Aibu to worry about the schools bill

[LivingOnAPear]

I’m surprised there’s not more chat about this on mumsnet. I’m a parent of an autistic child and I’m really worried about our rights as parents being eroded.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/schools-bill-nadhim-zahawi-attendance-send-b2121255.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3U0ovevI6-E6MLKpRb0uN-TLnf987Z4JyxKmrJL3FKx-om1jIMYRgLVo8#Echobox=1657630821

I'm on a phone so its a not difficult to read page is very jumpy. I'm assuming the gist is that they are aiming to criminalise parents of children who refuse school or who's kids dont attend school regularly rather than addressing all the issues that may have lead to this point?

If so its a complete joke. Many parents can't afford to keep calling in sick to work amd would much prefer their kids were in school, but what are you supposed to do? Drag them kicking amd screaming? Call the police and get them taken in a cop car? Punish them for what one would deem a rational and understandable reaction to not being supported or being bullied/assaulted etc. Sure the teachers will love those kids in class in a right state 🙄

No clue at all by sounds of it.

It can be hard enough to get a chikd without SN to school when they hate it so much

Yep it's dreadful.

And now a PM wannabe is saying they want to remove superfluous support staff and peripheral activities in school.

As someone who works in education (special Ed) and the parent of a disabled child it horrifies me.

I am quite worried about it, for the same reason as OP. Is there no end to the amount of crap heaped on kids, instead of helping them?

This summarises the bill, with links to read the whole thing and the impact assessment.
schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-bill-the-15-new-laws-proposed/

And now a PM wannabe is saying they want to remove superfluous support staff and peripheral activities in school.

This sounds like a terrible idea @itsgettingweird
Who is it?

Some of it makes sense, funding going straight to schools instead of local authorities and keeping track of children who are not registered for school (from a child safety perspective it is a good idea). The rest is scary

there are a few petitions around that I've seen about this. Worth searching on change.org and places like that.

there is talk that other forms of education like forest schools, peripatetic music teaching, private tutors etc, might inadvertently end up being covered by the act, and thus required to register and be subject to ofsted and so on, which could make them more expensive and full of red tape/hassle, with less freedom to provide alternative styles of education. It is unclear whether there will be exemptions for these sorts of things, because as usual it hasn't been thought through or spelled out in detail

Kemi.

I presume that was deleted because I mentioned there were petitions available, even though i didn't actually link to any, just suggested searching on the usual sites.

Yes I heard Kemi Badenoch's speech the other day, all about how the focus needs to be on good 'whole class teaching' and not all these other support groups and things, which was a bit shocking. She has some good sense on certain other topics, but i found these policies really worrying. All very 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps and take responsibility for yourself' kind of thing.

The one I find most interesting is that if you have 1 child at home with an EHCP you have to register as a school.

I'll be interested to see if that means they'll also find the support on the EHCP for that "school" to provide which is currently the law.

Also a lot of pushing academies and MATs. I think this is their new way of trying to fund schools without actually funding them.

And the illegal but about removing children from school after attendance warnings.

This will damage a cohort of pupils who already have increasing MH difficulties (even more so after covid).

The only way this will work on any level is if they increase the specialist provision to provide a suitable education for those who can't manage large classrooms and a MS education. But we know they won't do anything to improve the lives of those with LT health problems or a disability.

Very worrying and narrow minded.

And good whole class teaching has been a policy for ages. But you can't teach a whole class when 2-3 have SEND which means they are non verbal or cannot sit for a period of time and don't even understand what you're saying.

When you have a teacher recruitment and retention problem I'm not sure how rhos policy will solve that.

My dd has struggled with school for over 2 years, we have done everything to help that we possibly can.
She is on a reduced timetable, we have been waiting for CAMHs for 2 years!
How on earth can they prosecute parents when they can't even give the tools to help parents and esp children who has mental health problems to actually be in school.

If its bad for schools it is horrendous for Home Education - so if the support really is not there in school then Home Education will be less of a positive option.

There is a massive petition being presented to parliament today from the Home Education Community against it.

and could be horrendous for extra provision as well, tutors, music teachers, support workers, forest school and some of the similar things that home ed children also benefit from even when they can't access school. If everything becomes ofsted regulated and inspected and registered, the admin hassle and expense will reduce the provision, and the lack of freedom in how it is provided will reduce choice. There needs to be exemption in the way the act is written for all these activities.

There are no superfluous support staff in schools, most are managing with the bare minimum they can due to costs. How absolutely outrageous that someone with so little common sense can be allowed to damage our children's education in this way. Disgusting. They'll be taking the milk from under 5's and fsm's for ks1 away again next. This government is determined to punish anyone who is not in their elite moneyed bubble.

It’s bad news from the sound of it

We had to move my child’s school in year 1 as she wasn’t coping. But we felt like we had power as parents to choose to home educate, unschool, send her to forest and beach schools if we couldn’t find a suitable place. It seems like they are cracking down on some of the alternative providers whilst restricting parents’ choices to move their child (especially if their child has an echp) but also not doing anything to resolve the underlying issues.

There is a 'stop the schools bill' group on FB - I have also signed the petition. I was also surprised at the lack of talk about it on here

And now a PM wannabe is saying they want to remove superfluous support staff and peripheral activities in school.

Just goes to show he has never set foot in a school then. There are no superfluous support staff - there are not enough support staff.

It is horrendous.

It is akin to criminalising parents for having the temerity of having children who can't manage in school, often due to unmet or undiagnosed needs.

I have two who came out of school before the end of primary due to 'so - called' school refusal which is a vile, parent blaming, name for what is actually school based anxiety.

It's hard enough for parents having to navigate the broken SEN and mental health systems without actually being criminalised for things out of your control. The choice will be a straight choice of putting your child at risk of REAL harm or being made a criminal. This will not help children. It will make things worse.

What is needed is investment in alternative provisions and mental health services not further parent blaming.

A few years ago Coventry University did a study on the parents who were receiving criminal fines and imprisonment for non attendance and quelle surprise, the majority of them parents of autistic kids. 10 MOTHERs were imprisoned. www.coventry.ac.uk/news/parents-most-at-need-are-being-penalised-over-childrens-school-attendance-report-finds/

@lifeturnsonadime

I totally agree with everything you’ve said. I’m just surprised there’s so little talk about it in the media. Most of the articles I’ve seen refer to forced academisation as the main issue with the bill.

It’s really sad about the Coventry research.

It drives me mad that they are focussing on this rather than actually improving state schools and actually looking at the education system in countries where children are happier.

What are peripheral activities? With these wankers, I'm assuming we're talking breaks and lunch?

You’re not BU!

I represent Square Peg, the org named in the article James wrote.

We are desperate for more parents to join our campaign and write to their MP about impact of these proposals on all children & families.

Parents have had enough of pernicious letters about attendance, questioning their opinion on whether their child is well enough to attend school or ‘legitimately’ is struggling to attend and is maybe a bit naughty or trying it on or ‘Mum’ is too weak to be firm.

These proposals are a ramp up of current policy and a fast track to surveillance, scrutiny and interference in family life.

Did you know under Part 3 of the Bill, Government will know the location, live, in real time, of every child every day and whether they are in school? Sounds harmless, but is it?

Did you know under proposals in the Schools Bill your child’s school attendance record will be kept and freely shared between all Government agencies (including policing) for 66 years after they leave education?! (Incidentally they’re not going after privately educated kids’ attendance because those are the right sort of families obvs).

So yes, we all should be concerned and pushing back. Contact your MP today!!

You might want to include info from our campaign page regarding our 3 Asks. Amendment 81 is our amendment proposing the 2nd of 3 Asks, an Attendance Code of Practice.

3 Asks Schools Bill Amendment 81

We'd be happy to speak to @mumsnet about this. 👍🏻

We’re all Mums and it’s high time the corridors of power started listening to us.

the 'tracking' of children's attendance/alternative provision education worries me. If all other providers start having to register and be regulated, the variety and choice of these will decrease, and potentially the cost increase. Moreover, if the bill isn't worded well, then so many others could potentially be affected too, including extra-curricular teachers/tutors, and so on - who would possibly then refuse to take home educated children or those with ECHP plans to avoid the hassle of registering and monitoring.

(we aren't 'all mums', though. Some of us are interested for other reasons, such as being involved as teachers, tutors, therapists, etc., or having friends or family members who home educate, etc.. Those in power should listen to people with experience and interest in the area, not because we are (or aren't) mums)