three Min’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hbwDQmvj8A
What are some of the questions? Ensure they cover those below:
 How does s/he get along with other students?
 Who does s/he spend free time with?
 Have you noticed or suspected any bullying?
 Does s/he have any conflicts with anyone?
 Why do you think s/he is being targeted?
5. Introduction to Action Plan
 Introduce Action Plan & How it will be Used.
 Explain the Self Assessment.
 Get Them to Complete That First of All.
All participants will need individual help to think through what they have discussed and what it
means for them. Make sure they have begun to identify what may be causing truancy and
behavioural problems and the first steps to take – setting themselves some achievable personal
targets.

9. Week 2
Note to the Trainer: This session is about helping develop the skills needed to talk to their children
about truancy and behavioural problems. A big part of the session is making sure participants are
aware of support available to them.
Session Objectives:
 Identify the Skills Needed to Communicate Effectively with their Children.
 To Identify the Help & Support They can get to Support Truanting Child.
 Set Personal Targets.
1. ‘Review Time’
Lead discussion on what they remember from last week.
Ask:
 Have you been able to put anything into practice?
 What changes, if any, have been noticed?
2. ‘Truancy’
Watch:
 ‘A Guide To Stopping Your Child Truanting’ (Three Min’s & Thirty Sec’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUpus2sovLk
Ask:
 For any comments from the video.
Discuss:
 Some of the main points. Make sure cover points below
To address truancy make sure:
 Communicate & Find Out Why.
 Encourage Your Child.
 Take Responsibility (Enough Sleep, Well Fed, Communicate with School, Organised).
 Research Reason for not Attending

10. 3. ‘Talk About Problems of Communicating with Teens.’
The following video is a light hearted look at some of the problems.
 ‘Kevin at Dinner, Tidying Room’ (Six Min’s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Rsj98uNsIBQ
Ask:
 Do you recognise any of these behaviours in your own child?
 How can you try & get around these problems?
Note to the Trainer: Use resources from supporting parents with children who may be involved in
antisocial behaviour. Week 1 and week 2 have a number of exercises and guidance on
communication techniques.
Take time for participants to spend time on their action plan. They will need to bring it up to date
from last week. They may need to set some new targets in response to what has been covered in
this session and most will need individual support.
4. ‘Getting Support’
At this point there are some alternatives:
 Bring in any external speakers &/or information leaflets etc. that are relevant to the support
needs of the group.
 Get participants to go online to look at local facilities that could help with this sort of advice.
 Present your own findings & the details about what support is there, how to access it.
Participants will need individual help on their action plans. The sessions so far and the type of
support available that has been discussed will be used to put their action plans together. This is a
very important stage as they will need to start accessing support or taking responsibility
themselves so that subsequent sessions can build on this.

11. Week 3
Session Objectives:
 To Practice Important Communication Skills.
 To Identify When There is a Need to be Assertive.
 To be Able to Distinguish Between Aggression & Being Assertive.
 To set personal targets.
1. ‘Review Time’
Lead discussion on what they remember from last week.
Ask:
 How have you got on with their personal targets?
Introduce this session.
It is about developing some essential skills that are required in the process of getting support.
2. ‘Communication’
 1st: Making own needs clear & communicating them effectively.
 2nd: Being confident &assertive without being aggressive.
The session will involve exercises that help develop these skills.
Ask:
 Why/How do you seem to have problems in communicating? - Attitude? - Not able to
understand language?
Set up some scenarios in small groups (preferably 3). Base these on issues that have come up in first
week – and most likely scenario could be visiting school and talking to staff there. First of all get
participants to discuss how they would approach the situation and include issues below:
Before going to a meeting where may be upset or angry:
 Calm Frame of Mind.
 Clear What Want to get from the Meeting.
 Think of Specific Questions (could be some of those seen in video on first session re: going to
school to talk about bullying.)
 Be Prepared to Listen.
 ‘Open’ Body Language (i.e. Not Crossing Arms, Giving Positive Eye Contact).

12.  Give Tips on How to Stay Calm.
 Ensure All Participants Have Agreed What They Want to get from the Meeting.
 Encourage Them to Write Down Questions.
 Talk About Listening Techniques.
See Week 2 of ‘Improving Family Relationships’ for extra exercises/information re:
communication & listening techniques.
Discuss these techniques and ask them to use them in the exercise. Best to work in groups of three
(Two having a discussion with one main ‘listener’ and one observer). The observer can use the
template below to make any notes.
After the exercise, get the ‘listener’ to feed back how they felt they did and then also how the
‘talker’ felt.
The observer can then make their observations.
Discuss as a group.
They may want to talk more about trying to make their voice heard – if the person they are talking
to is not listening.
All participants will require help and advice regarding setting targets for their action plan.
Behaviour Did They
Show This?
Any Examples?
Eye Contact
Open Posture
Clear Questions
Listening When Required
Staying Calm
Achieving Goal for the
Meeting

13. Week 4
Session Objectives:
 To Review Success & Enjoyment of the Sessions.
 To Identify What Has Been Learned Over the Last Three Weeks.
 To Identify the Achievements Made By Participants.
 To Self-assess Overall Progress That Has Been Made.
 To Set Long Term Targets.
 To Celebrate Learning.
Trainer: this session will depend on the individual needs of the participants to some extent. It may be
possible to accompany participants when accessing support. It may be appropriate to organise a visit
together to a project or advice agency that they will all benefit from. They may have time to work
independently researching support on the internet if there is access to computers.
1. Review of Sessions
Ensure everyone tells contributes to the evaluation of sessions
 What did each of them get from it?
2. Review of Progress
Ask:
 Are you better able to deal with their child’s truancy or behavioural problems after our
discussions? Get participants to talk about any examples.
 Do you feel better able to access support that is available?
Participants need to complete the second self assessment on their action plan and complete details
regarding number of targets achieved and distance travelled.
They will then set longer term targets to carry on after the end of these sessions.
All participants will require individual help to ensure their action plans are complete. Also, they will
need help to set longer term targets and identify the support for going forward.
3. Celebrating Learning & Progress
Get the group to share with each other at least three positive things they have got from the sessions.
 Encourage participants to identify positive changes they have noticed in others as well.
 Use prizes/certificates as appropriate.

14. SUPPORTFORPARTICIPANTSWHOHAVEACHILDWITHTRUANCYORBAHAVIOURALPROBLEMSATSCHOOL
MyActionPlanName:Date:
Keyworker:
(1=Hardlyeverdoit!10=Doitallthetime!)WhereamInow?WheredoIwanttobe?
Myunderstandingofreasonsfortruancyorbehavioural
problems
Havingtheskillstodealwithtruancybehaviour
Knowinghowtoaccesssupport
Beingabletoaskforhelpandsupport
Forms

15. SHORTTERMTARGETSTOBEACHIEVEDOVERTHENEXT4WEEKS
WhatIwillworkonHowwillIdothat?
HowwillIknowIhavebeensuccessful?Whatis
mytarget?
Bywhichses-
sion?
Areviewofmyjourneysofar:
HowmanytargetsdidIsetmyself?HowmanydidIachieve?
Forms

16. SummaryofhowfarIhaveprogressed:WhereamInow?
(1-10scale)Isthatbetter/worse/sameaswhatIwanted?
Myunderstandingofreasonsfortruancyorbehavioural
problems
Havingtheskillstodealwithtruancybehaviour
Knowinghowtoaccesssupport
Beingabletoaskforhelpandsupport
Forms

17. LONGTERMTARGETS
WhatdoIneedtoworkon?
HowwillIdothat?WhatsupportwillI
need?
HowwillIknowIhavebeensuccess-
ful?Whatismytarget?Bywhen?
Forms

18. Nature of Support Who/Where Timescale
Examples of Targets:
 I will identify the main reasons for why my child is .....(missing school/behaving in certain way)
 I will identify at least 2 types of support I can get
 I will arrange a meeting with the school learning mentor
I will agree with my child/school at least 3 actions we will take together
What other support will I need after this programme?

19. Resources
For more information please use the links below:
Direct-Gov: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/
YourChildsWelfareAtSchool/DG_4016117
Family Lives: http://familylives.org.uk/advice/truancy-what-do
Safe-kids: http://www.safekids.co.uk/what-do-if-your-child-playing-truant.html
For more information about:
Pathway2work: Supporting Families in Walsall please:
Call: 01922 870050
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk