Improving attendance in Scotland's schools: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?

Overall, the guidance is expected to have a positive impact on children’s rights and wellbeing. No negative impact has been identified.

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.

The school attendance guidance is expected to have a positive impact on children and young people’s rights and will further support the realisation of their rights.

The guidance aims to:

• support schools and education authorities to improve children and young people’s school attendance and engagement
• positively impact on children and young people’s longer-term outcomes through improved attendance and engagement in education
• support schools and education authorities to respond to persistent or complex absence through proportionate, child‑centred approaches by addressing the individual barriers which children and young people face so that they can further realise their right to education
• address inequality and disadvantage by supporting schools and education authorities to deliver tailored and flexible approaches which meet the needs of children and young people

The guidance will support children and young people to express their views on matters which affect them and to contribute meaningfully to decisions about their education. The guidance makes clear that children and young people have a key role, alongside their families and school staff, in the design, implementation and review of attendance policies, ensuring their rights are recognised and respected. (article 12)

The guidance will support children to be protected from violence, abuse and neglect (article 19). The guidance makes clear links to child protection procedures and safeguarding responsibilities, supporting schools and education authorities to identify and respond appropriately to concerns.

By supporting schools and education authorities to improve attendance, the guidance will support children to realise their right to education (article 28), achieve the goals of education (article 29) and participate in leisure, play and culture (article 31). This will support schools and education authorities to ensure education is directed towards the development of each child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential, promoting the best interests of the child (article 3).

The guidance recognises the rights and responsibilities of parents in supporting their children’s education (article 5) and promotes collaborative working between families, schools and education authorities to ensure education arrangements best meet individual needs.

The guidance will help to support equality of access to education for all children and young people, regardless of protected characteristics, additional support needs, care experience, cultural identity or socio-economic status (articles 2, 23, 14, 20 and 30). The guidance makes clear that schools and education authorities must take account of the diversity and protected characteristics of their school communities when applying attendance policies and managing absence and provide targeted and appropriate support that reflects individual circumstances. It aligns with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and other relevant legislative requirements, supporting schools and education authorities to meet the needs of all pupils, protect children and young people’s rights and remove barriers to attendance and engagement in school education.

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe it below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?

No negative impact has been identified.

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate a negative impact or potential incompatibility?

Please summarise mitigation actions taken below

No mitigation required

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland?

Safe: Yes

Healthy: Yes

Achieving: Yes

Nurtured: Yes

Active: Yes

Respected: Yes

Responsible: Yes

Included: Yes

If yes, please provide an explanation below:

The guidance is expected to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of children and young people of school-age in Scotland, helping them to become successful learners, responsible citizens, effective contributors and confident individuals.

The guidance will support children and young people to be safe by helping schools to create an environment where children and young people feel secure, nurtured and listened to. It promotes a partnership approach to ensure that safeguarding responsibilities are fully embedded in attendance and absence policies and recognises that absence may be a potential indicator of underlying wellbeing concerns.

The guidance will support children and young people to be healthy by ensuring that unnecessary barriers to children attending school are removed enabling children and young people to participate in activities which boost their physical and emotional health such as play and socialisation with peers in school. Improved attendance at school will also ensure that children and young people have regular access to school staff for whom health and wellbeing is a responsibility of all as a core area of the curriculum.

The guidance will support children and young people to achieve by supporting schools and education authorities to address any barriers to school attendance and engagement in learning, taking into account individual circumstances. The guidance highlights the importance of early intervention to reduce absence and maximise participation in learning leading to improved long-term outcomes.

The guidance will support children and young people to be nurtured by helping schools to create an environment in which all children and young people feel secure, valued and part of the school community. The guidance reflects feedback from engagement with children, young people and families highlighting the importance of positive relationships and trust with staff members in promoting good attendance.

The guidance will support children and young people to be active by supporting schools to remove unnecessary barriers to attendance, allowing children to participate in opportunities for physical activity through the health and wellbeing curriculum and play with their peers.

The guidance will support children and young people to be respected by encouraging schools to ensure that the views of children and young people are central to their considerations, with opportunities for them to contribute meaningfully to the development and review of their attendance policies.

The guidance will support children and young people to be responsible. The guidance states that children and young people should be given opportunities to fully engage and participate in the life of their school in order to encourage good attendance.

The guidance will support children and young people to be included by supporting schools and local authorities to remove unnecessary barriers to attendance, engagement in learning and participation in school life. The guidance recognises that there may be barriers to attendance which affect some groups more than others and encourages schools to work to minimise such barriers and provide targeted support where needed.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

The guidance asks schools to ensure that the views of children and young people are a central consideration, with opportunities for them to contribute meaningfully to the development and review of their attendance policies and be involved in decisions that affect them. The guidance encourages a whole school inclusive approach that encourages children and young people to engage with trusted adults if support is needed for attendance. The guidance signposts to appropriate resources to support schools with this approach and highlights the importance of working collaboratively with the whole school community to support and promote attendance. The Scottish Government have also worked collaboratively with key stakeholders through the School Attendance Working Group to communicate and promote the key messages of the guidance.