Parents to be asked to solve school attendance crisis

[noblegiraffe]

There is an article in the Times about the current school attendance crisis. It cannot be overstated how awful the attendance crisis is. Pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, are staying away from school in much larger numbers, and for more days than before covid.

It says that lockdowns broke the contract between parents and schools which said that school attendance was compulsory.

It blames parents for keeping their children home when they have a minor illness or are slightly anxious about school.

It quotes Bridget Phillipson, Shadow Education Secretary as saying "If I were secretary of state, I’d be sending a very clear message to parents that every day at school matters, and that irresponsible parents who don’t care about sending their kids to school are harming other kids’ life chances, not just their own"

(Whereas current Education Secretary Gillian) "Keegan will expand a programme that gives children skipping school an attendance mentor who could drive or walk youngsters from their home to school in the morning or negotiate with head teachers on their behalf. She said: “Persistent absence is a hangover from the pandemic affecting schools around the world. Schools and the government cannot do this alone.

“Families play a big part in attendance and parents have a legal duty to make sure their children are at school. I know it can be hard to get children out of the door, especially when they are feeling a bit anxious or have a mild cough or cold, so we must rebuild the social contract between parents and schools and make sure everyone plays their part.”

While lockdowns are brought up, what is not mentioned is the utter state schools were in between lockdowns and after lockdowns. Children were being supervised in halls rather than being taught due to lack of teachers who were ill (and this is still happening now due to inability to recruit). Lack of teachers meaning that kids get endless cover which can be largely a waste of time. Children who are anxious about attending school are expected to get on with it while teachers who are unable to cope with the poor behaviour of students are signed off with stress. The experience of children in schools during and since covid can be extraordinarily shit.

Attendance is much lower in pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Child poverty is not mentioned - I was reading about a child who couldn't attend school because her mother needed to use the one pair of shoes they shared. Other children are needed to look after younger siblings while parents work because they can't afford childcare. How will this be solved by sending a car around?

But we also know that schools in disadvantaged areas are more likely to struggle to hire staff. What is the point in a child attending school when they don't have teachers? How will Keegan and Phillipson argue that one?

This bit is the most worrying:

"A Labour government, Phillipson said, would place more emphasis on absenteeism as part of the Ofsted inspection framework, with schools compelled to produce an annual report on attendance, off-rolling (removing a pupil without using a permanent exclusion) and safeguarding. Schools are required to submit weekly attendance records to the Department for Education but absenteeism does not have its own Ofsted criteria, instead falling under a broader category of “behaviour and attitudes”.
These reports would affect the Ofsted rating given to schools, which would also take into account the progress they have made in shrinking the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers"

Linking an Ofsted grading to attendance will just doom schools in disadvantaged areas to low Ofsted grades at a time when Ofsted had just started to recognise that grading a school based on disadvantage was a bad idea.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1d7eb40d-c4c4-4dcc-85ea-ad6f62c65b9c?shareToken=6c4b865c0c1b8626f2761a5ad733b608

Agree@TheYearOfSmallThings . I used to be much stricter about absences but having seen how schools and society in general considered attendance and schooling in general to be unimportant for long stretches, I am less so. I am not a slack parent but the overlong lockdowns and continual dismissal of the importance of school attendance has left its mark.

In Scotland our schools were closed for much longer due to the SNP and teachers unions wanting to be different from Boris. Neither school contacted the children or provided any teaching beyond generic workbooks (latterly went up to 2 hours a week of online lessons) so it is not credible for teachers now to be saying how important it is to attend every day.

An entire generation of children & parents have been told that school attendance was not important - what did they think would happen to attendance levels?

I am glad that my DD is now an adult because the idea of absenteeism being monitored like Labour are suggesting really scared me.

My DD was unable to come down from our upstairs for over 6 weeks due to severe anxiety, she was on medication and was under the care of a Psychiatrist and a Paediatrician and yet the school wanted her to go in to sit her Year 6 SATS because being a small village school her being absent would make a difference to the school results. So basically it didn't matter about my DD mental health, all that mattered were the school results!!!

If the schools are put under even more pressure to deal with attendance I can see children suffering.

That's almost one day every 2 weeks off....I mean, it's not great, is it?

Exactly.

Teachers on here can deny our experience but this was the reality for my children.

In fact ours was worse than yours. No provision during lockdowns until the following January and then it was a couple of PowerPoints a week. Still no personal contact at any point. Just the tone deaf weekly emails about the fun they were having.

I paid for tutors and worked long into the night so I could juggle my job with childcare and homeschooling.

Any sense of respect for the school was gone.

Teachers are aware of the benefits of doodling, fidget toys, and many other strategies that could help children with a SEND,
But when the SLT come in teachers get penalised for using them as the child isn't making progress.
When ECHPs contradict themselves or go against the ECHP of another child in the class the teacher gets penalised for not being able to do two contradictory things at once.
We have a system that not only sets your child up to fail but sets the teachers up to fail as well.

@vcetf

Many dc who have lap tops (mine) chose to listen to lessons and type on thier phones. They didn't need a lap top as preferred as that may be to work.

But given the article focuses on poor parenting for absenteeism, I thought the fine for absenteeism was resolving that.

So they're saying it's not working?

AND the shit showing health and social care at the moment being totally ignored.

We screwed with either government at the moment. There are so many issues that could swing the next election either way too.

@FrippEnos

No. The teachers that do get it have had personal experience or some education in this area.

The vast majority do not understand it or get it and won't even consider it.

I hate this assumption that children who miss school choose do so because they just can't be bothered and their parents don't care. The reality is that many choldren simply cannot cope with school in its current state. I have a teen daughter with poor attendance. She is highly anxious about school. Was ok at her small primary but fell apart at secondary.

DH and I are both teachers and value education highly. We want her in school getting the education she needs and deserves. But it's incredibly difficult to force your highly distressed child into school. I no longer force her in when she's in a really bad state. I did that once, phoned the school to say she was extremely distressed and asked someone to check on her but nobody did. She is a very quiet child and her anxiety manifests itself through complete withdrawal at school so she's not creating any bother to them and their attention gets focused on the children with more obvious issues. There simply isn't enough pastoral support in schools due to funding issues.

The school eventually put some things in place but basically she spends half her time in a pastoral room, engaging with nobody and learning nothing. So she's in school but not being educated. I have paid for private counselling for months (tried to get seen by CAMHS but were discharged to the school nursing team who do nothing). On waiting list for assessments for neurodivergence but these take years.

I briefly heard Bridget Phillipson talking about the issue earlier and she said something about mental health services for young people so at least there is some acknowledgement from the Labour Party that this is a factor. It will be too late for my child though.

Perhaps get local authorities to deal with the spiralling violence. Teachers and kids need protected . I have severe anxiety and absolute fear waiting at school gates and walking home. When the police won't remove violent bullies from school that attack kids teachers and parents alike . And this is the primary school. School is a horrible place in this day and age . Forcing pupils and teachers to ignore abuse is not working . School is not a safe place for children anymore.

That's appalling, and precisely part of the problem.
Tens of thousands of siblings have different holidays - you don't just keep them all at home for the longest period possible!!!

I am not denying your experience but you still want to stereotype all teachers and schools together,

@YourInGoodCompany.. I can't find tl.
. Can you link please

So the teachers who have kids didn't have to home school and manage work etc did they not? It makes me laugh when people see all teachers as childfree and not experiencing parenthood at all! Most are parents, most had kids they had to do work with at home, after work or at weekends!

The powers that be in education already know how to (mostly) solve it. CAMHS needs a colossal amount of funding. But no one will fund CAMHS so the children are screwed.

No, that's your inference not mine. I was explaining why the contract is broken for me. (albeit others had similar experiences judging by this thread).

My childs attendance is just under 40%, I would love if they would attend school every day but I don't know how to make that happen, nothing seems to help.
Although some of the staff are trying to help and are supportive, the attendance officer isn't and sends my stress levels sky high.
I know there isn't 1 solution but 1 approach needs to be improving the provision for children's mental health services which are so overwhelmed, but also to link in with schools and for them to have the resources to help children who need support.

The vast majority are not allowed to use or consider it due to piss poor management of schools by heads and SLT.

I have even been told to allow something then been told that it was wrong to allow it when observed.

Only to be told that I must have misunderstood the instruction and when I emailed both members of the SLT as they both continued to believe that they were right, I got no response from either of them.

Thank you for this amazing post. Brilliantly said.

One of my DC really struggled in attending school a few years ago. Luckily, his was at the minor end of the scale and he was young, so I manhandled him in and - once there - he calmed down and went in. The school are already aware I couldn’t do this when he’s older.

The waiting lists are 4y long for ND assessments (autism and adhd are assessed separately, despite a large number of children having both) and you can’t get on these 4y waiting lists until months of observation and workshops have been done. The recommendation for ADHD now tends to be to medicate, but doctors will not prescribe without a clear diagnosis having been given. The private sector’s diagnoses tend not to be accepted by the NHS (despite almost every UK paed psych having NHS clinics alongside private ones and being trained to an NHS accepted level). If you go private, you risk GPs not accepting diagnosis or prescription costs, potentially schools not accepting it (dependent on school) and risk being removed from the NHS waiting list. It’s a minefield. The workshops and parenting course you have to do to access an ADHD diagnosis are in work time, adding extra pressure. The whole system is ridiculous and so damaging for the children (and parents) that need support - and families simply didn’t cause this.

then start posting about "your child's" school and not school and school's.

And "your child's" teacher etc.
I am sure that you get the point.

There is another thread trending at the moment which highlights one issue - all the minor rules, infringements etc. DD school this year has started the skirt thing, who cares, haircuts again who cares. The ridiculousness of having to wear a polyester blazer in a heatwave. Detentions for minor things is sucking any fun out of it.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4979520-to-wonder-what-has-happened-to-my-sons-school

then the ebsa side, yes schools had to shut but the way everyth8ng just reverted, a lack of understanding of the impact it had on them has also not helped

And a huge lack of funding

The things I feel would help attendance from personal experience are issues with flexibility that schools don't seem to be able/have capacity or authority to uphold.

I understand they need to uphold certain structures but there are small changes that for some children would be a win.

My DD had extreme anxiety and self conscious horror at Drama. She hates drama she will not take it as an option and it is not who she is.
Instead of allowing her to have a background role and perhaps make costume/lighting/set design the teachers says "I will make her more confident by making her do more individual pieces to the class"

Do they even remember being 13? Does is matter that she isn't the gobby confident one who loves to act? Can't she be the quiet arty one who is confident in other areas?

So she refuses school on drama days. I want to work with the school to see my Child as an individual. Why can't she do an extra art lesson in place of Drama? WHY is it all so rigid.

She can talk to adults, she can buy things in shops, she is mature, she cannot stand and pretend to be a drug addict in front of 33 of her peers at this point in her life.

Small changes where appropriate can solve many attendance issues if dealt with early enough.

Have an early intervention team, meet and talk and agree the little changes. Kids often come round on their own with support.

My kids have had horrendous attendance this year to the point where we received a letter warning us.

But they have also been really ill so we needed to keep them home. Could have covid. Might not have been. All we knew was, that they were too ill for school. Times we did send them in and guess what, we would get called to pick them up anyway.

It's becoming more widely acknowledged that adults do not want to work in schools because they are incredibly stressful environments with poor behaviour and a constant focus on academics to the detriment of mental health.

But this is good for children?

Quite. And yet a lot of parents seem to blame teachers and think that teachers want schools to be like that. Nope. That's why they are leaving. And why they have been striking. Schools that are bad for teachers are bad for pupils, and vice versa.

Yep.

My DD has been as low as 20% some
years (cancer related illness, immunosuppressed, catches absolutely everything going, and a fever over 38 is an automatic 48 hour admission, which inevitably becomes 54 hours because not enough staff on the wards to complete discharge paperwork/organise prescriptions in a timely manner).

I do all I can to get her into school as much as possible but with outpatients appointments in 6 different hospital departments, even when she’s well, she’s not always in (lots of half days).