First week 'critical' to avoid children missing school later, parents told

[Bloodyscarymary]

I just saw this article in the BBC and am astounded at the daft reasoning. Apparently, students who miss days in the first week of school are more likely to be persistently absent, therefore we need a critical focus on attendance in the first week to reduce absence.

I feel like someone needs to let the DfE know that correlation does not equal causation! Surely it’s just that children with factors causing absence are more likely to miss a day in the first week than children who don’t have those factors. I am pretty sure if they took a data subset from ANY week in the year, persistently absent students would be more likely to be absent in that week than non persistently absent students!

Therefore it’s not the week that’s critical, it’s the factors driving absence we need to focus on.

I am all for having a public awareness campaign but why muddy statistics like this instead of just talking about what is actually needed to solve absence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7jk3rr225o

How on earth can missing more school boost grades?
Private schools have longer school days, fewer absences because parents are paying for their schooling and private families can afford holidays during the school and will not be whipping students out during term time.

That's us buggered then as I am taking my 2 out for 4 days, off on hols next week! In my opinion the beginning or the end of the year is ideal. Didn't do it last year as both mine were starting new schools.

There's a huge stigma against uptake of free resources by impoverished families. The schools I've worked with who've tackled problems successfully have ALWAYS gone down the universal route.

And that doesn't mean that all kids get everything - but that's sufficient mix attend everything, and a rising tide raises all boats as they say.

But the depth of disorder I'm talking about includes levels of illiteracy and ability to access support that means even basic awareness of or ability to look for free resources is beyond them.

Not in my experience. I was a teacher at a private school.

And lessons on a Saturday morning

I think it’s a bad idea to miss the first week as it’s when they all settle in and make / recement their friendships. Plus get an idea of what the new year is going to be like. I imagine it’s quite unsettling for children to miss that week.

I can see why they see it as an indicator of more absence to come, as it’s often parents taking their children out for holidays, and suggests they’re going to do it again. But obviously some will just have a random illness. My dd used to get really bad asthma flare ups in September every year when she was younger, and they can obviously catch a bug or similar at any time.

So I’m sure taking the first week off doesn’t “cause” any further absence but I can see that it’s an indicator for some. Worth keeping an eye on maybe.

It must be a right PITA for teachers if kids miss that first week and all the “orientation” type stuff. And they’ve just had several weeks off, mine are dying to go back (especially my dd going in to sixth form, although I appreciate that’s a bit different).

i think they're making a simplistic connection with parents who CBA to make sure their child does the first week at school, and takes them on out-of-term holiday instead?

Yes I do wonder what state parents who want the length of holidays of independent schools, would feel about sending their DC to school every Saturday! Or having school days 8.30am-5pm.

Private schools usually pay much better salaries too, as they can afford to. For this reason they will get lots of applications for any advertised teaching role so often have very good teachers. That also has a lot to do with grades.

If schools were more sen friendly then absences would be less. The first week can very difficult for sen kids and sen children are often absent during the year because they can't cope. Staff to child ratios have gotten worse over the years too which doesn't help.

All teacher posts are well applied for. It's a retention crisis in state schools. Private schools have a far better staff to child ratio, better resources and facilities and far less of a pointless paperwork burden. I really don't agree with the idea that state schools have to take any old crap because no one is applying.

Missing the first few days absolutely can have a knock on effect though.

Young people like to fit in and get anxious about missing out/sticking out.

As adults it’s not so bad if we start a new job and need to learn how to grasp the rules etc or if we’ve been on maternity leave snd there’s been loads of changes at work.
It can still be nerve wrecking but our adult brains can process it better.

Missing the vital first days as a teen, especially an anxious one, can definitely have a knock on effect.
The others in the class have already sat with peers, know the rules, know the routine etc.
This can easily impact on their school experience and make them not want to go and cause future absences.

I would never ever take my DC out for the first couple of weeks of September, as I know I am at risk of setting them up to fail.

Really great post.

It probably seems like nothing, but so many things that make the class a 'team' happen in that first week. Class charter, voting for class reps, class prayer perhaps, funky name picture; whatever it is. That's besides just settling in - if your first week is the second one you miss out on the nurture - you may still be floundering when everyone else is confidently swimming. That kind of thing could make a child feel an outsider, and humans pick up on the tiniest things when it comes to self-image, so all of a sudden it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Not saying it's going to happen for every child; of course not. Those with secure families, home lives, and established friendships will ride the storm, but you often get high absence in kids living within or near the poverty line. They are already likely to feel 'different' to the more fortunate kids in the class, they often have lower academic success, and then you risk them developing even more of an 'us and them' mindset.

The first maths unit in English schools is place value; it's so important and underpins so much other maths. Miss that first week and you've missed all the easier lessons that really help you build on prior learning, meaning you're again playing catch up.

Although I understand the causation/ correlation idea, I can see why - for many 'problem attendance' children - this would be a valid message.

I hear what people are saying about ND kids having problems with school but I genuinely don't understand why attendance this has suddenly become an issue for so many of them.

Lots of schools were rough and rowdy in the past, teachers were far more inclined to yell and possibly even use corporal punishment, yet school attendance seems to be a far bigger issue now. Why is that?

I completely agree.

Some parents do not seem to grasp this and then wonder why their child is so much more anxious than others.

It also sets a precedent because if a parent is letting their child have a day off before they even start, then that child is more likely to have time off at other times too.

Then we have a generation of anxious kids who then get thrown into adulthood and the working world and struggle to cope.

I don't think it's as ridiculous as you make out. You miss the first week or weeks - you miss:

• making friends when everyone knows no-one
• learning all the routines at a time when teachers expect you to be lost
• the period where support for new students is set up like year 7 having older students showing them to classes
• the bits where teachers are explaining new courses and ideas
• bits where teachers are more lenient if you break rules

Children who slot back in after this are more lost and less likely to settle. Therefore more likely to find school a challenge socially and emotionally, more likely to be lonely or to struggle to know how to do things. The idea that these children are more likely to want to miss school is absolutely NOT ridiculous!

Totally agree. My first thought was that parents who allow their children to take time off in the first week, for whatever reason, are more likely to carry on doing so throughout the year.

Just off the top of my head,
Allowing her to wear soft clothes (appropriate colours) and trainers.
Making sure she never had to do PE but could sit in the support room. Not watching PE so other pupils could see her 🙄.
Never being put on the spot and being asked a question in class.
Being able to sit at the back of every lesson so people couldn't see her.
Making sure all of her teachers knew all of the above so we didn't have hassle every single day. Obviously they didn't so she missed all of year 10 and most of year 11.

Keeping her away from pencil sharpeners so she couldn't use them for self harm. My house is clear of knives and pencil sharpeners, but she got hold of then at school.
Not telling her that her mum would be fined and in trouble if she didn't go to school. An expecially cruel thing to do to a child who is self harming and disintegrating.

Don't forget defunding adult education.

Sure, but you're overlooking the reason those children missed the first week in the first place.

This, 100%. There are obviously plenty of students with very genuine reasons as there always have been. But post covid tge attendance in school is noticeably worse. So many parents now happy to wfh while child stays home. I have lost count of emails asking me to send work honestly for said child.. erm nope.

This government is having to deal with the fallout from the one led (or very badly led) by Boris Johnson, where so many things in his mind are optional and a climate created as a result. Where school was less important to re-open in person even part time than pubs and having half price fast food.

There are sometimes valid reasons for not being there at the start of term. The Education Secretary has made a valid statement, regarding of cause, and if it gets a few parents more to ensure that their child is in school, so much the better.

As for taking children out of school for holidays, I would not have fines. I would have those who don't be top of the queue for secondary school places.

I hear what people are saying about ND kids having problems with school but I genuinely don't understand why attendance this has suddenly become an issue for so many of them.

This is an unpopular opinion but the tough love approach with ND kids in the 90s and 2000s actually benefited them immensely in terms of learning employable life skills and social masking skills. Neuroplasticity in the brain means that there is always a certain level of adaptability where situations or thinking patterns that may cause stress no longer become an issues. It's closely connected to desensitisation. Lots of ND adults are able to cope with situations that make them mildly or moderately uncomfortable if they have time to prepare beforehand and decompress afterwards. This allows them to hold down a job, build careers, start families, maintain their health etc.

The problem is that in recent years, ND has essentially become the equivalent of disability that cannot be changed or challenged in any form. Kids with ND diagnoses are not allowed to be exposed to any stressors or discomfort. If they find school stressful then they're allowed to skip it or attend with a myriad of support structures in place. They never develop the mindset that some things in life are non-negotiable such as showing up to work, punctuality and professionalism. Even if you feel physical or mental discomfort you have to push through for a greater goal.

There are also a lot parents who obtusely work against their children. Instead of changing schools or actively doing things that may benefit their children's happiness and self esteem, they force their children to fend for themselves and any MH issues are blamed on "the system". Obvious ones would be actively befriending other parents, being part of the school community, volunteering for events and generally making school feel like a safe space for the kids. Another bleedingly obvious one is actually showing up on the first week when all the friendship groups and school rules are being established. However based on all the replies here, so many parents actively sabotage their children with their own selfish beliefs.

We often started school a week late to accommodate my parents' holiday schedule, so we could go away then. The school always gave permission but it's really quite unsettling. When you go back a week late everyone has caught up and bonded again, you feel on the outer and are starting to catch up with things that are already now known and familiar about the new teacher and class routine. I found it very awkward.

I think there are lots of good reasons why it’s important to be in school at the start of term, but equally there are lots of factors at the start of term that make it very hard for my autistic ds to have full attendance,

Every single teacher mentions the HUGE workload and the IMMENSE importance of studying, in every single subject for the first couple of days, triggering overwhelm.

Some teachers like to start off scary and strict, promising punitive sanctions, or make examples of students straight away. There may also be new teachers that he hasn’t got to know.

The timetable hasn’t settled, classes switch around, and that creates a lot of uncertainty and anxiety for a student who is already struggling with transition and change,

His timetable is particularly changeable because they figure out the resource allocation as they go, responding to the needs that arise.

It takes a while for first years to learn the ropes and until they do, he gets very stressed by their unpredictability.

It’s asking a lot to come back to school at 9am on Monday morning for a full week. I’d far rather come back earlier the week before for a short week

It’s highly unusual that we wouldn’t miss time at the start of the year, and by slowing down, taking a break, going in a bit later, etc I’m making it much more likely that he will attend. It’s not going to be full attendance, but I guarantee that if I forced him through the door regardless it would be worse. It’s not a magic cure.