Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1: Improving Attendance in Scotland's Schools

Signposting and resources

This section contains links to other sources of information referenced within this guidance.

Support for children and young people

Reach provides information and advice to children and young people who have, or might have, an additional support need on their rights.

My Rights, My Say provides support to children in Scotland aged 12-15 with additional support needs to exercise their rights to be involved in decisions about their support in school.

Young Scot provide a range of information to build young people’s understanding of their rights and how they can get support to attend school.

The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland provides information for children and young people about their rights.

Support for parents

Enquire is the national advice and information service for parents on additional support for learning.

Parent Club has information for parents about a range of issues. This includes Information on school attendance and a Family Support Directory that provides signposting to organisations, benefits and information.

National Autistic Society has a range of information and advice for parents of autistic children. This includes resources about school attendance and engagement, exclusion from school, extra help at school in Scotland and starting or switching school

Child Poverty Action Group provide information on financial help in the school years.

Parentzone Scotland provides information and advice to parents about education. It includes practical ideas to support learning at home, information on additional support needs, and tips on how parents can get involved in their child’s education.

Support for schools, education authorities and staff

Education Scotland has developed a range of resources focused on improving attendance, designed to provide support, exemplification and advice to educators for improving attendance within their context.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published key guidance relating to the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty:

• Equality Act 2010: guidance
• Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty for Scottish public bodies
• Equality and Human Rights Commission Technical Guidance for Schools in Scotland

SEEMiS has produced a number of resources to support staff using the system. The resources are available from the SEEMiS website.

The Scottish Government has published updated National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland which describes the responsibilities and expectations for all involved in protecting children in Scotland. Education Scotland has also developed a range of resources about safeguarding and child protection. This includes:

• Information for educators on domestic abuse
• Resources about female genital mutilation (FGM)
• Resources on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Other key guidance and resources to support schools:

• Additional support for learning - Supporting Learners’ Code of Practice
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma
• The Behaviour in Scottish schools: research report 2023
• Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative
• Children’s rights self-evaluation toolkit
• Developing the young workforce
• Drug and alcohol services - improving holistic family support
• Getting it right for every child
• Get it Right for Girls (Challenging misogynistic attitudes among children and young people)
• Guidance from Public Health Scotland on health protection in educational settings
• Guidance on addressing racism and racist incidents in schools
• Home Education Guidance for parents and local authorities
• How Good is Our School? (HGIOS4)
• Guidance on improving educational outcomes for children and young people from travelling cultures
• Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2: A Positive Approach to Preventing and Managing School Exclusions
• Included, Engaged and Involved Part 3: a relationships and rights based approach to Physical intervention in schools
• Mental Health strategy – CAHMS
• National Improvement Framework
• Presumption to provide education in a mainstream setting
• Preventing and responding to gender based violence: a whole school framework
• The Promise
• Guidance from NSPCC on protecting children from sexual exploitation
• Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People
• Schools - fostering a positive, inclusive and safe environment: guidance
• Scottish Attainment Challenge
• Standing Up to Child Poverty (anti-poverty guidance for classroom practitioners)
• Supporting communication with parents and carers
• Supporting children and young people from armed forces families
• Supporting young carers
• UN Convention on Rights of a Child (UNCRC)
• Violence Against Women and Girls – forced marriage and genital mutilation
• Violent, Aggressive and Dangerous Behaviour Risk Assessment Guidance