A 2018 study revealed that only 47% of young people were engaged at school. A student’s welfare, academic success and future prospects massively depend on their engagement in the classroom. School staff must be committed to detecting early warning signs of student disengagement.
Low student engagement is a concern for 80% of educators, with article on EdNews Daily coining this a “student engagement crisis”.
Behaviour that is concerning or changes drastically over time should be addressed. Early warning signs of student disengagement can include, but aren’t limited to:
- Low/reduced attendance.
- Low/reduced participation in classroom.
- Low/reduced socialisation with others.
- Low/reduced academic performance.
- Increased bad/disruptive behaviour.
There is a variety of potential reasons for lack of student engagement. Factors can include:
- Family matters – including the passing of a relative, family instability, financial difficulties
- Dangers at home – including physical abuse, emotional abuse, substance abuse or neglect.
- Mental health – including anxiety, depression or other disorders.
- Disabilities – including learning difficulties and physical impairments.
- Social pressures– including bullying or inequality/discrimination.
- External pressures – including politics or global news/crises.
It is important that students enduring any of these circumstances are identified and supported. Changes in behaviour can signify complex problems. By recognising the early signs of student disengagement, students that are struggling can be provided with the help that they need.
78% of school staff members said building stronger teacher-student connections are highly effective at increasing student engagement. Nurturing positive relationships with students motivates them to attend and engage, but also makes them more likely to discuss issues with their trusted adult.
Other ways to intervene in a disengaged student’s life can be to provide resources and promote feelings of safety. Schools should be educating young people about how they can receive help for issues they may be facing. They should also create a safe environment so that students are able to speak up about their situations.
ECINS’ solution
ECINS understands that recognising the early warning signs of student disengagement can signify deeper issues in a pupil’s life. Staff members should be alert to students’ behaviours; they should have a system that maximises student support by making information sharing between teachers efficient.
Giving wraparound support to disengaged students is essential. Staff and students should both have processes in place that ensure pupils’ wellbeing and safety. ECINS has the tools to help.
SEM
The Student Engagement Module is designed to support students’ welfare and encourage them to take an active role in their learning and wellbeing. ECINS’ SEM has a range of features designed to assist students in different areas of their academic and personal lives:
- Mood tracker: allows students to log their emotions by selecting an emoji and writing a short entry about their feelings and concerns. This exercise boosts student mood; it also informs trusted adults of a young person’s situation and whether intervention is needed.
- Help + advice documents: provides students with relevant guidance and information about a range of topics, from mental health advice to child services contacts. Young people know how to get support and reach out about their concerns.
- Task setter: establishes goals for a student to work towards, increasing engagement and motivation. Tasks can be tailored to each student, for example: homework assignments and social worker appointments.
- Attendance tracker: holds students accountable for absences and encourages engagement in additional sessions like afterschool clubs. Poor attendance is a key indication of disengagement, so the tracker is a useful tool.
- Chat function: used to contact students directly, allowing teachers and staff to reach out about specific matters regarding disengagement.
- Calendar: supports students with keeping track of their academic lives. Schedules can make school feel less overwhelming and remind students to organise appointments with staff.
CMM
The Case Management Module creates an integrated network whereby all relevant school staff members can interact and understand individuals in their care. Various staff members can collect with police, social workers and foster families, so that everybody knows all of the relevant information about a child.
Actions and information can be logged, along with case notes. Consolidated case information is accessible from any device with web access. CMM’s has a lock-down security system so that only the appropriate people can access certain information.
Assessments support staff in addressing the early warning signs of student disengagement. They provide a variety of pre-loaded assessments to staff members to allow data capture, for example psychological screeners. Assessments can also be created by staff members, so they are tailored to a student’s needs.
Wheel assessments are also helpful in gauging trends in student wellbeing across multiple areas of concern. These can identify potential causes of disengagement and how they can addressed.
It is vital for all adults to be aware of a student’s situation and have tools at their disposal to interact and intervene. ECINS facilitates the identification of early warning signs of student disengagement and allows them to be addressed efficiently.