Attendance or punctuality issues
With some learners you may notice changes in their attendance patterns. If they are experiencing poor mental health, their motivation and the ability to organise themselves can be affected. This could be reflected in either non-attendance or increased lateness, either in person or online. It is important to recognise that even turning up late could be a real achievement for a learner experiencing anxiety or depression, so viewing that as a positive, rather than a negative for being late, can demonstrate support on your part.
With adult learners it is also important to recognise that they may be more likely to be impacted by other commitments outside of their study. This could be related to work, childcare commitments or wider caring responsibilities. So, although a change in attendance could reflect mental health issues, it could also be due to a range of other factors.
Activity _unit2.4.2 Activity 5 Support strategies for late attendance
From the table below, highlight some strategies you feel would be supportive to a learner who has started turning up late for sessions.
| Silently acknowledging them entering the session, even if this is just with a welcoming smile. | At the end of the session, asking to see this learner so the rest of the group know that lateness is not accepted. |
| Checking in with them at the end of the session to see how they are doing and if anything is getting in the way of their studies right now. | Silently acknowledging them entering the session, but letting them know you are disappointed. |
| Giving the group a short task to work on so you can discretely explain to the learner what they may have missed so far. | Highlighting their lateness to the rest of the group in the hope it will make them be on time for the next session. |
| Saying it is ‘OK’ and to take their time if you notice them struggling to settle. | Waiting until they have settled in their chair before you continue the session in the hope this will mean they will settle quickly. |
Discussion
Hopefully, you have identified that the strategies in the left-hand column will be more conducive to learner wellbeing than those in the right-hand column. We sometimes think that choosing strategies on the right-hand side will set the ‘standards’ that we expect of learners and will help in the long run. However, if you consider the factors which may be behind these attendance issues, you can also see that those approaches could increase anxieties for some learners and sometimes actually disrupt the session more for others. Next time you are in this position in a session, try focusing on the strategies from the left-hand column and reflect on what that might mean for both the learner in question, and the group as a whole.