School Social Work

Definition, current situation, standards, roles, practice methods, legal obligations, ethical obligations, school social work practice approach

Four sections follow:

1. Background Material that provides the context for the topic

2. A suggested Practice Approach

3. Appendix 1: Homelessness and school students

4. Appendix 2: The difference between childhood trauma and learning difficulties.

5. A list of Supporting Material / References

Feedback welcome!

Background Material

Definition

There is no single, internationally accepted definition of school social work (SSW). Because schools are small communities, each with unique psychosocial needs, SSW as a discipline differs from generic social work, even though practitioners use the generic social work methods of individual, group and community work.

School social work is the application of social work principles and methods within the education system to render holistic social work services to support learners, parents, educators and the school as community, with the main goal of establishing an environment where the learner can reach his or her full potential by addressing social, emotional, socioeconomic and behavioral barriers to learning (Reyneke, 2020; Vergottini & Weyers, 2020).

The Current Situation

School social work (SSW) is a growing specialty around the world with its practice embedded in 50 countries and many other countries exploring how to introduce SSW. SSW has evolved for over a century, changing to meet changing needs to serve school children from many cultural traditions. While teachers develop the potential of learners through transmitting knowledge, skills and values, social workers can provide support for learners’ wellbeing, so they are ready to learn. Using ecological systems theory, SSWers often work in multi-disciplinary teams to provide support to those who are marginalized by problems such as poverty, oppression, disabilities, physical and mental health issues, drug use, adolescent pregnancy, learning problems, family problems including domestic violence, divorce, child abuse, homelessness, and family illnesses, and problems within the school system such as discrimination, bullying, and inappropriate discipline by staff. SSWers partner with schools in guiding children and youth to reach their potential intellectually, emotionally, and socially. In particular SSWers can address many of the out-of-school needs that limit students’ learning through helping families resolve difficult life situations and working on community-wide problems that negatively impact school performance such as violence, crime, decaying neighbourhoods, lack of community services, racism, and poverty (Huxtable, 2022; also AASW, 2020; Finigan-Carr & Shaia, 2018; Vergottini & Weyers, 2020).

School Social Work Roles

While narrowly focused roles may be handed to SSWers, the ideal role is broad and flexible, allowing the social worker to tackle any problem that interferes with school success. An ecological systems approach is often used with school, family, and community to resolve problems. In general the SSW role involves consultation with school staff, individual and group counselling, referral to agencies, advocacy and outreach to parents. Importantly, SSWers will often need to interpret their role to school leaders, so their services are made available to the whole school population in ways consistent with social work values and standards (Huxtable, 2022).

In the second decade of this century two organisations published material analysing the role of the SSWer. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2012) published a Standards document, and the School Social Work Association of America published a SSW Practice Model (Frey et al., 2013) and Framework for SSW Practice (SSWAA, 2013). The Framework lists four major areas of professional practice for SSWers with multiple components listed in each. For example, in the planning and preparation area, components include “identifies school and community resources to meet school needs” and “assesses family engagement”. In the school environment area, one component is “challenges structural barriers, social inequalities and educational disparities impacting learning outcomes”. Summaries of these three documents are included with their reference in the Supporting Material / References section below.

Various authors touch on different roles for SSW (Finigan-Carr & Shaia, 2018; Frey et al., 2013; Huxtable, 2022; Kelly et al., 2016; Kemp, 2014; Vergottini, 2018; and Vergottini & Weyers, 2020). Special demands can be placed on SSWers because they practise in areas that are defined and dominated by people who are not social workers and they deal predominantly with children who are viewed as a ‘vulnerable group’.

SSWers will not necessarily be expected cover every area in the list that follows. The expectations schools have of social workers will vary and have a direct influence on the specific roles, tasks and functions that SSWers have to perform (Vergottini & Weyers, 2020). The following summary outlining six focus areas for SSW comes from Vergottini (2018).

1. Roles and responsibilities towards learners and parents/guardians:

To develop and implement an individual support plan (ISP) for each learner.
To assess learners individually and/or their parents/guardians by means of a variety of social work methods and skills.
To provide individual counselling to the learners and/or their parents/guardians.
To address social problems experienced by individuals and groups of learners (e.g. bullying, teenage pregnancy).
To work with parents and staff to address school refusal. [School Refusal is a separate topic on this website.]
To run therapeutic and educational groups for learners and/or their parents/ guardians.
To provide crisis intervention services or programmes.
To participate in multi-disciplinary meetings.
To provide assistance and support in learner disciplinary hearings.
To facilitate informative events for parents.
To arrange referrals to external service providers when necessary.

2. Roles and responsibilities towards educators/teachers:

To assist educators with the early identification of learners’ needs/problems.
To assist educators with the reporting and supporting of learners.
To empower educators with regard to the management of learners in the classroom.
To liaise between learners and staff with regard to social work issues.
To assist in teacher support meetings.
To support educators during parent consultations.
To participate in the professional development of educators in order to identify and manage social barriers to learning and development in terms of the screening, identification, assessment and support policy.
To empower educators with knowledge of policies, legislation, statutory matters, and community change regarding social barriers to education and learning.

3. Roles and responsibilities with regard to screening, and the development and implementation of programmes and projects:

To develop a strategic plan for service delivery.
To develop an annual plan to guide the functions and operations of social work.
To network and liaise with external resources.
To assist with the management of programmes and projects.
To continually evaluate and monitor programmes and projects.
To evaluate tools to evaluate the success of programmes and projects on an ongoing basis.

4. Roles and responsibilities regarding social work and educational policy changes and new trends:

To master and disseminate knowledge of relevant policies and new trends that impact on learners.
To attend, participate and provide feedback on conferences and workshops.
To communicate changes and trends to district management teams.
To participate in school social work sub-committees.
To participate in continuous professional development activities.

5. Roles and responsibilities as a member of multi-disciplinary teams:

To attend relevant provincial and regional meetings with other professions.
To liaise with external social workers and other professionals where relevant.

6. Other important roles and responsibilities of school social workers:

To keep the required records.
To assist with the management of trauma and disaster situations within the school and the surrounding community.
To present workshops on social issues to learners, staff, parents and/or other groups
To have extensive knowledge of alcohol and drug abuse and provide related services.
To have extensive knowledge of mental health issues and provide consultation services on related matters.
To have extensive knowledge of violence prevention and provide related services.
To conduct home visits (when needed).

More recently Huxtable (2022) suggests the SSW role also includes:

Reaching out to families to enrol children, especially in countries where widespread poverty and child labour exists. This role should involve providing for basic needs such as school meals and maintaining school attendance.
Reducing absenteeism, whether caused by truancy, school phobia, dropping out, or poor health.
Developing preventative programs to address various social and health problems of the school population, e.g. child abuse, bullying and cyber bullying, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and discrimination.
Joining with Indigenous advocacy groups to foster education among Indigenous peoples in the Americas, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa who are still suffering from the after-effects of European imperialism.
Supporting Indigenous groups in their quest to prevent loss of native cultures and languages.

School Social Work Practice Interventions

(See also Appedix 1: Homelessness, located before the References section.)

In carrying out their role SSWers use a broad range of interventions and methods. AASW (2020) suggests these involve:

Casework: counselling, psychosocial assessments, student and family counselling, coordination of supports, liaising with external organisations (mentioned by Vergottini &Weyers (2020) also).
Advocacy with school staff to develop an inclusive culture and with students for resources and procedures.
Research and policy development: projects on student wellbeing, evaluation of practice, school policy analysis and development (mentioned by Vergottini &Weyers (2020) too).
Community and professional development for teachers and school staff and the wider school community.
Critical incident management: emergency management, interventions to reduce impact of traumatic incidents, psychological first aid, counselling, monitoring recovery.

Kemp (2014) suggests the following:

Consultation with school staff, parents and other professionals.
Collaboration and co-ordination of services/programs to ensure a holistic service to the learner.
Community work where necessary.
Group work, dependent on the needs of learners, educators, other personnel and parents (in Vergottini &Weyers (2020) too).
Crisis Intervention and Case Work, where the SSWer acts as a referral agent to other professionals or welfare agencies (also in Vergottini &Weyers, 2020).
Training of social work-students.
On a clinical level, the SSWer functions as part of a multidisciplinary team, applying the principles, knowledge and skills from a social work perspective within the team.

Legal Obligations

It is clear that the SSWer has specific roles to play within the school environment. In the fulfilment of these roles, the social worker might ‘step on the toes’ of other role-players, leading to conflict and even mistrust. Educators and parents might not always grasp the reasons for a specific intervention or decision by the social worker. Often misunderstandings and conflict arise because of the SSWers' legal obligations (Crutchfield et al., 2020; Reyneke, 2020).

The legal obligations of SSWers vary from country to country. They include providing child protection services, upholding children’s rights, and protecting that the best interests of children. The social worker must ensure that children in the school environment are protected against any form of harm, making it their obligation to do everything possible to protect all the learners in the school. This obligation grants them the legal power to report cases of abuse and neglect within the school environment. It also includes providing psychosocial services to learners who have been victims of abuse and neglect as well as ensuring all learners are not subjected or exposed to any maltreatment, abuse, neglect, exploitation, degradation, ill-treatment, violence or harmful behaviour. In practice, this could mean intervening when a learner is suspected of being abused or neglected at home (Reyneke, 2020).

Ethical Obligations

All social workers have ethical obligations. These are outlined in general terms by the International Federation of Social Workers (ISFW, 2018). These principles recognise and promote the inherent dignity of humanity, human rights, social justice, the right to self-determination, the right to participation; they respect confidentiality and privacy; they advocate treating people holistically; they promote the ethical use of technology and social media; and they strive towards maintaining professional integrity. Reyneke (2020) discusses the main ethical areas in SSW.

Social justice: SSWers must ensure the best interests of the child are adhered to, including the right to basic education and to fair treatment in the classroom.
Respect for people’s worth, human rights and dignity: All students should receive the necessary social services, regardless of income; messages of unworthiness should be challenged.
Competence: In spite of adverse conditions at times (e.g. case overload), SSWers should strive to maintain personal competence through ongoing training, professional reading and linking with other social workers.
Integrity: SSWers should be honest, fair and respectful to others in practice, even when identifying educators who infringe on the rights of learners.
Professional responsibility: SSWers have to take responsibility for their actions and adapt their methods to the environment they encounter.
Show care and concern for the wellbeing of others: SSWers may need to challenge situations that have a negative impact on physical and emotional wellbeing, even if this requires confrontation between adults.
Service delivery: SSWers should assist learners, their families and the wider community to address their social needs and problems, practising in a spirit of self-determination.
Confidentiality: Lack of confidentiality in schools is one of the main concerns of SSWers. It is essential social workers maintain confidentiality with regard to client information unless it is not in the best interest of clients (e.g. for victims of rape, neglect or abuse). Some teachers will pressure SSWers to divulge confidential information; this should be resisted unless awareness such information can benefit the child. Even here SSWers should ask the child for permission before sharing details with teachers.
Interdisciplinary collaboration: SSWers need to collaborate with teachers, with the guiding principle being ensuring care and concern for the child’s wellbeing. SSWers may need to confront teachers around misconduct in this area and, if necessary, take the misconduct to a higher authority in the school. Collaboration involves treating colleagues with respect, being loyal and not criticising them when this is not warranted.
Criticism and disputes involving colleagues: Teachers who mistreat students should be challenged by the SSWer and/or reported to the school management. The ethical issue created by such a dispute is the need for the protection of the child, on the one hand, and the protection of a colleague, on the other.
Supervision: SSWers face challenges in finding competent supervisors. Part of the problem is that supervisors must have experience in the field where the social worker they are supervising is practising. As a result SSWers often use inexperienced professionals or a senior member of the school who does not have social work experience.
Referral for services outside the school: SSWers should insist schools refer learners to outside services, when necessary, even though schools may resist this.
Permission from parents: In general permission should be obtained from parents to work with their children, but there are some areas where this may not or should not happen. If children do not want parents to know they are seeking counselling, SSWers need to respect this, but work with the child to help them see it may be in the best interests of parents to know. Social workers may also need to go against the child’s wishes, with a thorough explanation provided to the child as to why the SSWer feels parents need to be informed.

The Future of Social Work in Education

Schools in the 21st century are tasked with developing skills and values and transmitting knowledge, while preparing learners for a rapidly changing world. Today’s school children will live through more social, technological, and global changes than any previous generation, and schools must prepare them for unknown challenges. Schools around the world are increasingly recognizing that they cannot handle alone the issues that prevent the success of their students, and that they must tackle these problems with help from multidisciplinary teams using the expert knowledge and skills of various support personnel, including SSWers.

Schools will need to be ready not only for pandemics but also for the ongoing crises of resource depletion and climate change. As these become harder to ignore, school systems must include the causes, consequences, and management of these realities in educational offerings. SSWers need to play a part by focusing not just on the harsh reality that it is youth who are most affected by the rapid destruction of ecosystems, but on advocating for serious change in managing these global issues and thereby providing hope for the current cohort of children and all future generations. Schools must help ready them for life-long engagement in protecting the planet (Huxtable, 2022).

Practice Approach

The material presented above highlights that SSW can occur on a continuum. SSW can have a narrow focus, e.g. a concentration on attaining full school attendance, through to a broad focus, e.g. a broad and flexible role allowing the social worker to use an ecological systems approach with school (learners, teachers and administrators), family and community.

Depending on how their role is defined, SSWers can find themselves supporting learners and families/communities marginalised by poverty, oppression, disability, physical and mental health issues, drug use, adolescent pregnancy, and learning problems; family problems including domestic violence, divorce, child abuse, homelessness, and family illnesses; and problems within the school system such as discrimination, bullying, and inappropriate discipline by staff.

The potential roles of SSWers have been listed in some detail above under six headings:

Roles and responsibilities towards learners and parents/guardians
Roles and responsibilities towards educators/teachers
Roles and responsibilities with regard to screening, and the development and implementation of programmes and projects
Roles and responsibilities regarding social work and educational policy changes and new trends
Roles and responsibilities as a member of multi-disciplinary teams
Other important roles and responsibilities of school social workers

The dot points under each of these headings provide a guide, and a potential expansion, to the SSW role.

In fulfilling their role SSWers may need to use a generic/generalist approach, i.e. use a full ‘basket’ of practice methods. A glance at the contents page of this website will alert potential SSW to the task they may face (depending on how their role is defined) and areas to explore. It will be important for the SSWer to reflect on successes and failures, seek supervision and advice, and, over time, develop a resources ‘toolbox’.

Legal and ethical obligations have been outlined in the above material. Most of these are standard practice the social work profession but may present problems in the education setting where social workers mix with and/or form friendships with staff on a day-to-day basis. Adopting an open, supportive communication approach with the educators and the school community will go a long way to overcoming any conflict that may arise when legal and ethical issues must be addressed.

A role for school counsellors as first responders

While the school social worker has a role in coordinating outside services for crisis intervention when necessary, Bailey (2023) makes a case for social workers becoming involved directly in school as first responders. Bailey suggests there is a significant role related to mental health — which falls under the heading of social and emotional growth — that is often disregarded in the school counsellor role. School counsellors are first responders to mental health concerns, but are not naturally linked to this role, even though it is imperative to their work (and the same holds true for teachers). In fact, school counsellors may naturally take on the role of mental health first responder without even realizing it.

The school counsellor’s role in responding to mental health crises extends beyond simply making the proper referrals to the right people. School counsellors must maintain control and defuse situations before making these referrals, which might happen right away or may take days. School counsellors engage with students who are having suicidal thoughts or emotional breakdowns caused by loss or personal trauma. Other common scenarios include students struggling with anxiety or depression after receiving a poor grade, a failure to live up to parental expectations causing issues at home, and inferiority complexes that feed into low self-esteem and a desire to quit school. The school counsellor must be prepared to handle these mental health crises as a first responder even though the crises may occur at any time throughout any given day in the school building.

A 3-step approach to helping students

The path to resolving many of the mental health issues that today’s students face can be broken down into three components:

Awareness
Commonality
Communication

Awareness High school students do not generally understand common problems such as anxiety and depression. Educating students about anxiety and depression should mean students might be able to describe what they are feeling much more clearly, as opposed to not knowing how to articulate what they are experiencing. This pre-planning would enable the school counsellor to offer the student the best assistance and recommendations.

Commonality Teenagers are often unaware of how prevalent some of their internal conflicts are; they often think they are handling problems alone. Teenagers can be offered statistics — exactly how many of their friends are experiencing some type of mental or emotional struggle — followed by a discussion about why these numbers are rising.

Communication Once teens are aware of what constitutes mental health, understand how common issues are and can recognize struggles within themselves, a safe environment has to be established for them to feel comfortable talking to an adult or counsellor about something so personal. The people best equipped for these situations are school counsellors, but many high school students aren’t aware of the role of their school counsellors or where they are located, nor is their role clearly defined as a person ready to listen and support people with concerns.

Making schools more inclusive to LGBTQ+ students

It is a well-supported fact in mental health research that LGBTQ+ individuals are at greater risk for mental health challenges than those from other groups. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, those who identify as LGBTQ+ are nearly three times more likely to develop a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety and are significantly more likely to attempt suicide and abuse substances. The risks are especially high for adolescents and young adults, with LGBTQ+ youth ages 10–24 being four times more likely than their peers to attempt suicide.

Because many students in districts across the nation are part of the LGBTQ+ community and use mental health services, schools can play an important role in creating an inclusive and trauma-informed environment to prioritize mental health prevention and intervention.

Steps to creating an inclusive environment

Providing and promoting an inclusive, welcoming and trauma-informed school environment is more critical than ever for ensuring that all students, including LGBTQ+ students, can experience the sense of safety and belonging that they deserve. How can this be accomplished?

Create a culture shift. School staff must first be willing to take responsibility for all students in the school. This necessitates learning from one another through communication, collaboration and professional development opportunities.
Become trauma informed. Establishing a safe and inclusive school setting requires that staff be trauma informed. Staff must be willing to recognize their own implicit biases and understand that everyone has their own story. All staff — not just teachers and administrators — need to be educated and equipped to recognize basic signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and know who to contact if they have concerns about a student’s well-being.
Provide resources. Students and families need to be aware of the resources available to them on and off campus. All staff should be familiar with key resources, including local mental health authorities, LGBTQ+ organizations, crisis hotlines and bilingual providers. In addition, posters with inclusive language celebrating diversity and addressing the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges need to be visible throughout campuses.
Make time for connection. Staff should make an effort to learn the names of all their students and use their correct names and pronouns. This will allow each student to feel valued. It also models respect and acceptance for all students. To create or strengthen students’ support systems, staff should also establish regular contact with families to develop trust and build a successful partnership.

Eating disorders in schools: Prevention, early identification, response and recovery support

From NEDC:, 2023.

Eating disorder prevention refers to specific programs or interventions that are in place to reduce the modifiable risk factors for eating disorders, enhance the protective factors, and prevent people from developing body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and eating disorders.

Primary prevention interventions aim to prevent the onset or development of an eating disorder, often by targeting the modifiable risk and protective factors for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. It can be universal (e.g. targeting a whole year group), selective (targeting those at high risk such as performing arts), or indicated (early identification of those with symptoms and therefore at high risk of developing an eating disorder).
Secondary prevention interventions focus on lowering the severity and duration of an eating disorder in a person who is already experiencing an eating disorder. These interventions occur early in the course of illness and focus on early identification and prompt access to treatment. The aim of secondary prevention interventions is to emphasise that recovery from an eating disorder is possible and to encourage help-seeking behaviour.
Tertiary prevention interventions focus on reducing the impact of an eating disorder in a person who is already experiencing an eating disorder. Tertiary prevention aims to address the nutritional, physical, psychological, functional, and social impacts of an eating disorder through accessing appropriate treatment. It also focuses on recovery and relapse prevention and response.

A whole school approach to eating disorder prevention

All schools should have clear policies and strategies in place regarding mental health and wellbeing of students including prevention, identification, and response to body dissatisfaction, body image concerns, and eating disorders. These policies should aim to protect students from exposure to modifiable risk factors and prevent development through developing positive relationships with food and body image.

Anyone working within a school environment has a role to play in creating a safe and supportive environment that aims to prevent the development of an eating disorder.

Protocols to support early identification and response may include:

Including a statement in the school mission about providing an environment which is inclusive of all bodies and celebrates diversity
Creating an environment that fosters student wellbeing to support building self-esteem, body acceptance, and a healthy relationship with the body, eating, and physical activity
Creating a safe and respectful environment that aims to eliminate teasing, bullying, and cyberbullying, particularly related to weight and/or appearance
Ensuring that there are no anthropometric assessments completed with or by students including weighing and measuring (e.g., calculation of BMI, comparison of weight, food diaries, calorie counting)
Recommending that staff avoid making any comments about their own or other people’s bodies or food intake or choices
Creating a non-diet culture with no comments or discussions about dieting
Creating opportunities for all students to engage in physical activity in a non-competitive, non-weight focused and safe environment
Avoiding unhelpful food labelling (e.g., ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’)
Providing a variety of food options from all food groups in the canteen
Displaying public materials within the school that includes a diversity of body weight, shapes, and appearance
Providing family and supports with resources and information to support students in building a healthy relationship with food and body. This may include information about body image and dissatisfaction, understanding risks for developing an eating disorders, early identification, and response, etc.

A workforce development strategy that focuses on eating disorders may include:

Providing school staff with training and information about eating disorders including risk factors, protective factors, warning signs, impact, and the importance of early intervention.
Training on best practice approaches to body image education and creating a positive school environment.
Providing school staff with training and information regarding the use of body affirming language in their interactions with students.

As part of the Health and Physical Education curriculum all schools are required to provide age-appropriate teachings at every level to support students in building a healthy relationship with food and their bodies and to support their overall mental health and wellbeing. Examples of topics and themes that could be incorporated into HPE teachings include:

Improving body acceptance, self-esteem, and self-worth
Enhancing mental health literacy and mental health promotion
Identifying concerns with mental health, eating, and body image
Coping skills, help-seeking strategies, and support resources
Enhancing media literacy, including use of social media
Promoting a positive relationship with food and exercise
Reducing the importance placed on body weight, shape, and appearance, and instead focusing on improving body acceptance
Supporting students to understand the socio-cultural influences associated with the development of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders
Improving understanding of the detrimental effects of dieting and the risk of developing an eating disorder
Reducing mental health stigma and bullying, particularly appearance-focused

Messages and communications within schools can cause unintended harm. Therefore messages and communications should NOT:

Include anthropometric measures such as weight and body mass index (BMI)
Provide nutrition advice that encourages dieting or labels foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
Include stigmatising language or promote weight-bias
Include messages that may increase body dissatisfaction, dieting, and promote weight-control behaviours

Communicating about eating disorders

Communication about eating disorders with students within schools should:

Be developmentally appropriate for the intended audience
Support understanding of eating disorders as serious and complex mental illness, and not a lifestyle choice
Support understanding that any person, at any stage of their life, can experience an eating disorder
Provide up-to-date and evidence-based information
Be respectful to people with lived experience of an eating disorder
Provide supportive messaging that promotes help-seeking behaviours
Be monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis to ensure the continuing safety and appropriateness of content

Communication about eating disorders with students within schools should not:

Describe details of specific eating disorder behaviours
Use or provide information on measurements in relation to people who have experienced an eating disorder (e.g., weight, amount of exercise, number of hospital admissions)
Normalise, glamorise or stigmatise eating disorder behaviours
Use judgemental language
Encourage behaviours motivated by fear or stigma (e.g., social exclusion, bullying)
Use imagery that shows stereotypical presentations of eating disorders including people of low weight

Available eating disorder prevention programs

Butterfly Foundation prevention programs for schools https://butterfly.org.au/school-youth-professionals/for-schools/
Bufferfly Body Bright http://www.butterflybodybright.org.au/
Butterfly Body Kind Schools https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/bodykindschools/
Media Smart https://www.flinders.edu.au/engage/community/clinics/mediasmart
The Embrace Collective https://www.bodyconfidentcollective.org/

Appendix 1 Homelessness and School Students

King-Smith, S. (2024). How schools and early learning centres can support children experiencing homelessness. Innovative Resources. https://innovativeresources.org/how-schools-and-early-learning-centres-can-support-children-experiencing-homelessness/

School House Connection. (2022). Tips for teachers and staff: How to support students experiencing homelessness. https://schoolhouseconnection.org/

Becoming homeless can happen to anyone, anytime.

Children and homelessness in Australia

Despite popular belief, children are one of the largest groups of Australians experiencing homelessness.

The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare provides the following statistics:

26,918 children had contact with Victorian homelessness services in 2018-19, accounting for almost 1 in every 4 people seeking assistance
22 per cent of people experiencing homelessness in Victoria at the 2016 census are children

With the cost-of-living crisis hitting families hard, and a lack of affordable or public housing, homelessness is on the rise.

Reasons for child homelessness

Poverty is a key driver of homelessness for children and their families, driven by a chronic lack of affordable housing. Right now, 761,000 children under 15 years [in Australia] are living in poverty – that’s 1 in 6 kids.
Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness for children and women in Victoria.
For young people, physical or sexual abuse, violence, neglect, family conflict, or other forms of trauma in the home, may also be sources of homelessness.
Children are increasingly facing homelessness … after losing a tenancy and having to re-enter the rental market.
Mental health can also be a major contributor to homelessness. If parents or carers are experiencing mental health issues, it can be difficult to find and maintain work, which in turn can make it difficult to maintain a home.

Hidden homelessness

It can be easy to miss the signs that children or young people are experiencing homelessness because of the stigma associated with homelessness. In addition, children and their families may go to great lengths to hide the fact they are experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness isn’t just when children are living ‘on the streets’. They may also be spending the night:

in supported accommodation for the homeless
sleeping in temporary accommodation
couch surfing
living in severely crowded dwellings.

When children have a ‘roof over their heads’, we may not realise they are homeless. Their accommodation may be unstable, uncertain and sometimes unsafe. This can cause children, and their parents or carers, to feel powerless and anxious. Living in a world that looks so different to their peers can also lead children to feel isolated and excluded.

Impacts on a child’s development

Preschool and school-aged children experiencing homelessness are more likely to experience mental health problems than housed children, and some evidence suggests that homeless children are more likely to have physical disability, emotional or behavioural problems than housed children.

Food insecurity is also frequently reported by young people experiencing homelessness, putting them at increased risk of adverse health outcomes.

Homelessness can also have a profound impact on a child’s educational outcomes and development: Children living in poverty have fewer resources to buy food, uniforms, and school supplies, negatively affecting their engagement with education and learning. Often these vulnerabilities have long lasting impacts, with research showing that disadvantaged children are 2-3 years behind in reading and maths by the time they are 15.

Additionally, homelessness is often associated with decreased engagement in the classroom and, when coupled with frequent school moves, is associated with poor academic achievement.

Being homeless as a child also increases the risk of becoming homeless as a young person or adult.

There can be several barriers for children experiencing homelessness in attending and participating in school. These barriers include access to transport, lack of support services and having to navigate complex bureaucratic systems. For example, sometimes children are unable to enrol without a fixed address. Families are normally required to provide schools with a place of permanent residence at the time of a child’s enrolment.

How to recognise when a child may be experiencing homelessness

A change in clothing or items provided in lunches
A change in behaviour—children may become more withdrawn or disruptive or they may find it difficult to concentrate
A change in capacity to go on excursions or buy school supplies
A change in academic outcomes
An increase in days away from school or preschool
Parents’ routines may change and there may be times they can’t pick children up on time
Parents or carers may seem disorganised, distracted or overwhelmed
Enrolment at multiple schools, lack of records, gaps in learning
Poor hygiene, unmet medical/dental needs, wearing the same clothes repeatedly, fatigue.

These changes should prompt one to gently inquire if the parent or carer is okay and if they need any support.

Supporting children in schools and early learning centres

It takes a great deal of skill and energy to navigate services, source food, make sure children have clothes and school supplies, and provide a nurturing environment when you are under so much stress. To negotiate their way through such challenges, children and families have to draw on many strengths, skills and resources. Strength is about more than just physicality. It’s about resilience, determination and finding the light even in the darkest of times. For example, children and families may be resourceful, creative, organised, flexible, brave, and persistent. They may have resources and supports like family and friends, community, services, schools or food banks. It can be helpful to encourage them to consciously notice and name their strengths, skills and resources, as this can feel empowering and hopeful. Be supportive, empathetic and respectful, which is more likely to encourage people to feel we are ‘on their side’ and be more open to support.

The research shows that schools and early learning providers can play an important role in supporting children experiencing homelessness. Schools can be a source of stability, structure, ongoing relationships with teachers and other students, physical resources like food, clothes and school supplies, and psychological support.

Schools and early learning centres can ensure they create a welcoming environment for all students and find ways to for them to actively participate regardless of their living situation. They might do this by:

Creating a welcoming climate and build trust with all students. Find time each week to check in with the student to assess unmet basic needs, offer encouragement, and recognize the child’s talents and accomplishments. Pair new students with a “buddy” in the classroom or assign new students a “job” and encourage involvement in extracurricular activities.
Taking a trauma-informed approach. The experience of and events leading up to homelessness can expose students to violence, abuse, hunger, trafficking, and other traumatic experiences. Allow students to hold on to personal possessions in class, keeping in mind that any possession may be the child’s only one. Provide well-defined transition procedures from one activity to another and give choices when appropriate to counter the loss of control experienced in their lives.
Stabilizing basic needs and support full participation. Make healthy snacks, hygiene supplies and spare clothes, books, stationery and other school resources available. Ensure that the student has every opportunity to participate in school activities. Give students a clipboard to use as a “desk” when they leave school. Subsidise excursions.
Ensuring classroom policies and procedures set students up for success. Plan assignments so children can keep up without having to take work home. Consider providing spaces at school for students to leave materials, so students who are highly mobile don’t have to keep track of extra supplies during evenings and weekends.
Reaching out to parents/caregivers. Because parents may not have regular access to a phone, create a communication plan. Send the family a “welcome” letter and/or invite them to visit the classroom. Ask if younger siblings need supportive services. Find flexible and respectful ways for parents to stay involved in their child’s education.

Appendix 2 The Difference Between Childhood Trauma and Learning Difficulties

Innovative Resources. (2021). What are the differences between trauma and learning difficulties in young children? And why is it important to be able to recognise them? https://innovativeresources.org/what-are-the-differences-between-trauma-and-learning-difficulties-in-young-children-and-why-is-it-important-to-be-able-to-recognise-them/

Trauma and learning disabilities may present in similar ways in young children and the earlier they can be identified and the children supported appropriately, the better the long term outcomes are for the child. But sometimes being able to identify the difference between trauma-related behaviours, developmental delays and learning difficulties can be challenging because childhood trauma may initially present as a developmental delay, learning difficulty or a behavioural issue.

Children who have experienced trauma can be in a constant state of vigilance or arousal (fight/flight/flee) which can make it difficult for them to concentrate, focus, pay attention or retain information. Child abuse and neglect can have a wide range of significant adverse impacts on a child’s development and capacity to learn, including:

reduced social skills
poor school performance
impaired language ability.

Adding to the complexity, children who are experiencing learning difficulties or disabilities may exhibit behaviours that are similar to those exhibited by children who are experiencing trauma. A child with a learning disability may have one or more of the following behaviours:

Acting without really thinking about possible outcomes (impulsiveness)
‘Acting out’ in school or social situations
Difficulty staying focused; being easily distracted
Difficulty saying a word correctly out loud or expressing thoughts
Problems with school performance from week to week or day to day
Speaking like a younger child; using short, simple phrases; or leaving out words in sentences
Having a hard time listening
Problems dealing with changes in schedule or situations
Problems understanding words or concepts

Therefore, children experiencing trauma can be misdiagnosed as having a learning disability or developmental delay. If the underlying trauma isn’t acknowledged and addressed, any educational or developmental interventions are likely to be less successful.

How to recognise the difference between trauma-related learning difficulties and behaviours, and learning disabilities?

The most important thing to do is not make assumptions or jump to conclusions about what a child is experiencing or what is motivating their behaviour. If children dislike or avoid activities that involve reading, writing, maths or find these things hard, or if they have trouble spelling simple words, this may be a sign they are struggling with aspects of learning. In consultation with parents, seek the advice of experts as soon as possible if you suspect a child has a learning difficulty or disability.

Experts who work as part of a multidisciplinary team (which may include psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, GPs, disability support workers and other health professionals) or who have expertise in both trauma and learning disabilities are best placed to make an informed assessment of the child’s support needs.

If learning difficulties stem from trauma:

provide safe environments
support children and caregivers to understand links between traumatic experiences and cognitive difficulties
develop and support positive relationships in children’s lives
offer all children targeted trauma-specific interventions
maintain these interventions throughout childhood and adolescence
ensure separate cognitive difficulties are addressed directly
create opportunities for them to build their social and emotional literacy

Children who have experienced trauma in the early years have a higher risk of long term socio-economic disadvantage, which can be mitigated if they are able to stay on track with their education.

Supporting Material / References

(Available on request)

AASW: Australian Association of Social Workers. (2020). Scope of social work practice: School social work. https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/8308

Bailey, J. (2023, August 4). Don’t forget school counselors on the list of first responders. Counseling Today. https://ct.counseling.org/2023/08/dont-forget-school-counselors-on-the-list-of-first-responders/

Crutchfield, J., Phillippo, K. L., & Frey, A. (2020). Structural racism in schools: A view through the lens of the national school social work practice model. Children and Schools, 42(3), 187-193. doi: 10.1093/cs/cdaa015

Finigan-Carr, N. M., & Shaia, W. E. (2018). School social workers as partners in the school mission. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(7), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721718767856

Frey, A.J., Alvarez, M.E., Dupper, D.R., Sabatino, C.A., Lindsey, B.C., Raines, J.C., Streeck, F., McInerney, A., & Norris, M.A. (2013). School social work practice model overview: Improving academic and behavioural outcomes. https://www.sswaa.org/_files/ugd/486e55_47e9e7e084a84e5cbd7287e681f91961.pdf

The School Social Work Practice Model delineates the types of services a certified SSWer with a caseload of roughly 250 students should be expected to perform. It was developed in 2012 and is designed to provide a common framework for the school social work profession by promoting consistency in the education, credentialing, practice, and evaluation of SSWers. The Practice Model encourages SSWers to:

(1) provide evidence-based education, behavior, and mental health services. This is the primary direct service component of social work in schools. It requires unique expertise in child and family work and assists school staff in implementing appropriate interventions. This practice is accomplished by:

implementing multi-tiered programs and practices
monitoring progress, and
evaluating service effectiveness

(2) promote a school climate and culture conducive to student learning and teaching excellence. This practice is implemented by:

promoting effective school policies and administrative procedures
enhancing the professional capacity of school personnel, and
facilitating engagement and supportive relationships between student, family, school, and community

(3) maximize access to school-based and community-based resources (e.g. health, welfare and justice). This involves coordination of available services through knowledge of the school and community. This practice is accomplished by:

promoting a continuum of services
mobilizing resources and promoting assets, and
providing innovative leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, systems coordination, and professional consultation

SSWers are expected to possess advanced knowledge and technical skills to guide their practice in these three areas. The proportion of their time that SSWers engage in each practice varies widely depending on contextual factors, including the needs of the community, school, families, and students served. However, allowing for the contextual factors operating the SSW environment, the model suggests SSW should revolve around:

Home-school-community linkages: Academic achievement and behavior are profoundly impacted by the environment, including relationships and interactions across home, school, and community settings. Facilitating communication and promoting linkages across these systems is a central characteristic of school social work practice.
Ethical guidelines and educational policy: Social workers are bound by a Code of Ethics that should be adhered to in decision-making around laws and policies relevant to specific school dilemmas. SSWers should engage in continuous professional development and rely on evidence-based practices to ensure they fit the context and culture of the school setting.
Education rights and advocacy: SSWers should be able to balance their mandate as school employees to advocate for students and families within their mandate as social workers to help change policies and practices that undermine the dignity and worth of students.
Data-based decision-making: SSW services should be informed by the research literature, adapt empirically supported interventions to fit student needs, and routinely evaluate the effectiveness of policies, programs and practices.

Huxtable, M., (2022). A global picture of school social work in 2021. International Journal of Social Work, 7(1 Special issue Part 3), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.4148/2161-4148.1090

IFSW: International Federation of Social Workers. (2018). Global social work statement of ethical principles. [Online] https://www.ifsw.org/global-social-work-statement-of- ethical-principles/ .

Kelly, M S., Frey, A. Thompson, A., Klemp, H., Alvarez, M., & Berzin, S. C. (2016). Assessing the National School Social Work Practice Model: Findings from the Second National School Social Work Survey. Social Work, 61(1), 17-28. doi: 10.1093/sw/swv044

Kemp, R., (2014). The development of management guidelines for school social work in the Western Cape. University of the Western Cape. (PhD thesis). https://etd.uwc.ac.za/handle/11394/3187

NASW: National Association of Social Workers. (2012). National standards for school social work services. https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/School-Social-Work

Educational research has focused on the following five topics and will likely continue to have a direct impact on SSW practice: (1) integrated intervention efforts that emphasize primary prevention; (2) early screening and intervention; (3) approaches to intervention that target multiple risk factors in home, school, and community settings and involve parents, teachers, and administrators; (4) approaches that seek to improve individual and system factors contributing to academic success; and (5) data-informed decision making and intervention fidelity.

Guiding principles

Education/School reform: SSWers actively help school systems meet expectations of federal, state, and local mandates; particularly those designed to promote equal educational opportunity, social justice, and the removal of barriers to learning.
Social justice: It is important for the SSWer to collaborate with and facilitate collaboration among students, parents, community members, administration, teachers, and other school staff to identify ways to intervene early with students who struggle to benefit fully from the educational system. An ecological perspective, the hallmark of social work education, is essential for identifying resources for addressing these disparities.
Multitier interventions: Social workers can be involved at three tiers relating to prevention and intervention. Each tier involves using evidence-informed programs to support children, family, school staff and community agencies.
1. Tier 1—programs and practices that teach positive behaviors, promote social emotional development, and ensure a school climate conducive to learning.
2. Tier 2—small group and short-term interventions targeting, for example, conflict resolution, social skills, mental health needs and short-term crisis situation, to improve early academic and social-emotional engagement to replace problem behaviour.
3. Tier 3—individual and long-term interventions to address serious academic, behavioural or social-emotional problems that have not responded to programs in tiers 1 and 2.

Goals of the standards

The specific goals of the standards are

to establish expectations for SSW practices and services;
to ensure that SSW services are guided by the NASW Code of Ethics;
to ensure the highest quality of SSW services will be provided to students and families;
to provide a basis for advocating for clients’ rights to be treated with respect and dignity, confidentiality, access to supportive services, and appropriate inclusion in decision making;
to provide a basis for the preparation of SSWers and the development of continuing education materials and programs related to SSW services; and
to encourage SSWers to participate in the development and refinement of public policy, at the local, state, and federal levels, to support school success.

Standards

Standard 1 SSWers shall adhere to the ethics and values of the social work profession and shall use the NASW Code of Ethics as a guide to ethical decision making, while understanding the unique aspects of SSW practice and the needs of the students, parents, and communities they serve.

Standard 2 SSWers shall meet the provisions for professional practice set by NASW and their respective state department of education and possess knowledge and understanding basic to the social work profession as well as the local education system (qualifications).

Standard 3 SSWers shall conduct assessments of individuals, families and systems/organizations (namely, classroom, school, neighbourhood, district, state) with the goal of improving student social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes.

Standard 4 SSWers shall understand and use evidence-informed practices in their interventions.

Standard 5 In all decision making and practice evaluation, SSWers shall use data to guide service delivery and to evaluate their practice regularly to improve and expand services.

Standard 6 SSWers shall engage in record keeping, i.e. maintain accurate data and records that are relevant to planning, implementation, and evaluation of SSW services.

Standard 7 SSWers shall manage workloads to fulfill their responsibilities and clarify their critical roles within the educational mission of the school or district in which they work.

Standard 8 SSWers shall pursue continuous professional development—enhancement of knowledge and skills to provide the most current, beneficial, and culturally appropriate services to students and their families.

Standard 9 SSWers shall ensure that students and their families are provided with services within the context of multicultural understanding and competence (cultural competence).

Standard 10 SSWers shall provide interdisciplinary leadership and collaboration to assist with developing a positive school climate by working collaboratively with school administration, school personnel, family members, and community professionals as appropriate.

Standard 11 SSWers shall engage in advocacy that seeks to ensure that all students have equal access to education and services to enhance their academic progress.

National Eating Disorders Collaboration. (2023). Eating disorders in schools: Prevention, early identification, response and recovery support. https://nedc.com.au/assets/NEDC-Resources/NEDC-Resource-Schools.pdf

Opiela, S. (2023, August 15). Making schools more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students. Counseling Today. https://ct.counseling.org/2023/08/making-schools-more-inclusive-for-lgbtq-students/

Reyneke, R. (2020). The legal and ethical obligations of school social workers. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 56(2), 157-174. http://dx.doi.org/10.15270/52-2-818

School House Connection. (2022). Tips for teachers and staff: How to support students experiencing homelessness. https://schoolhouseconnection.org/

SSWAA: School Social Work Association of America. (2013). National evaluation framework for school social work practice. https://www.sswaa.org/_files/ugd/426a18_71a211bc57a94f9e808316b59b73b03a.pdf

The SSWAA National Evaluation Framework for School Social Work Practice is cross-walked with the SSWAA National School Social Work Practice Model (Frey et al., 2013) and the National Association of Social Workers Standards for School Social Work Services (NASW, 2012).

Practice Domains

These domains are the major areas of professional practice. They consist of multiple components.

1. Planning and Preparation

Conducts multi-tiered school needs assessment
Identifies scientifically supported educational behavioural and mental health services to address school needs
Identifies school and community resources to meet school needs
Establishes collaborative professional relationships
Assesses family engagement
Knows current federal, state and local laws as well as district policies and procedures that guide school social work practice

2. The School Environment

Contributes to a safe and healthy school environment
Advocates for policies, programs, and services that respect diversity, address individual needs and support the inherent dignity and worth of all students, families, and school personnel
Identifies historical and current political, social, cultural and economic conditions that impact the context of learning and advocates for change
Challenges structural barriers, social inequalities, and educational disparities impacting learning outcomes.

3. Service Delivery and Resources

Implements and monitors multi-tiered empirically-supported interventions that improve academic and behavioural performance
Provides programs and services that foster social and emotional competencies
Provides specialized services such as crisis intervention and consultation
Provides programs and services in a culturally sensitive manner
Mobilizes school and community resources to maximize academic and behaviour success

4. Professional Responsibilities

Adheres to the standards and practice requirements set by the State Education Agency.
Adheres to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and School Social Work Association of America ethical guidelines
Maintains timely and accurate records and documentation in compliance with family rights and privacy and state requirements
Continues professional development
Exhibits self-awareness, self-monitoring, and professional accountability

Vergottini, E. (2018). Towards the establishment of practice standards for South African school social work: A mixed-method study with special reference to the Free State Province. Potchefstroom: North-West University. (PhD thesis). https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/33802

Vergottini, M., & Weyers, M. (2020). The foundations and nature of South African school social work: An overview. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 56(2), 125-138. http://dx.doi.org/10.15270/52-2-816

The

Social Work Graduate