Tommy is aged 12 and lives with his mother, Jean, and his two siblings. Tommy is coming to the end of his first term of secondary school. His attendance record is poor, with 18 days’ unauthorised absence out of a possible attendance of 52 days. Jean says that she can no longer control Tommy and, though she does try to encourage him to attend school, if he does not want to go she accepts there is nothing she can do. When Tommy is at school, he is frequently involved in fights with other boys, who accuse him (often with justification) of being dirty and smelly. Tommy’s form teacher has prepared a brief report, saying that Tommy is not a malicious child but he is large for his age, frequently clumsy, occasionally aggressive to his peers, and significantly behind his expected age-related attainment in reading and writing. What action do you consider taking to improve Tommy’s current educational underachievement?