Devon School Attendance Targeted Support Meeting (TSM): Terms of Reference

Purpose

The Attendance Targeted Support Meeting (ATSM) is a structured multi-disciplinary meeting designed to identify, monitor, and coordinate support for learners whose attendance is causing concern. The meeting focuses on understanding barriers to attendance, implementing effective interventions, and improving attendance outcomes through a person-centred and restorative approach.

Aims

The meeting will:

• Review attendance data and identify learners requiring targeted support
• Analyse attendance patterns, trends, and underlying causes
• Monitor the impact of interventions on attendance and engagement
• Escalate concerns where attendance continues to decline despite support
• Focus particular on the attendance to school of vulnerable pupils particularly those under care orders/plans and those who are in receipt of an Education, Health and Care Plan or on SEND support
• Promote a culture of inclusion, safeguarding, and early intervention

Scope

The meeting will consider learners who:

• Have attendance below agreed organisational thresholds
• Demonstrate persistent or severe absenteeism
• Are at risk of disengagement from learning
• Have attendance concerns linked to safeguarding, wellbeing, SEND, behavioural, family, transport, housing, health, or other vulnerabilities
• Require coordinated multi-agency or cross-departmental support

Membership

Core members may include:

• Senior member of school staff team (Chair)
• Attendance Lead (if different to staff members mentioned)
• Pastoral or Welfare Lead (if different to staff members mentioned)
• Safeguarding representative (if different to staff members mentioned)
• SEND representative (if different to staff members mentioned)
• Relevant teaching staff or tutor if appropriate
• Local Authority Inclusion Partner

Additional attendees may include:

• Careers Adviser
• Mental Health Practitioner
• External agencies
• Parent/carer (where appropriate)
• Learner (where appropriate)

Frequency

• Held termly for each school or depending on local needs
• Additional case discussions may be convened where urgent attendance concerns arise

Key responsibilities

Chair

• Lead meetings effectively
• Ensure discussions remain focused on solutions and outcomes
• Confirm decisions and actions

Attendance Lead

• Provide attendance reports and analysis
• Identify learners meeting referral criteria
• Monitor attendance improvement plans

All members

• Share relevant information
• Contribute to action planning

Maintain confidentiality and professional standards.

Referral criteria

Learners may be referred where they:

• Fall below an agreed attendance threshold (for example, 90%)
• Show a rapid decline in attendance
• Have repeated unauthorised absences
• Are identified through safeguarding or welfare concerns
• Require additional support to sustain engagement

Meeting agenda

1. Welcome and apologies
2. Review of previous actions
3. Attendance data overview
4. Review of new referrals
5. Review of existing targeted support cases:
   • Current attendance
   • Interventions implemented
   • Barriers identified
   • Impact and progress
6. Escalation discussions where required
7. Agreement of actions, responsibilities, and timescales
8. Any other business
9. Date of next meeting

Intervention Framework

Support may include:

Universal support

• Attendance expectations communicated
• Tutor discussions
• Attendance monitoring

Targeted support

• Attendance improvement plan
• Parent/carer engagement
• Welfare and wellbeing support
• Mentoring or coaching
• Academic support interventions

Intensive support

• Multi-agency meetings
• Safeguarding interventions
• External specialist referrals
• Formal attendance contracts or agreements
• Senior leadership review

Expected outcomes

The meeting aims to achieve:

• Improved learner attendance and punctuality
• Reduced persistent absence
• Increased learner engagement and participation
• Effective identification and removal of attendance barriers
• Clear accountability for attendance interventions
• Stronger collaboration between curriculum, support, and safeguarding teams

Governance and confidentiality

• Attendance discussions will comply with organisational policies and UK GDPR requirements
• Information shared will be on a need-to-know basis
• Minutes and action logs will be securely maintained
• Attendance trends and outcomes will be reported to senior leadership through established quality and performance processes

Success measures

• Reduction in the number of learners below attendance thresholds
• Improved attendance rates for targeted learners
• Timely completion of agreed actions
• Positive learner and stakeholder feedback
• Demonstrable impact of interventions on engagement and achievement