To think the Ofsted inspector who blames WFH parents for low attendance is probably just resentful?

OK fair enough!! I was just curious because I know so many people who take dangerous amounts of paracetamol because they think that as they're available in supermarkets the guideline doses are well below lethal thresholds

@HeyDrake I didn’t say parents couldn’t also work on it. My post was more in relation to your post misunderstanding the scope of what an EHCP can provide. If you knew what an EHCP could provide you wouldn’t have written the abstract below.

I'm not convinced that EHCP's are the solution to EBSA either. EBSA is a mental health issue, although some school adjustments are beneficial, I have yet to see an EHCP massively reduce school anxiety.
If I wasn't able to go to work due to anxiety, adjustments at work might help, but maybe I still would struggle to serve customers all day.
We would look to MH services to develop coping strategies, distress tolerance, some understanding around their learning styles. Education about emotions and habits to help MH, such as the importance of sleep, diet, staying off SM, exercise, talking therapies etc or DBT for neurodivergent children.
Trouble is, CAHMs are hugely understaffed and you have to be a huge risk to yourself or others to get through the door. There should be MH support specially for EBSA.

Blimey its a figure of speech!!!

@StrivingForSleep parents can also do that work. If parents are letting your five year old watch YouTube before demanding they turn it off and get ready for school or letting your 15 stay up all night gaming and wondering why they aren't waking up at 8 and feeling motivated, that's not helpful. Parents can't expect school and MH services do all the work.

Can I ask a daft question? What is a "hefty dose" of Calpol? Sounds very dangerous for young livers. Surely you just give a dose? Is it common to take half a recommended dose?

@HeyDrake EHCPs can cover lots of what you list, e.g like therapies, developing coping strategies, emotional literacy and emotional regulation, education around diet and exercise, etc. Those with EHCPs aren’t limited to what CAMHS can/will offer. If those with EHCPs need MH support, and many do, the provision should be included in their EHCP.

It was alongside fact that you’d started the thread about an article you hadn’t read

and then combined with that comment made me smile

Yeah, we can. Because that's what happened. Primary school children's attendance is primarily dictated by the parents, and parents not only remember but continue to absorb existing and ongoing cultural attitudes.

That comment about children’s clothing is unnecessary.

You’re talking specifically about your children, which is understandable, but this doesn’t mean it applies to every child who has a parent at home.

It is possible to acknowledge there’s been a cultural shift in this respect and consider how best to address it without insisting everyone returns to the office.

Exactly this. It’s far easier to manage sickness when WFH. Years ago in our office it used to go down like a turd in a swimming pool when a parent had a phone call and then had to dash off and collect the child. Then they were at home doing bugger all whilst looking after said sick child as no one was equipped to WFH. Now parents wouldn’t even mention to their colleagues they had a child off sick and at home.

There must be a load of parents that think, oh fuck it, I’ll keep them off today as I’m WFH and can’t be arsed to do the school run. Loads. Not everyone is conscientious and thinks I don’t want to be distracted. Never done it myself but bet loads do. Especially last days of terms. So this man probably does have a point.

I can’t believe you did this

Are you all right?

People need child care to wfh. My dd is almost 16. I have WFH her entire life. I would get dressed, drive her to nursery, and then go back to my home office to work.

during the summer we paid for camps.

I think the same. When I was a sahm my kids stayed home with any little poorlyness! Now I’m not at home and need to be at work it’s exactly like you said. Calpol and do your best.

Funnily working in a school with the kids and poor attendance, their parents don’t work or are at home.

Schools are starting to becoming too controlling and intrusive. They are emailing and texting about something every day. Dealing with the admin of being a parent of a primary aged child is like having another job.

School never used to be like this where they overreach into non problematic families lives. Now you have inspectors suggesting WFH is wrong because it’s easier for a parent to keep their sick child home. They need to stay out of grown adults business.

If my child is genuinely sick they are staying at home. I’m not explaining myself to anyone.

I occasionally work in schools as an exam invigilator and obviously I work when times are stressful for pupils, teachers and parents. I've been doing this for 20 years and this year will be my last.

Every so often there's a GCSE year that's immature and requires more supervision than others. It's a norm.

This year's intake is slightly more immature than other years, based on the recent mock exams. Teachers are great though and understand completely.

A Level students have always needed extra care because they have so much riding on the exams they do.

YABU to suggest people who don’t work from home are ‘dripping with resentment.’ In my experience there are many people who use working from home as an excuse to be lazy in their work and to not pay for childcare - not everyone, but a lot. I’m not resentful; I’m frustrated!

I think parents WFU is a small part of the picture but more the change in attitudes since lockdown and also the increase in anxiety.

Could anyone who works in a secondary school explain how schools have changed in the past 20-30 years? I can think of quite a few (probably undiagnosed) ND children from when I was at school but they all seemed to attend. How is it so much worse for them now?

Thank you for replying to clarify, My honest opinion, however, is that we can’t keep blaming Covid for this. Most of those in primary school now would have been very small five years ago and many were not even at school during lockdown.

I work from home and my kids hate being home when I'm working because it's boring. I know from other parents their children feel similarly.