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?

How are schools more difficult for ND pupils to access?

Read the thread. All your questions have already been answered.

Unless you’re able to change your mindset from “all schools are good, all pupils avoiding it are bad, all parents of said pupils are enabling poor behaviour” you’re not going to have any understanding or empathy for the huge numbers of families going through this.

The onus now is on you to accept we’re not lying.

If you can’t do that then I’ll form assumptions about your intentions on this thread.

Why is it such a problem now? Why are so many children refusing to go to school?

Many children who might have previous coped aren't now - partly because behavior is down in many school and in my DC school never been worse.

It's noisy and chaotic and bulling is up and not dealt with there a sen diagnostic backlog and pull of support as resources tighten.

There's a lack of experience teachers many have left post covid or been managed out due to expense. My DN, different usually consider outstanding school and DS both Y11 this year lacked teachers for many more than one subject - it's was very frustrating and worrying for them.

Poor behavior creates other issues - previous unloved mixed loo in DC school and council insist are legal which were okay for my older two - now DD2 won't use because the girls get targeted by doors being kicked in and filmed - school response is to heavily restrict toilet access - which means many of DDs friends are allowed couple off days of every month which I think emboldens many to then skip lesson they hate.

Truanting and school refusal aren't new they've just got more widespread - the attendance figures at DC school are dire but the environment is very poor for learning and SLT seem actively hostile to pupils and parents - and given turn over rate of staff possibly them to - and seem increasing lack of any flexibility.

Private, depending on the school, can be disastrous for ND children.
On the other hand, for some children it’s an amazing experience, and the schools tend to be more willing to adjust to individuals, because parents are directly paying the school for them to be there!

Mainstream schools just aren’t good enough now.

If kids can't cope with the pressure of school, how are they going to cope with the pressure of work?

My ND dd has just completed her BA in Chinese, self taught, on course to get a first.

State school told me not to waste my money on an 11 plus tutor for her

I don't think it is fair to say mainstream aren't 'good enough'. Aren't able to cope with the levels of need they are trying to manage due to massively increased need, decades of underfunding and under resourcing maybe. Schools WANT to be able to provide excellent standards of education and do the very best they can under ever changing conditions.

They won’t. And don’t. We have a frightening number of young people out of work. And they’re not job seeking either. I said on another thread yesterday in 20 years we won’t have a workforce.

As so many have said, the reasons for children not being in school vary enormously. Sometimes there are really complex issues around mental health or anxiety, sometimes children or families are going through difficult personal experiences and sometimes parents need to do better at bringing their child to school (I am not talking about those with EBSA or other complex needs).
There are serious safeguarding concerns when children miss a lot of time from school and it impacts hugely on their education and their wellbeing. We need to differentiate between the really challenging situations of some children and families, which should be getting dealt with through multi-agency support (and aren't because there is no funding) and the parents who just don't bring their children in. If it's the latter I will go and collect if I think that's the right choice (and the children will tell us that they want to be in school but as they can't drive themselves there, it isn't up to them), if it's the former it is absolutely not the right thing to do unless the child is OK with it.
Attendance has become another stick to beat schools with and 'hold them to account' so you are damned if you do everything to get children in (at the expense of damaging relationships with families and increasing children's anxieties) and damned if you are seen not to have done enough. The documentation has to show you have tried everything and you won't get support from other agencies if you can't show that.
We absolutely do not have the staff, time and resources to keep collecting children from home and the government is pushing this onto schools because they have decimated other services who used to do this job. Gillian Keegan hasn't got the slightest clue what Headteachers actually do. Politicians talking utter rubbish about education and what is really going on in schools absolutely infuriates me.

Well physical assaults tend to get taken seriously and even get police involvement not ignore or blame victims - so DD2 wouldn't have that to content with.

Beyond that depends on the workplace DD1 is super sensitive to sound so has picked area to train in where noisy environment is much less likely - so there is often more choice in environment. Not sure school were ever that great at setting everyone up for their work environment though as workplaces are so diverse.

Also DH and I sat 9 GCSE each - got good degrees and post graduate qualifications - DS and DD1 13 GCSE they had to sit - DN sat less but they have a higher memory fact content than ones we did - so there is more pressure in many ways.

Though I've read many post on here saying there are issues with young people today in workplaces - DH a lecturer but say there a subset who seem every entitled or difficult but most are still great.

How do you attend when you find noise so overwhelming? To the point it's painful.

They’re in for quite a shock that’s for sure

It is fair. The reasons schools can cope now is due to cuts. My class sizes rose by 10-15 kids. Lots more with Send, lots less support.

This is why schools can’t provide the right education. There isn’t enough money.

Lol my life got easier and easier with every passing year. Its sad that yours hasn’t hence you feel the need to bully children even if its just in your little mind.

In year 5 my DSs son told me that my son was never going to be academic , and made him feel stupid.

He has just got 3 A*s in his year 12 A Level mocks and is being supported to apply to Oxford university by his teachers .

He had undiagnosed autism and dyslexia which led to school refusal snd he self taught GCSEs from books at home.

He has more resilience and a better work ethic than most 17 year olds , despite the prejudices of a couple of posters on this thread I have no doubt he will succeed in the world of work! If I’d have forced him to attend school I don’t think he’d be where he is today.

*Florenz · Today 15:15

How are schools more difficult for ND pupils to access?

Surely they'd be better off attending and learning as best they can, trying their hardest in the exams, etc, than just not going at all?

I don't think it's practical to expect schools to tailor individual learning methods for each and every pupil. It's up to pupils to adapt to the world as it is, not expect the world to adapt to them. Because that certainly isn't going to happen once they start work*

Mine vomits with anxiety before school. She can’t concentrate in class because she’s so anxious. The normal school noises are unbearable to her but she can’t wear earplugs in lesson. Whiteboards give her severe migraines. Group work makes he so exhausted and anxious she can’t speak. Tell me how she can adapt to that?

Mine too. As an adult I have control over what I learn, how I learn it and how I spend my time. My life is far easier now than it was at school.

That's not been my experience of life - adulthood has for most part been much better for me.

I didn't enjoy school - but turned up and did well. I think I would have been much happier sooner if DP had left me do A-level elsewhere - really hoped my DC would have a good school experience - think primary was generally good for them but secondary wasn't - eldest has seemed happier in college for A-levels with far fewer disruptions and petty rules than the secondary school.

Fucking hell, do you know anything about neurodivergency? About autism?

School is impossible for my autistic daughter because the classroom is too loud, it physically hurts her ears. The smells are often overwhelming for her and make her feel sick. She finds groups almost impossible and can’t process information easily if a few people are talking. The colours of the displays and busy walls are overwhelming. Assemblies and being close to people and then touching her.

She cannot read social cues, that are used all day every day in schools. In conversations with teachers, other pupils. It is exhausting for her.

She has a extreme anxiety about getting anything wrong (a life of realising she is different and doesn’t fit in) and often can’t finish her work because she freezes and can’t start out of fear of getting it wrong. She needs time to process a task and could do with another adult to check her understanding. But there aren’t any TAs anymore.

She can’t cope with change very well. Have you been in a primary recently? World book day, non uniform day, sports day, school performance. Certain times of year there are constant changes to to school day and she doesn’t have to time to process and manage the change.

@Florenz ”life is harder as an adult” would you say that to a wheelchair user who expects a ramp?

As I’ve said as have so many others, workplaces are more inclined to provide adjustments. Many autistic people work in jobs that allow home working, desks in quiet offices, wear ear defenders, no group work, a consistent routine. Many STEM companies actively seek neurodivergent people to work for them. Because they are excellent at being singularly focussed.

In work you can claim £32k from access to work to ge tThe adjustments needed.

Workplaces can make all the adjustments they want but at some point the person has to come in, get their nose to the grindstone and get the job done. It doesn't matter if they feel uncomfortable. It doesn't matter if they feel "overwhelmed". It doesn't matter if they're exhausted. They're being paid a wage to do the work and they need to do it. Or the employer will find someone else to do the job. Schools need to drill this into kids heads. Because otherwise they are going to find life very hard to cope with.

It the adjustments stop it being overwhelming. They make it accessible. I’m not sure if you are thick, ableist or being deliberately obtuse.

MY DAUGHTER WANTS TO GO TO SCHOOL. She isn’t choosing not to because it’s a bit uncomfortable.

Also what you are suggesting is that we just get rid of disabled people from society because life is too difficult for them? No, we make adjustments so they are no longer disadvantaged.

NO! This is why the equalities Act exists. What an old fashioned attitude.

How does my dd adapt to migraine inducing whiteboards? Please do share. Or do you mean she doesn’t say anything and struggles on until she can’t see anything and vomits. I hope if you’re an employer someone takes you to a r tribunal and wipes the floor with you tbh.

Can someone with 2 broken legs adapt to climbing the stairs?

Honestly stop feeding the troll