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Five-session mentoring course

Low-level disengagement

Who it's for

Consider this course for a pupil showing:

  • Frequently off-task without being overtly disruptive, such as doodling, staring or fiddling
  • Minimal work output despite being present and calm
  • Drifts off during instructions or independent work
  • Not usually flagged for behaviour, but consistently under-attaining relative to ability

What it works towards

  • Build self-awareness of when and why focus drops
  • Identify personal disengagement triggers
  • Learn practical strategies to stay on task
  • Connect classwork to personal motivation and goals

The five sessions

  1. Session 1 Where's my focus Pupil can describe, using a recent example, what disengagement looks and feels like.
  2. Session 2 What switches me off Pupil can name two or three personal disengagement triggers, such as boredom, task difficulty, distraction or tiredness.
  3. Session 3 Tools to stay on track Pupil can try at least one practical focus strategy.
  4. Session 4 Setting goals that matter Pupil can name something they want in the future, and one subject that helps them get to it.
  5. Session 5 My engagement plan Pupil has a simple, personalised engagement plan shared with the class teacher.

A sixth session follows, without the pupil: the mentor writes the support plan and agrees next steps.

The approach, and where it comes from

Sessions use self-monitoring and metacognitive strategies, helping pupils notice and manage their own attention, which the EEF highlights as effective when paired with clear, achievable goals rather than generic instructions to 'concentrate'. The module also responds to the findings of Ofsted's 2014 report Below the radar on how much learning time low-level disengagement can cost across a school year, and to the DfE's Behaviour in Schools expectation that disengagement is addressed early rather than left unchallenged.

Try it with a small group

Three weeks free, no card, up to three staff and ten pupils. Everything recorded during the trial carries over if you continue.

Start the free pilot

Or read the white paper, which sets out the evidence behind each of the twenty courses.

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