WFH causing school refusal to increase.

[rivalsbinge]

I read a thought provoking post on LinkedIn a comment about school refusals being so much higher since WFH became more "normal"

In essence the thought was a lack of everyone up, dressed out the door, it's now kids up breakfast dressed smart, out the door with parents in PJs or leisure wear going back home to work and the kids knowing that parents are at home makes them more likely to want to also stay home.

Obviously the parents do work but the kids (age dependent) are not seeing this and are thinking work/ school is now optional.

I did think this poster may have a valid point but interested in what others think, I'm also not talking about SEN and other considerations.

They’re ignoring the issue of massively ramped up mental health issues in schools (many causes including Covid plus psychological scare tactics used, shortage of decent MH support, moving MH awareness into schools with unqualified staff causing a contagion effect, social media).

There needs to be light on the rise in children with SN - pointing maybe towards toxic schooling and society meaning that fewer children can thrive. Those levels of SN were always there but weren’t a diagnosable problem that they needed support for. Or maybe pointing towards society somehow not meeting children’s needs any more.

It all seems to be reaching a breaking point, yet they still can’t discuss it properly or go to the root to fix it. Instead they waste time going for easy targets like WFH and feckless parents.

DS never saw me in anything except work clothes and school refusal was not something I was going to tolerate.

School refusing is not something that parents tolerate or allow. It’s a trauma response to being in a situation that the child cannot cope with.

How I wish that schools and other parents could start to understand this rather than the constant assumptions that were over indulging our little darlings 🙄

If you struggled to go to work you have options like sick pay, changing job, retraining and working in a new environment.

Children have to fit in or be damned. If you move school it’s to another similar set up. It’s rare for a child to be signed off and have a home tutor provided.

There are so many ways attendance could be improved, but the only way considered is to rack up the anxiety even more with attendance targets and punishments.

If we are discussing secondary/high school, IMO this is mainly the root of the issue. The culture at junior school and infant school (primary school) where we live was cosy and caring and pastoral is great, it is equally as focused in this way in my eldest's sixth form college. The teachers notice the children who aren't loud and obnoxious and bring concerns, if they have any, to the parents. In between 11-16 is where it is wholly inadequate. The environment is loud, aggressive, abrasive, ridiculous rules over everything and they are pursued with relentlessness with those pupils that are pretty easy to tell off i.e well behaved and respectful but happen to have their coat on in the corridor as they have just come in from the cold. Meanwhile, the very disruptive teenagers are confronted about these things but are violent or verbally aggressive and get rewarded with days out. I appreciate there will be many reasons for this and it's a good thing to not shout at a kid who perhaps has it a lot worse at home. However, it is unjust and makes a mockery of rules, if they are only applied stringently and harshly to the kids who are obliging anyway!

The crucial years are 11 - 16 and yet there is an absence of concern for emotional wellbeing. Kids who may have been 10 in August thrown into this crazy, loud and huge school environment that includes 16 year olds who are at a completely different developmental level, some of whom are intimidating even if they don't mean to be. When the kids are young or when they are lucky enough due to educational advantage to get into a good sixth form college, the school life is more inviting.

There is literally no point in a child that walks around school all day, with perhaps unstable family conditions to be forced to do 8 GCSES, the specialism needs to come earlier and the familiarity with a few teachers i.e that build up a good relationship with those children of a few years helps engage those pupils.

Corelation is not causation.
WFH does not cause poor attendance ime.
However, the inverse may be true.
Poor attendance may cause WFH.
How many parents with school refusers have lost their job?
I, like many, walk the precipice. Can my DC make it in today? Is my job tenable? Could I home ed and find a WFH shift job?
The statistics numbers game the government are playing with does not take into account the number of teenagers off rolled. But if they add the pressure and force the parent to off roll, that's one less student to fuck up the figures, right? Or for the LA to actually pay towards?
They are asking the wrong questions. It should not be the stick and putting inordinate stress on school attendance officers, GPs and parents.
The onus should be what can the schools do to make the environment suitable for additional needs. Or putting in the infrastructure for SEND wings on site that go beyond that of a support unit for a handful of children.

There are obviously a huge number of reasons why children's attendance is poor.

One I don't think I've seen mentioned yet is that there are more/better alternatives than there used to be.

When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I'd have been bored if I hadn't gone to school. That's where my friends were. I didn't want to sit and watch daytime television, which was very limited in those days (only three channels).

If my mother had been home - and mine did work throughout my secondary school years - she would have made me stay in bed if I said I wasn't well enough for school. My options would have been reading or listening to music. Much as I liked both, I wouldn't have wanted to do either for the whole day.

These days it's much easier to while away the hours on your phone or laptop. spend hours on their phones.

Anyone who thinks schools are toxic and dangerous nowadays didn’t go to school in West Yorkshire in the 1980s 😂I mean, I’m no fan of our current secondary system but that was a whole other kettle of fish.
It’s interesting how many people are saying Mums stayed home in the 80s/ 90s. I didn’t know a single stay at home mum I don’t think. Some worked part time or shifts but everyone worked.
I do think WFH is a factor in that it’s nicer for kids staying off to have someone there. My friend has a school refuser and she explicitly said that when her job was made WFH it became much harder to get her son out to school.

Seems an odd link to make imo. I'm 100% wfh and my kids (nor any of the kids of my colleagues) are off ill any more than they were before wfh ramped up, and most certainly aren't just staying home "because I am home"

I did that FifthTimeLucky- if my kids were off sick there was no tv phones or PlayStation, I always said you can sleep or you can read.

@Codlingmoths I didn't say I agreed with it! I was just interested in others opinions as I thought there maybe some truth in there.

Well not really I was being clear this wasn't a conversation aimed at children with obvious issues around school and the focus of the conversation was about the WFH aspect and how family "go to work" routine has potential impacted on attendance.

Do you have children yourself, OP? I was wondering what your experience has been, and whether you have found the same issue.

To be fair it wasn't taken seriously, I thought it was an interesting correlation that had been made and wanted to learn about others opinions.

Our summer break is shorter than in most countries. Are all countries experiencing this? What makes British children (and families) struggle so much with a six week break rather than other countries who have 10+ weeks!?

I think successive governments latch onto any corelation that doesn't lay the blame at their door.
So easier to blame parents WFH (and I thought many were now back in the office?) than:

COVID effect due to lockdowns
Teacher strikes due to poor conditions/pay
Ongoing Mental health crisis
300% rise in SEND referrals
Physical health including Long COVID
COL crisis meaning obstacles like uniform, cold, damp, hunger
The curriculum itself

If they looked at the literacy gap in year 7 they'd soon realise how many pupils are struggling day after day to access the curriculum

If they received demonising letters themselves based on national targets, they'd realise they are isolating the people they want support from

If they were honest about how much more is needed to "level up" then you wouldn't be getting this kind of sound bite/ a plaster covering a haemmhorage

As it is, if you were witness to the lack of provision from some (not all) schools during lockdown, the striking two years ago, school closures due to crap buildings/lack of staff/lack of heating and the way many schools operate with a one-size-fits-all approach on crap budgets...it is hardly surprising that attendance figures are lower.

I do, mine are older 17 & 20 now and I've always worked out of the home until going fully remote last year and my DH is in sales and has worked from home and globally so we are a bit of a mixture.

I had my DS fairly young and have lots of friends really struggling to get their children to attend regularly, and on reading the post on linked in I realised there was a correlation between the parents who I know personally who still went out, be that shift work or 9-5 and the ones who WFH.

I can see all sides as I'm not in the middle of the situation but I can see my youngest a-level age DS skiving off more than ever and wondering if it's linked to me being home and able to collect him etc, where as last year it would be tough as I was away at work.

Lots of really interesting reply's it's not a WFH bashing post as some have thought, that's just being defensive as I have staff who all now WFH as I decided to take the business remote.

My (wfh) colleague has a school refusing son, I think it’s more to do with the sheer chaos of his classroom and terrible behaviour of other pupils than if his mum is working in an office or at home.

I think it's a bit of a stretch personally

Dh and I both wfh, and we're up and dressed, kids out of the door to school by 8am

So easier to blame parents WFH (and I thought many were now back in the office?) than:

^

Or plain old poor parenting?? Some are so ineffectual they can't get their kids out the door to school?

Of course that could well be the case but they're not putting in the support there, either, are they?

OR the reasons this poster stated (which I agree with and could add more to);

COVID effect due to lockdowns
Teacher strikes due to poor conditions/pay
Ongoing Mental health crisis
300% rise in SEND referrals
Physical health including Long COVID
COL crisis meaning obstacles like uniform, cold, damp, hunger
The curriculum itself

I’ll add;
Draconian ‘rules’ and punishments
Education system which is out of date and step with modern life and modern parenting
Bullying (adults and children)
Crumbling buildings
Major underfunding
One size fits all curriculum and exam system.

Those also, patsy

Our summer break is shorter than in most countries. Are all countries experiencing this? What makes British children (and families) struggle so much with a six week break rather than other countries who have 10+ weeks!?

^

Other countries have subsided summer camps

The UK doesn't

All of them? Universally available ? Any sources for that?

As for the topic of the thread, there's no evidence of any of this. It's simply a thing the Ofsted chief inspector has pulled out of his arse.

Yep-this is Martyn Oliver, head of Ofsted's attempt at throwing a dead cat into the media for half term.

Whilst teachers and parents are talking about whether he's right in saying that WFH is to blame for attendance or that the summer holidays are too long, they aren't talking about his shit idea for the Ofsted report cards and what a rubbish job he's doing!

It’s ridiculous. I’ve worked from home for my teen DD’s entire life. So has DH. Work is work and kids understand that.

its only narrow-minded adults who don’t seem to understand that wfh is actual work.