To be worried about all the vulnerable children not attending school for months?

[hibbledobble]

Locally, it's a very deprived area. While some children are entitled to go to school if they are deemed vulnerable (have a social worker or an ehcp plan), statistics show that few of these children do attend, and it isn't enforced.

It seems like a complete disaster for many children, who are vulnerable due to parental drug use/alcohol use/domestic violence or other issues.

I have seen blatant examples of this locally. It's really sad, and I really worry that no one is checking on the welfare of these children. I have already referred to social services where relevant, but now it seems that there will be little ongoing monitoring.

It really grates on me that children with an EHCP are lumped into this "vulnerable" category.

As a parent who battled to gain an EHCP award and who has dropped a decent career (happily) to be a full time Carer to a child with multiple complex needs it's pretty offensive to be grouped into the same category as households on at risk registers, child neglect , drug and alcohol abuse and violence.
It's hard enough keeping going every day without sweeping statements which will never in a million years apply to our family.
Not sure if this is due to ignorance or folks just not thinking first but I wish so much that the distinction between vulnerable children and those who need educational support is huge.

This is why opening schools has to be the highest priority item when looking at plans to wind down the lockdown

I have do do a risk assessment for every child in the school who is classed as vulnerable or near vulnerable. this means those children who are classed as Child in Need, Child Protection , Team around the Child and holding an EHCP as well as those I consider "at risk". This determines how often I contact the family. The first two are automatically daily contact if not in school, TAc children would be 3 times a week, EHCP children 3 times a week or more ( our 1;1 TAs are in daily contact) at risk children either once or 3 times a week. All have been offered places in school. But some have chosen not to send their children in and I cant make them, I can persuade and cajole but I can't force. I involve social workers where one is already in place, contact children's services when I have concerns and the police too! Some parents rightly feel their child is less at risk if they are isolated at home, for some parents this isn't the case.Some children will slip through the net but its not because we don't care or don't want to help, we simply can't help everyone.

Children with an ehcp are vulnerable but it is a different sort of vulnerable.

Children holding EHCPs may have different risks to children at Child Protection but they still have risks. For many, but not all, the risks are educational but for some the risks are also safeguarding ones, it would be irresponsible to say they aren't.

@doubleshotespresso well said! My sons are vulnerable due to their additional needs (autism, developmental delay, ARFID, etc) however they are not at risk and there is no chance of them coming to harm by being at home with us 24/7.

We could send them into school if we so wished however school is a source of anxiety for them at the best of times and school right now is not the school that they are familiar with. The staff are greatly reduced and operating on a rota so change daily, the building are mostly empty as they only ever have 10-15 children in attendance, the usual school routine is not operating and children in school are doing the exact same e-learning as the children at home. School right now would be more stressful for them, not less.

That should say "not at risk from us".

They're at risk from wider society exploiting their vulnerabilities or getting into risky situations due to lack of understanding but that's not going to happen locked down at home.

Brogley-I agree, which is why only two of our children with a diagnosis of ASD are attending school, for the others school at the moment is NOT the safest place for them.

My friend works for a MAT, so there are several schools in her Trust. They don’t have enough kids to have all schools open school is open and all schools from the Trust go there. The staff are pulled in from all four schools in a rota system, which means they go in once a week.
It is a mix of vulnerable children, keyworker children and the children with an ehcp.
There is a kid who has an ehcp but isn’t otherwise vulnerable. He is not coping. He cannot cope with the constant change in staff and children attending. He cannot cope with the fact that it is school but without the normal patterns and routines.
It chimes slightly with the person who said she doesn’t like that children with ehcps are considered vulnerable. They are, and I can see why, but automatically being in school isn’t necessarily the best solution for them.

Sorry, massive typo. That’ll teach me to proof read!
It should say: They don’t have enough kids attending for each school to be open, so only one school of the four is opened all the children from all the schools are going there, with a mix of staff from each school.

@doubleshotespressotirally understand but it’s also a fact that Statistics show children with SN are many more times likely to be abused. They are also way more likely to end up in the foster system. So to protect Those kids, yours are lumped in too. I’m sure the professionals that work with your dc know full well how dedicated you are and are quietly please

Pleased*

Some of my DS' schoolmates are at risk from wandering and mixing with other children if at home because their parents can't keep them in (but they are not sending them to school, though as there are no taxis this is not surprising).
Our DS needs can only be partly met at home so he is going in part time, this has enabled him to regulate himself better at home and he's therefore less risk to our DD so win-win. But I've had loads of flak on here for sending him and I'm not admitting it on FB.

Mine is attending because his mental health isn't safe at home under lockdown conditions. School has the facilities and freedom of access to safe outdoor space that can't happen at home. We are no risk to him but he is a risk to himself.

@drspouse horrible twats who’d criticize you. Some people have absolutely no idea. Even other SEN parents. Just because your kid will stay in their room amusing themselves doesn’t mean other kids desperately need the input of school and their peers and teachers.

I've told no one on Facebook either. There are too many having a go at anyone sending their child into school or taking their child out for walks more than once a day.

Thank you @chilli, I don't share lots on FB, as they say, Twitter is where you tell the truth to people you don't know, FB is where you lie to friends!

Social workers are still keeping in contact with families and children and doing face to face visits for the high risk cases, and for new assessments
We are doing video calls to children regularly where the risk is lower and the schools are generally being brilliant.
Parents of children with social workers are generally just as concerned about their children's safety and health as any other parent so those who have chosen to keep them off have faced no pressure from me. I have advised one or two to send them a couple of days a week to reduce the pressure in the home but it's their choice.

I'm a SENCO in a secondary school and we have a large team of people checking in with our vulnerable students on a regular basis, weekly for some, daily for others. We have had staff make house calls for students who have not responded to emails or phone calls and are still making referrals to social services and Early Help where we feel that extra support/ intervention may be required. We are doing all that we can to support our vulnerable students in challenging times.

YABU to think no-one is checking in with them - some of them on a daily basis.
However YANBU to be concerned. There are so many families and children I'm am incredibly worried about. The 'named social worker' criteria barely touches the tip of the iceburg. That is known by everyone who works with these children in schools, nurseries, Children's Centres, through Health Visiting, FSW Teams and probably many more. That is why schools and nurseries across the country are contacting many, many, many more children on a regular basis.
You are not wrong though that there will be many children who will lose a lot through not having the stability of the structure and care of their school or Nursery day.

@drspouse I have to say, a friend who is parent to a very lovely, very intelligent boy on the high functioning side of the Autistic spectrum has probably been the most vocal on her Instagram about ‘keeping your kids at home’ and how ‘awesome’ homeschool is. Her son is at a selective grammar school on track for a load of 9s in his GCSE’s next year, so I don’t think she can speak for all SEN parents, although outside of this she purports to be a big campaigner for better provision & understanding of ASD. It drives me batty, but I wouldn’t say anything because I know her sons apparent high function doesn’t negate him having some very real difficulties. Just doesn’t seem very charitable of her.

Our pastoral structures are still in place. We have a large team of people checking on students that we know are vulnerable- this is from our knowledge of students, not just a list given to us.

At the moment students are getting contact from the DSL, SENCO, three pastoral managers, deputies and Year heads. This week tutors have been asked to contact any tutees they have concerns about.

Subject teachers are taking to kids via e-mail and Teams.

We also have a secure school system the pupils can use to disclose information. This is monitored constantly by the DSL.

Schools are still functioning entities. We just aren’t functioning face to face en mass. We’re all still doing our jobs.

I spent several sleepless nights last week worrying about them, trying to stop thinking about the awful statistics and stories I have read.
I finally accepted worrying doesn’t do anything to help them, set up a monthly direct debit to Women’s Aid and the NSPCC then put them out of my mind.

@pigeonpresent I was wondering if there was anything practical I could do for women’s aid, donate clothes, order a load of kids clothes and nappies online, go and drop off a load of toiletries and pjs, clothes and stuff, but I guess what you’ve done is probably best - just donate money and try and not let it get to oneself !

My niece's school are calling the vulnerable children's parents and checking up on them on a rotation basis and many of their children are still coming in. My niece has been round to a few families to help too.

I'm worried about one of my Brownies, as mum hasn't been in touch at all and the child has not been on social media, or been seen by her friends in the village.