If you work in education, what do you think is causing the current attendance issues?

[NeedAnUpgrade]

I’ve read quite a lot on this recently. DD1 is 10, she’s always been reluctant to go to school. She had a spate of UTIs, stomach aches, headaches etc. She’s had a bit of time off sick but we only triggered the attendance letter recently as it went below a certain threshold. DH and I have always done our best to get her into school, being reassured that she’s ‘been fine all day’ by her teachers. It all came to a head this year (yr 5) after a complete meltdown, several anxiety attacks and refusal to leave the house. She’s now on a reduced timetable at school and on the waiting list for an ASD assessment.
Academically she’s ahead but just can’t seem to cope with the school environment.

I’m just wondering what those who work in education think the issues are. Am I just a terrible parent? Although I’m not sure what else I could do. I suspect a complete lack of funding in education has had the biggest impact on schools and students. Especially those with SEN.

Mainstream school is tough for NV kids, even when measures are put into place to support them. Huge buildings with over a thousand young people squashing through corridors and ppt timed lessons, data and pressure, not easy for many. X

I do think a lot of it is parents working from home so it is a lot easier for parents to keep kids off. I have a job that I can't just skip, obviously if I'm unwell then it can't be helped and things would be rearranged but I couldn't not turn up to work just because my child didn't want to go to school. To be clear I say this as a mother of a daughter with such severe anxiety that she is completely mute outside of the home but her anxiety is much worse if she thinks we are reinforcing that there are things to be anxious about.

She is better off in school than stuck at home. Not sure how we'll tackle it when she's in secondary though and could walk out if she doesn't want to be there

I completely agree that the current school system isn’t fit for purpose. Ex teacher here.

@Moier yes exactly this for many.
We had a v difficult summer due to a very unwell grandparent. Stress causes illnesses and so my child missed a couple of days in the first week :( then was worried re what they missed, where sitting etc. I updated school on situ and asked for help with classes child worried about. This was mid September. I was told nothing school could do to help.
More days off due to tummy ache/headaches etc..obv anxious signs etc.
More emails to school for help..instead just get attendance letter! By Half term child unable to go in and how can you get a 14 year old in if they are crying/in a state etc. Had a meeting at school and then another but still anxious and scared. Oh and one helpful teacher announced to class on one day they were in that there was a new pupil in the class!
I email head of year.. attendance person. Individual teachers and rarely get replies even tho we are obviously asking for help.
I assume the issue is so big that because online maths is done and home visit was fine that we are bottom of the pile in importance/urgency and yet the longer it goes on the more difficult it will ever be to walk back in. It's absolutely heartbreaking.
Persistent absenteeism is at 30 per cent at least of all pupils so I guess they just don't have the resource to help:(
Parents definitely aren't being lazy. Getting up day after day to try and encourage a very anxious child to school is exhausting. Watching and reading hours of online info on how to solve the issue is exhausting.
All the time still having to be mum and earn money to keep roof over heads.
It definitely is not the easy option for them to stay home.

The out of control and beyond disapline group of "wild" kids who seem to rule the playground don't help . They have no respect of the teachers , police or their parents.😟 In our case my grandchildren both in school and those who have moved on to further education have been continually and consistently bullied ,harassed and physically threatened by a group of feral kids .....the schools hands appear to be tied by protocol and the police seem to move at a snail pace .
They have been accused of the vilest things on the say so of a girl who has already been accused and proven to be a vicious liar .
My boys daren't go in to school or be alone due to violence and name calling by her gang and it over spills into life outside

No kid should be afraid to attend school

When we first went into lockdown my students used to get all their work done by noon and then have the rest of the day to themselves. When we went into video chat type lessons, they still found they had more time once the work was done - and they got more done.

When we returned to class they realised how much time is wasted getting ready for school, getting to school, walking between lessons, all the random breaks, tutor time and also from students mucking about or having questions. Suddenly lesson content was halved and they couldn't make a cup of hot chocolate in-between either.

Students have realised that schools are inefficient, noisy places which for many are not conducive to learning. Why would they want to do that? It's like the people who worked from home really efficiently but now suddenly need to return to the office full-time. It's a miserable prospect and having to scrape yourself out of bed super early to get stuck in traffic isn't good for anyone's mental health. Especially when you've experienced an alternative.

https://changingperceptions3.wordpress.com/2024/01/18/half-a-dozen-things-more-relevant-to-the-attendance-crisis-than-parent-blaming/?fbclid=IwAR37LpH5POWLX3FAUfdkAK7svhzKkS9PDFDwd6j4_wIK25r_y-psUPazNTw

Obviously each case is different and SEN is a completely different discussion.
but overall, as a teacher, I would say that parents pandering to children’s every need and not making them do difficult and challenging things when they are young leads to a low level of resilience. School is hard (harder for some than others) but it’s not impossible. There is a lot of ‘I can’t’ do things eg I can’t go into the classroom as I feel nervous. No, you are refusing to even try and want to just opt out of something that feels scary. all the opting out builds the fear and then eventually they’ll have a panic attack even trying. And then that’s it. Given up completely. And CAMHS is useless unless you are ready to say you have suicidal thoughts.

A mixture of issues.
a poor curriculum, ridiculous rules, exhausted and overworked teachers.
And…if I’m honest in about 20% of the attendance issues I have parenting is the issue - the kids say, the parents say and we see it.

Lack of resilience amongst both young people and their parents.

Attendance hasn't been taken seriously since covid. Parents cba in the mornings. Some are pushing unnecessary "reduced timetables" for their barely SEN children that cope perfectly well....

My daughter refused to go to school in Year 10. Anxious and crying and saying it’s so loud and disorganised. I met with the school and was told that unfortunately with a class of 36 the teacher shouts and the kids shout and poor sensitive kids like my DD get swept up in it. She is quite resilient and all other areas fine but it got worse and she was getting detention for ridiculous things and the teachers had no time to support her so she got further behind and constant detentions. They say they prepare them for work but if you worked in this environment HR would be involved.
She ended up at a College. Did her GCSEs and A levels and has a job she loves.
It was the toxic school environment that ruined it for her and I don’t think it’s changed. So many of her friends either left or gave up.

I suspect it's about confidence and expectations.

It likely never occurred to most kids to refuse to go to school. They just went and never questioned it.

Now there's another option in their minds, studying from home. For those who liked it or had social anxiety, it's harder to go back.

Its shown them a possibility they never had before. And I think it's the same with adults working from home. I think it's hard to go back and make time and space for the "peripheral" unpleasant aspects of school and work, like gossip, bullying, applying pressure, asking favours etc.

Assuming you’re a teacher from your username but what’s a reduced timetable?

There is nothing wrong with any of the kids.. the school system is archaic & falling apart. It is about compliance & being quiet & doing as you are told. Secondary school is so strict it disallows any child to develop a personality. They are caged in all day, learning about the same shit we learnt about 30 years ago! The world has changed so much in 30 years but school is exactly the same.

Kids especially boys need to move around & chat & socialise but that is not allowed in a classroom.. very little physical activity..
poor kids are bored & demotivated which results in not concentrating, boredom & leads to depression & anxiety.

School system needs reforming. It is collapsing.
I don’t have the solution but I am so sad that the blame is on the kids or teachers or parents or a combo of all… Sad we live in a blame culture, it is not 1 person or group of peoples fault it just needs full reform!. The school system is broken NOT your child or anyone elses!
Childrens & adults mental health is more important than any attendance figures etc.
Give your child a mental & physical break from school for the sake of yourself & your child! Their health & wellbeing is more important than anything else!

@Naptrappedmummy often children will just do a morning or afternoon or set days. To be considered for that to be approved parents often keep perfectly able children off so attendance drops to very low. Shame. There are certainly some children that would benefit from that tremendously, typically theirs are the parents who don't even know where to begin seeking support bless them, or sometimes need support themselves.

The entire system needs a good overhaul. As it stands now, it’s a one size fits all and children are shoehorned into it. Like putting square pegs in a round hole, it’s not flexible enough to suit learning styles and individual capabilities. SEND children currently don’t stand a chance and parents are fighting tooth and nail to get an education and matching support. The other side to it is bad parenting and general home life of a lot of children. I work in a pupil referral unit and most of our parents are lazy, unemployed and won’t take responsibility for anything. Happy to blame everyone but themselves. As a result, their kids are lazy, entitled, antisocial, drug dependent and lack respect and self worth. It’s a mix of everything. The school system as it stands isn’t fit for purpose.

I work in the Support for Learning department of a High School. We are buckling under the weight of pupils who are being passed onto us who do not necessarily have special educational needs but have huge behaviour issues. They are unpleasant (and I mean very) not only to each other but also to staff, who are reduced to tears. We have been left in a situation where more and more pupils who genuinely need help, who also want to learn, are not getting the help they need because we are effectively these babysitting pupils. Yes, some of it is a result of Covid but some of it is down to poor parenting. They have an attitude of entitlement and feel that they should not face consequences for their actions. Unfortunately, whether it is just our school, or a wider issue, there seems to be a general reluctance by management to give them any sort of consequence. I know from seeing American teachers online that they are also finding this to be an issue. As one teacher so rightly observed we live in a society, and society has consequences for these sorts of behaviours.

@BooBooDoodle agreed!

I totally agree. Parents under less pressure to send them in regardless to see how they go. It’s easier to facilitate a child at home than ever before. You don’t even need to take a day of leave (if you WFH).

Parenting has changed and we are more aware of children’s feelings and anxiety. In the 90s no one would have recognised my anxiety. I HAD to go to school and that was that. These days we care about MH so we are less likely to shove kids in school and walk away.

As a teacher 15 years ago we encouraged parents to physically put their child over the threshold and I would hold the child and stop them from leaving whilst the parent scarpered. We don’t do it now because we just can’t touch the children and we are much more concerned for the MH. I think we’ve taken it too far and there is a time and place to drop and run. But this is what it has become. The child says no and we listen more than we ever did before!

We have these pupils, vile isn’t the word. We are sanction less. It isn’t working and staff are getting assaulted and verbally abused all day everyday.

Before COVID we had some families who always missed time in school.

Since COVID we have a lot of families who miss time in school for holidays, for “suzie is tired” or for “Child Jamie and Tallulah and Flumptress all have a “bit of a fever today”…

And EVERY SINGLE EMAIL ends with “can their teacher set them work on Google classroom and I promise we will do it “.

so school is optional and teachers can set online learning.

why do we need to turn up.

it’s been snowing this week. I don’t like driving in the snow so on this day we’ll participate in the “online learning” option that her teacher can surely provide

Loads of real truthful replies here. The entitlement and resilience is interesting because what type of adults are they going to become. There's a thread on here about a 19 year old calling in sick for work because they weren't granted annual leave. WTF.

It's worrying what we are going to become. I'm a parent to primary school age DDs. Yes they moan and claim they aren't going to school today but they do. And they've been told that the expectation full stop. I WFH but I wouldn't keep them off because I'm home.

I see parents

"going to see Santa during the week because it was cheeper than a weekend and life's too short".

"It's cold/snow/too hot for them to go to school"

"They are made to wear blazers in this heat I'm not sending them"

"They wouldn't get out of bed so I left them"

"I can't afford to take all my kids on holiday so I'm going term time."

It's shocking and it's the same people time and time again.

This view makes a lot of sense to me. When I returned to the office (only two/ very max three days a week thank god!) I realised how much time is wasted in the office. How many never ending meetings, pointless ones, the colleague asking the same questions over an over. It's a noisy place only liked now by the very young because is novelty and also because they need that interaction to learn soft skills etc. Maybe all secondary school kids had exactly the same shocking discovery but without the resilience of the adults.

Well I would tell them it's even more important to go now because of how much they missed.