Family group conferences: are they an effective and viable way of working with attendance and behaviour problems in schools?

Improving pupil attendance and behaviour are essential to improving teaching and learning in schools. Pupils who have the most problems in these respects are likely to need support that recognises the wider influences on these issues. Family Group Conferences (FGCs) are family-led decision-making meetings, that include the family and significant others in the formulation of a plan to help address the needs of a child. The research reported upon here included a quasi-experimental element in the design in which levels of attendance and school exclusion were key before and after outcomes for the intervention (FGC) and comparison (Education Welfare Service, EWS) groups. The research shows that attendance and exclusion data did not improve in the FGC group but that the comparative gains made in attendance by the EWS were very modest. Nevertheless, responses to the survey of referral agents and interviews with Educational Welfare Officers and FGC coordinators suggest that FGCs are considered to be a viable approach in schools that may be effective in individual cases.