How Can School Leaders Conduct Effective Home Visits?

As a former deputy headteacher and designated Safeguarding Lead in a primary school in one of England’s most deprived areas, improving outcomes for young people has always been a passion of mine. Now, as the Safeguarding Lead at School-Home Support (SHS), I have the opportunity to extend my support to young people and their families across England.

No two days are ever the same! I could be preparing a risk assessment for a home visit, providing supervision for one of our practitioners or talking to school leaders about an action plan for a child with special needs and safeguarding best practices. The unpredictability of the role means that one must always be prepared for the unexpected!

At School-Home Support, our team of family practitioners is based in schools and in the community to provide holistic care and support not only to the child but to the whole family unit. The issues we deal with can range from non-attendance and lateness at school to mental health concerns, poverty, inadequate housing, lack of parental engagement or a child witnessing domestic violence.

Our practitioners conduct home visits regularly as part of our engagement plans, but also as an essential tool to unpick the root causes of persistent and severe absence in school.

Common welfare concerns and the whole family support model

Schools are safe spaces for most children, but the challenges they face at home often go unnoticed without a proactive approach. The home the child goes back to after the school day – it matters. In my experience, understanding family dynamics is key to identifying the root causes of poor attendance, challenging behaviour and lateness, as well as addressing concerns about a young person’s wellbeing.

School leaders are doing everything they can to support pupils and their families. But they don’t always have the time or the resources to conduct home visits. That’s why School-Home Support is advocating for the new government to commit to funding a whole family support practitioner for every school. These practitioners are professionals who will have the time, resources and expertise to address any welfare concerns and conduct home visits when needed.

Pupils are referred to our practitioners when they miss more than 10% of their school days but also when they present mental health challenges, poor behaviour or when the school hasn’t had any contact with a parent or carer for some time. This is when home visits become essential to address welfare concerns, because they offer a direct window into the home environment that shapes pupils’ lives.

The importance of home visits to address safeguarding concerns

There is a lot of negativity surrounding home visits. Parents and communities see this as schools ‘checking up’ on their children. But really, home visits come from a place of genuine care and concern for the young person. If a pupil does not attend school and hasn’t been seen for a number of days, it is the school’s duty to find out why and to ensure that the young person is safe from harm. 

When our practitioners visit the family home they are able to unpick the barriers to good school attendance in a place that is familiar to both the young person and the parent or carer. A home visit can also help to support family routines, rules and boundaries. 

The journey to school is often a barrier to good school attendance – sometimes the families we support can’t afford a bus pass. A home visit also helps to identify what those barriers are. Practitioners may also take the step to walk with the young person to school or accompany them on the school bus. This could be a short-term intervention to build confidence and promote the independence of the young person.

For example, we had a young boy, Fred, who was often late to school. At first, he was shy and didn’t talk much about his concerns. Sam, our practitioner, decided to accompany him on the bus route to school. Eventually, she found out that the bus went past Fred’s old school where he was bullied. Going past the school gave him anxiety and he often took the bus later when he knew classes had already started. So, Sam arranged alternative transport for Fred to go to school while she also worked with him on addressing his concerns and anxiety.

When is it appropriate for school leaders to make a home visit?

Home visits should always be seen as a support-first approach, offering an opportunity to engage with families in their own setting and determine if further support is needed.

Poor attendance is one of the main reasons we conduct home visits at School-Home Support, but other reasons include:

• Lack of engagement or contact from parents – if there is no answer from ‘first day calling’ phone calls or if the young person has been absent for three consecutive days (dependent on school attendance policy) with no contact from home.
• Housing concerns – for example, if the child is living in a place that is not fit for purpose, overcrowded, with damp/mouldy conditions or if they don’t have their own space to sleep or do homework.
• Ill mental health – particularly young people exhibiting signs of self-harm, anxiety or not being able to physically leave the house despite a willingness to attend.
• Concerns around domestic violence – this may be an unsubstantiated disclosure. The home visit would be carried out in a non-biased and neutral way to ensure the professional does not take sides.

We had another case where a home visit revealed the situation of a young person based in Liverpool. They had missed the last day of school prior to the half term and did not attend the first part of the week following half term. No professionals had seen them for almost two weeks. 

A home visit was conducted to ensure the young person was safe and that the family was not in need of extra support.  During the home visit, it became clear that the family was in desperate need; the young person was in their bedroom and refusing to come out, though Mum was trying her best. 

The house was in disarray, with piles of clothing on every surface and open kitchen cupboards showing little food. There was a bad smell inside the home due to having pets in the house too. Mum would not allow the practitioner to go upstairs to see the young person and the young person would not come downstairs. No one from the school had ever carried out a home visit prior to this incident because attendance had not been an issue.

Following the home visit, the practitioner completed a multi-agency referral to trigger the need for children’s social services to become involved with the family to ensure the right support was put in place. The family has since been allocated a social worker and they are now receiving the support they need.

Tips and advice for school leaders to conduct home visits

Professionals should think about home visits as an opportunity to engage with the family in their own setting to help establish good relationships with them.

Home visiting gives a more intimate knowledge of a child and family and it is a privilege to be invited into a home. As a result, the professional visiting the home is in a position of trust. So, they should remember that they have been invited into someone’s home, sitting down when offered and, if offered a drink, making a polite excuse not to accept (you’ve just had one before leaving, etc.); not going straight into form-filling but talking with the parents or carers about how they are feeling first, which is a good way to building rapport and trust with the family. 

Preparation is key to a successful home visit. My top tip for professionals who are conducting home visits is to be mindful of the following:

• Scheduling home visits. Ideally, home visits should take place during school hours and in daylight, especially during the winter months. Before the visit, gather background information, including who lives at the home, any health needs of parents or carers, and previous contact with the family. Make sure you are familiar with your setting’s policy on home visits and know what to do if there are immediate safeguarding concerns or if your safety is at risk.

• Safety and risk management. The safety of our practitioners when they conduct home visits is very important. Our policy says that they must always inform someone of their exact location and the visit’s timing, ensuring details of the visit are left with the school office, including a code word to use in case of danger. They are cautioned to keep a charged mobile phone for communication and be aware of any known risks before the visit. They are also told that if they feel unsafe, they can stay on the doorstep or make other arrangements, like coming back later or on another day.

• Building trust first. Earning the trust of the family first is essential for a successful home visit. My advice is to start with an easy conversation, asking how they are that day to put them at ease. Active listening, clear and open communication about who you are and why you are there and a non-judgemental approach all go a long way towards building trust.

• Documentation and follow-up. After finalising the home visit, remember to make a note about where the visit took place, who was present and what discussions and actions were agreed. This is useful to have as additional information for future home visits if needed.

• Developing and implementing action plans. The most effective action plans are the ones developed together with the family and young person, ensuring the goals are tailored to their needs and they understand what needs to be done.

• Measuring impact and effectiveness. It’s important to assess the outcomes of that visit. Did you get the information you needed? Was the family cooperative? The impact of the visit can be measured by looking at improvements in parental engagement, increased attendance and any reductions in safeguarding concerns. 

Challenges and successes of home visits

Sometimes, families have had negative experiences with schools or statutory services and might be uncooperative and resistant to letting someone in their home. These families can take some time to build trust with and visiting them in their home can be quite challenging. In these cases, the best approach is to:

• Listen actively to hear what the family has to say without prejudice/
• Ask open questions – what would they like to happen? What support would be beneficial to them? What would ‘good’ look like to them?
• Make it clear that you and the school are there to help their child achieve the best possible outcomes. You’re in it together – never make it a ‘them and us’ situation
• Be persistent. Keep on knocking on the door whenever you need to. Start with doorstep visits and build up once you have the trust of the family. Tenacity and reliability help to build trust between families and practitioners.
• Don’t always go to deliver bad news or to discuss what’s not going well! Share snippets of good news too; acknowledge what the family or young person are doing well.

Managing home visits can be challenging for school leaders and professionals, but if I’ve learnt something during my time at School-Home Support working with hard-to-reach families, it’s that persistence is vital. Schools shouldn’t be discouraged by the initial resistance some families might have.

With the new statutory attendance guidance, home visits will form part of the support-first approach to school attendance. They will and should be part of the normal school routine and they should be carried out consistently to ensure pupils are being safeguarded appropriately. 

School leaders can prepare for home visits by having a clear home visit policy, planning them thoroughly and making sure information and relevant findings are shared between the attendance, safeguarding and welfare teams.

Despite the challenges of home visits, there are many success stories. For example, one of our practitioners in Blackpool went to visit a young person in their home due to concerns about how they were presenting at school (often without a clean uniform), concerns about their behaviour (angry outbursts and feeling ‘fed up’ and tired in class) and because their attendance record was only 82%. 

The home visit revealed that Dad was sleeping on the couch, having given up his room for his two sons to have individual rooms. They also didn’t have a washing machine and often relied on friends and neighbours to do their laundry. They didn’t have the space for a new washing machine in the house either. The place where they were living wasn’t suitable for a family of three.

Our practitioner worked with Dad to secure a new three-bedroom property and even attended viewings with him. A new washing machine was bought through the SHS Welfare Fund and referrals to other agencies were made to help resolve the young person’s anger management issues and Dad’s drinking problem. This led to improved attendance for the young person (it went up to 92% by the end of SHS support), better engagement in learning and improvements in communication between Dad and the school.

This is one of the stories that most impacted me because it shows that just with that one home visit, we were able to understand the family situation and the reasons behind the young person’s behaviour and poor attendance. Most importantly, we were able to put an action plan in place to give the family the support they needed at a time when it was most important and before issues escalated further.

Moving forward with effective home visits

I believe that each day presents new challenges and opportunities to make a significant impact on the lives of children and young people. Conducting effective home visits is a vital component of safeguarding and supporting pupils. The positive impact of home visits is undeniable, offering a unique opportunity to provide holistic support and foster resilience in families, ensuring that they can thrive beyond the school gate.

As I’ve explained above, by planning, building rapport, ensuring safety, and following up diligently, school leaders can provide the support families and communities need to make sure children make the most out of their education.

At School-Home Support, we’ve developed a new training programme: the Attendance Support and Development Programme (ASDP), which covers strategies to improve attendance and attainment in schools, parental engagement and best practices for home visits. Find out more about it on our website.

Sarah Loy is a former deputy headteacher and current Safeguarding Lead at School-Home Support.