{"id":31025,"date":"2025-03-11T11:08:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T11:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/?page_id=31025"},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T13:33:56","slug":"influence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/inclusion\/ebsa\/factors-that-support-good-school-attendance\/influence\/","title":{"rendered":"Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Children should feel they can influence their education and school life<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important that pupils feel listened to and have control over their lives. Empowering pupils to have agency in decisions about their school life can be crucial to their sense of well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When students are involved in decision-making processes, they feel valued and respected, which can enhance their motivation and engagement in learning. This can be especially important for pupils who are experiencing emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), who can feel that many aspects of their school experience are out of their control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supporting a child to talk and share their views<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pupils who experience EBSA can often find it difficult to speak about school for several different reasons. Anxiety about school can be overwhelming, making it difficult for them to articulate their feelings. Pupils with EBSA may also struggle with identifying and expressing their emotions, particularly if they have not developed the necessary coping strategies. For some pupils, such as those who are neurodivergent, additional needs related to social and sensory challenges can add additional layers of anxiety, further complicating their ability to communicate their school-related worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When working with a pupil to gain their views and understand any worries they may have, it is important to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not dismiss any anxieties or worries that the pupil may have.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Empathise with them, validating their feelings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider the pupil\u2019s age and level of understanding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Think of different ways to support the child to effectively give their views and use a variety of strategies such as talking, drawing, use of questionnaires or card sort activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some pupils are happy to talk about the things they find hard, but others can find this difficult. If a pupil is finding it difficult to speak directly you could try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Going for a walk and talking while you are moving, sometimes it is easier to talk to others when not directly looking at them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using a card sorting activity, such as \u2018The School Wellbeing Cards\u2019. Some pupils can find it easier to project their feelings onto the cards and this can be a basis for further conversations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using a questionnaire such as the \u2018School Views Questionnaire\u2019 can also support pupils to express views they might otherwise find difficult to put into words.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For some pupils using drawing activities, such as the \u2018Ideal School Activity\u2019 can be a way for them to begin to express their feelings about school.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/inclusion\/ebsa\/gaining-pupils-views-around-attendance-difficulties-and-worries\/\">More information and resources about getting children\u2019s views can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Talking with a child\u2019s parent carers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some pupils may speak with a parent, carer or family member about what is worrying them. It is important to involve a child\u2019s parents\/carers in discussions and find out whether they have any concerns or know what their child may be worrying about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Involving children in decision-making<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important that children feel that they can have their voice heard and can have an impact on their education and school life. It will be important to get the child\u2019s view about any plans that are being developed around their school attendance. They may be able to tell you what they feel able and unable to do and what help they might need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolwellbeingcards.co.uk\/\" rel=\"noopener\">School Wellbeing: Risk and resiliency cards<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>School views questionnaire <a href=\"https:\/\/devoncc.sharepoint.com\/:w:\/s\/PublicDocs\/Education\/EVh8S0DlBOpPgpDsPF44ljsBsyiZQHShyszx3jdnsn2BkA?e=zqqpZh\" rel=\"noopener\">primary<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/devoncc.sharepoint.com\/:w:\/s\/PublicDocs\/Education\/EcAe2-ZZSl1Nov-gsqtKwVgBrudiUmqoGL9PtOBhZHK4wg?e=s5TYWa\" rel=\"noopener\">secondary<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/devoncc.sharepoint.com\/:w:\/s\/PublicDocs\/Education\/ETMRXmVmb2tGi0W7sM52b4sB1-TsJWjicBoZN4gVlA-NHg?e=wejyc8\" rel=\"noopener\">Risk and Resiliency Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Useful videos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"How to support your child if they&#039;re struggling with school anxiety\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/s5I-qvDmJ9I?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Real kids talk about coping with anxiety\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/f3_Ew7ejOo4?feature=oembed&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children should feel they can influence their education and school life It is important that pupils feel listened to and have control over their lives. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":981,"featured_media":0,"parent":31024,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-guides.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-31025","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 01:23:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/981"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31025"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31335,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31025\/revisions\/31335"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}