To wonder what else can be done to break the cycle of generations living off benefits?

[Allonthesametrain]

Sounds harsh because It is. As a former teacher, then eduation social worker, now the past few years more heavily involved with school attendance.

My desire has always been to help children from unprivileged backgrounds to know their worth and achieve the best they can and this has been my career from age 23 to 57.

The number of times I've cried, torn my hair out, is immeasurable. I and colleagues have gone above and beyond to support the families, genuinely care about them, but unfortunately the outcome has been, as I've said in title, it's a continiation of the cycle of being brought up within a small community and low expectations.

So many gorgeous kids (supported throughout their young lives until they leave school) who tell you their dreams of what they want to to achieve in life, we do everything we can to enable it and some have indeed broken out of the circle but unfortunately the reality has been...

Parents who live lifestyles of no bedtime routine, tell their kids not to come back before ...pm, sleep in and don't get them out of bed ready and fed for school and as for weekends, pub and take back a new bloke

Parents who have issues themselves and project them onto DC. The kids soon realise they can stay off school for feigning illness and would actually be a comfort to Mum

The parents who just cba and say shall we just still in bed?

Of course there are so many other mitigating factors but these are the 3 main experiences we've dealt with. Unfortunately it really does come down to poor parenting and no matter what interventions we do to encourage attendance, only a minority are genuine.

So the cycle...DC think education isn't important, parents are hopeless role models and can often be aggressive to teachers, a deflection of blame.

Then oh DD gets pregnant at age 15, DS has been reprimanded by the police for scooting around in a balaclava. Then pure hostility when we try to continue to talk to them and what could be done to help.

Basically it's just such a shame, these sweet young kids who say they want to be ... become so influenced by their homelife, a need to fit in with their family and peers from the same estate, that they ignore the support we give them, don't turn up to appointments etc.

For the genuine cases, DC with SEN, the effort to try and ensure they are in best place is utmost and it's heartbreaking there aren't enough of them. Yes, we do know genuine cases and not just so many parents striving for a diagnosis because they feed DC a terrible diet and let them stay up late so are tired and irritable at school.

Expecting some backlash, whatever anyone says I can reason with.

Yes there are … just need to look, people too picky and think low wage jobs or those which require manual labour / getting up early etc or either beneath them or too much like hard work!

I'm not lazy nor am I picky but there have been times in the past where I have struggled to find work - and I'm well qualified.

Im on uc and get absolutely no freebies very few do so its hard to believe you're getting them all to the point it equates to more then a wage even a mw

So? Why can’t you work in a call centre? Or something similar. You’d be sat down.

That's odd. Because one job I did for five years required me to get up at 5am a few days a week and another - one day a week I started work at 6am

But you found something eventually …

The mentality that if you earn little more than benefits, its not worth working is wrong. Benefits are meant to be a safety net not a lifestyle choice. We need to be proud of working, whatever we do. No shame in benefits if you really need them but otherwise take pride in working and contributing to society.

It’s an important issue to tackle and I feel your frustration. I don’t like the blanket hopelessness that some on the left espouse and continue to do even in times with high job prospects. I think repeatedly telling people they’re never going to better themselves doesn’t help. There are companies, for example, which have actively tried to attract people from working class backgrounds. EY allow those without degrees to become trainee accountants for example.

And? So you’re working … many aren’t.

When I broke my leg I had to have it pinned back together and I couldn't put full weight on it for months. With respect I'm not on here to be quizzed by you about my personal circumstances

I'm not at the moment. I said this on other posts.

Would you be ok with your children being removed from you? Do you think your children would come through that unscathed? Or do you think poor people love their children less, regardless of lifestyle choices? Do you think parents and their children should be even further disadvantaged by separation? It’s pretty rare for it to be better for children to be removed from their birth family, and it would need to be quantifiably better to justify removing kids from their families.

She's a reform voter I would take anything she says with a pinch of salt

Better wages

No, there are not.
The job market out there is awful. Even the jobs you speak of have hundreds of people applying for each vacancy... zero hour NMW jobs that only offer a few hours per week.
If you are on UC and have work search commitments, you can't be picky.

There was a real drive in the early 2000s from the then government to reduce the level of teenage pregnancies and it was in the main sucessful. I had a role at local level which involved running groups for teenage mums to be and I always remember several of the young women saying they did not want this for any daughter they might have. We very much worked to encourage them to think that they could still study, gain qualifications, achieve what they wanted in life.

It always astounds me how much personal information some posters on here think they are owed from other people.

Which doesn't prevent you from getting around using a wheelchair which shouldn't prevent you from working

Your mum going to uni at 17 suggests you are not the demographic being discussed.

Your post is offensive. You've clearly never had a triple leg fracture. I have a ten inch plate in my left leg and two screws in my ankle. I was told by my consultant not to weight bear for months. I live in a flat and I live alone. You tell me how under those circumstances where I couldn't stand up that I get myself into a wheelchair and out the front door?

I'm the grand daughter of a steelworker who had to leave school at 15 to support family. My gran had to leave school young too. My mum is a single parent and had me at 19. What makes you think that I don't fit this demographic?

Right … but you can work now. You choose not to and claim benefits 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why pipe up … she doesn’t work and uses a broken leg as an excuse.

Exactly!! This is the type of person this thread is about!!

Are you commenting on the wrong post? It's about children from workless households with no aspirations. Not families of university educated people who work.