P1T Module 3: Exploitation and Vulnerable Situations – assessment scenarios (2)

Scenario 2 

A pupil in your Year 10 class has started to miss school more frequently and you are becoming concerned by her behaviour because when you ask her why she is not attending school, she does not give an answer. When she is in school, her behaviour has changed from being alert, wanting to learn and meeting or in some cases exceeding her target grades to truanting certain classes, not completing her homework and in her Year 10 mocks not attaining any of her target grades. At parents’ evening, her parents said that they are becoming increasingly concerned about the change in her behaviour at home as well as at school. They said that she arrives home from school at varying times, refusing to say where she has been, why she is late and not saying who she has been with. When asked, her school friends say that she has stopped spending time with them outside of school and that there are clear changes in her behaviour towards them, especially what she is posting on social media. She was recently seen with an older ex-pupil known to the police for gang-related crimes. 

What are the signs in this scenario informing you about what may be happening with this pupil? In your answer write down the signs given in the scenario and link to the two potential safeguarding concerns.