Support is available for children and young people in Salford who experience barriers to school or college engagement and attendance. We know the earlier difficulties are identified and support is put in place, the more successful we can be in developing their access to education and ongoing life experiences.
Collaboration between the following services provides support to schools/colleges, parents/carers, children and young people.
- School Attendance Team
- Educational Psychology Service (EPS)
- Early Help Team (including Early Help School Co-ordinators, Salford School Partnership (SSP), Early Help and Family Help Practitioners)
- SEND Leaders
- Primary Inclusion Team (PIT)
- Learning Support Service (LSS)
- Autism and Social Communication (ASC) Team
- CAMHS iReach
- Place2Be and 42nd Street
- Barnardo's Attendance Mentors (Watchtower Project)
- Salford Parent Carer Forum and SIASS
- Salford Youth Service
Reducing Barriers to Education Attendance Support Guidance 2025-26 includes recommended approaches to support prevention, early intervention and targeted support (for both emerging concerns and extended non-attendance). For a copy of the guidance please email [email protected]
Barriers to Education Project and WARMTH Principles
Salford EPS is part of The Barriers to Education Project - which is working with families and a wide multiagency team to develop better guidance to support children and young people who experience barriers to attendance and accessing their education. A toolkit and website is due to launch in academic year 2025/26. Further information about the project, including three recorded webinars and one specifically on burnout recovery, can be found on Barriers to Education (padlet.com) and Autism at Manchester attendance special.
The core principles of this project drive Salford’s approach to supporting attendance difficulties. We recognise children and young people want to do well and to support this, the right support needs to be in place at the right time. This requires a strong preventative approach, alongside early identification and planned support when difficulties arise. Wellbeing is key to supporting access to education and needs to come first.
Key messages and WARMTH Principles
- Can't, not won't - children do well if they can.
- Preventing and responding to attendance difficulties needs to be a whole school approach. Early intervention is key.
- Support first. Build trust and work with families.
- Prioritise wellbeing and address wider wellbeing needs (belonging, friendships, self-identity) - this supports access to learning.
- Children and young people's views needs to be central, and plans to be agreed at their pace.
WARMTH stands for:
- W - Wellbeing First
- A - Affirming Practice
- R - Relational Approach
- M - Mutual Understanding and Partnership
- T - Timely Response
- H - Holistic Support
