Headteachers should drive to the homes of absent pupils and get them into school

[Amuseaboosh]

Headteachers "have a duty" to drive to the homes of absent pupils and bring them into school, the education secretary has said.

Gillian Keegan said levels of absence in schools were now "a crisis," with recent figures revealing that 125,000 pupils spent more time out of class than in.

I know how very lucky I am to have never had to cope with any of my children not wanting to go to school.
However, I'm not so ignorant that I believe that all the parents dealing with this issue haven't tried absolutely everything to get their child into school. Where is ANY member of teaching staff supposed to find the time to attend to 125,000 pupils in person to get them to come to school?

AIBU in thinking Gillian is out of touch and ignorant? Or can someone see wisdom here that I cannot?

And there's lots of parents doing their very best to get their children in to school. Lots of Mums waking up every day, feeling sick with anxiety & scared of the consequences of trying to make somebody bigger than them & angry to do something they don't want to do. Then having to stay out of the house themselves all day because they are scared to be in their own homes. But yrs, you go ahead and blame the parents. Wish i lived in your ideal world.

There are still Education Welfare Officers and I take it you haven't bothered to read the full thread.

Reasons for non- attendance are complex, most non attendance is due to unmet sen needs not 'shit parenting'.

You can't parent away the fact that mainstream schools are traumatising for many children. It would be cruel to put children in a harmful environment.

This has never been any different. But more kids are not attending school than ever before.

Because more parents are recognising that need in their child. My eldest was exactly how it’s been described in here. I fixed it by sending it to a private school, where my every whim was pandered four on her behalf, and as a result, she’s done really well in education. If I hadn’t had, the money she would have been fucked, frankly.

School system is broken and it’s not fit for purpose, it’s been 40 years, nearly since I went to school and I spent the whole of my Primary School looking out of the window.

As luck would have it so it turns out I’m really intelligent with my high functioning autism and I have 3 degrees. Absolutely, no thanks to the schools I attended.

Maybe you should go back to school too seeing as you can't read. I didn't say anything like that. I simply commented that there are loads of parents that don't care, I didn't say all of them or most of them and it's true so why get in a snit about it?

It’s the most bonkers thing I’ve heard!

When would the headteacher have time to do this? Does she not know what they have to do all day? Does she think it’s just the one child occasionally who might be refusing at any given school?

Maybe there could be a local team paid for by the government in each area to go round and make life difficult for school refusing kids, but you couldn’t physically manhandle them in - they haven’t committed a crime.

Maybe there could be a local team paid for by the government in each area to go round and make life difficult for school refusing kids

This already exists.

Local Authorities routinely make life difficult for school refusing kids by failing to recognise and address the complex reasons for school refusal , failing to assess and issue EHCPs in a timely manner, failing to meet the legal requirement of ensuring alternative provision as required under s. 19 of the Education Act, fining parents when they know that the reason that the child is not in school is due to unmet needs.

Punishing children with complex needs is not the answer.

🤣 ok 👏

They've completely missed the thousands of children out of school due to not having a place that can meet their needs. They are kept on roll and left to it.

I work for sendiass and just this morning I had a call from a parent re a child who hasn't been in since December, school stated they can't meet needs and child just left to it. Child still on roll. No one thought to inform the LA.

Picking up children is only a tiny thing for a much bigger issue

Last time I was able to carry my child they were 11 and 35 kilos. Carried them down three flights of stairs to get them to school . There's not a chance in hell I can physically drag my 15 year old out the flat now.

It’s the job of the feckless parents to get their children into school. But no on is allowed to say that.

So, if no-one is allowed to say that, how do you explain the fact that parents are regularly prosecuted for failing to get their children to school?

Yes but people on here will say it's "wrong" that this happens, that these people lead "disorganised lives" which isn't their fault, that the children's "needs aren't being met" which isn't their parents fault either, but the fault of the local authority.

It shouldn't be a matter of having to physically force your child to go to school because things should never be allowed to deteriorate to that extent. Children should be brought up to understand that school and education are important and not to think of school as optional.

@Florenz please, honestly, educate yourself. My DD went from totally fine to being unable to leave the car. She wanted to go, she likes school, her friends and learning. I'm a teacher for crying out loud...I'm not "feckless", "chaotic" or anything else. She was ill. For the first time ever, I felt completely unable to deal with this parenting issue and how to help her. For you to be still here, after 11 pages of people describing their childrens' struggles and the impact it's had and still saying they're just being weak and pathetic and need to "get their heads down" is astounding and depressing.

Things shouldn’t be allowed to deteriorate to that extent you’re right. When parents start saying to schools and other organisations “help we have problems” the help should be there. It shouldn’t be a case of fighting to be put on a waiting list. It shouldn’t be a case of blame the parents.

if at the early stages people stopped and listened to the child and things where put in place then it could make a massive difference for many. Sadly like many parts of the system too often we are reactive rather than proactive.

And a reflection on him/her nothing to do with your parenting

I wonder if that's true. There's certainly been an increase recently, not a great shock given that we closed schools to most children for a prolonged period. But the general societal attitude to attendance was very different even a couple of decades back.

But school is optional and certainly is not the only or best way for a child to be educated.

Your posts are ignorant and ableist.

Also schools now are much bigger, busier, with Ofsted, Sats, targets to be met. How many posts on here have been about a child's needs being ignored because the attendance figure is the holy grail? Despite individual teachers' best efforts, the current system simply cannot cope and so fails. A generation or two ago, there was more recognition that academics is not the only way, and after 14, kids could expect to be allowed to focus on trades, skills etc rather than being forced through subjects of no earthly use or interest to them. Kids were brought up with an idea that they would follow their parents into whatever industry or trade they did and weren't overwhelmed with the endless options that life offers. It can be a brilliant thing of course, but it's two sided and can cause panic and confusion.

The world has changed and schools / education needs to change too so that kids can access it in a way that works for them....and actually employers DO and WILL now make reasonable adjustments, it's law that they have to . As a pp said, no-one drags an adult into work who has a diagnosis of something that prevents them from going but apparently children can be?

I was one of these kids for over ten years. I love my job as the environment suits me, been there 7 years since leaving uni. Only ever have time off when very sick or pregnant. School environment can be so damaging and it’s amazing how you can flourish in a place and around people who support you.

So why doesn't she just switch the tv off!

@Florenz your comments are ableist and disgusting and similar comments wouldn’t be allowed if we were discussing race. I’ve asked and I want you to answer. Do you expect the world to pander to the complex needs of wheelchair users by installing ramps and lifts? Would you expect their to be an education place available for a child with a physical disability?

I cannot believe that a civilised person doesn’t think we should adapt society for disabled people?

what these children need isn’t difficult. They need smaller class sizes (which would benefit all children), they need more adult to child ratio (which would benefit all children), they need a less pressured academic environment (which would benefit all children). Some of the best education systems in the world have no uniform, higher teacher ratios, smaller class sizes and less assessment (Finland).

So many excuses for bad parenting here. If, as a parent, you cannot raise your child to what they need to do, that’s on you. Not on the school, the taxpayer, your neighbours, or the cat. Take some responsibility.

You think bad parenting causes mental health issues in children?