Only 40% of children with a social worker in school according to Government figures published this week?

[Doublefaced]

And only 34% of pupils with an EHCP attending school on 13th January.

Given that total attendance at state primary schools was 21%, state secondary schools was 5% and 30% at state funded special schools, surely much more needs to be done to get these vulnerable children into school?

Hard to get older kids into school when their friends aren't.

What do you suggest?

Our schools are in contact with parents of vulnerable children trying to encourage their children in. If can’t contact families at all then this will be escalated to other agencies for welfare purposes.

@ineedaholidaynow

What do you suggest?

Our schools are in contact with parents of vulnerable children trying to encourage their children in. If can’t contact families at all then this will be escalated to other agencies for welfare purposes.

Are things like transport an issue?

Interested to hear from social workers?

No transport issues. We send a minibus. The ones that aren't coming are choosing not to come.

Are they counting children who have a social worker due to disabilities? I've a few of those in my life and they are less likely to attend school than their peers without disabilities. Those in my life need up close personal care. One was waiting for an operation near the start of lockdown (now cancelled) meaning he would have been shielding even without lockdown.
If the child is safe at home, they should still be at home. It is a nuanced decision, but rules from the government aren't nuanced so 'schools must offer a place to children who have social workers' is a fairly decent broad ruling. The social worker can then either build attendance into the child in need / child protection plan, or not, if it a bad idea for that child. It would be tricky to estimate the 'right' percentage without knowledge of a lot more stats.

When I said less likely to attend school I meant during Covid, not in general. Although medical appointments obviously have a slight statistical impact.

And done aren't coming because they have clinically vulnerable family members.

What's your position in this OP?

I’m not surprised by this at all.

It’s hard enough to get those children in to school on a normal day - never mind when they don’t actually have to go. Many of those children were forced to go because legally they had to. Now they don’t.

I have a family member who’s child is classed as vulnerable. He is nine and has behavioural issues due to chaotic family life. He is sitting on his Xbox till 4/5am and then sleeping all day whilst his mother ( who has mental health issues) does the same.

Not a social worker but an EWO and we are responsible for monitoring this. I would say 40% sounds about right, possibly a bit high.

@TheFallenMadonna

What's your position in this OP?

It just seems such a low percentage of vulnerable children when you see the starkness of the figures. I know there’s no longer any sort of school transport locally and if it’s things like that having an impact then surely local authorities should be forced to reinstate it? I totally get that a % of vulnerable kids will also be CV but for those who are not, how much input are their social workers currently having?

Of ds's 12 classmates, all with EHCPs - 4 aren't going in, 2 because they are medically vulnerable themselves (including ds) and 2 because they have medically vulnerable family members.
Would they be included in this statistic?
I can only speak for myself, but I have worked closely with the teachers and professionals involved in ds's care in order to do the best thing to keep ds safe.

Not every child with a social worker is necessarily a vulnerable child as such though. I think if children can stay at home safely, they should. Surely if they have a social worker they are still having contact and if they feel that they children aren't safe at home they'll escalate? Or is that not the case? (Genuinely, I don't know, I'd just assume that it was)

Things is many of these children are also vulnerable to covid more than the general population.

I don't think it's fair to encourage parents with pupils with EHCPs to send children in and guilt trip them into it. My ds is college and has an ehcp. He is also CV. He isn't in and won't be going in.

Transport can still be provided for vulnerable children. It wont be the overriding issue, for sure.

My ds goes to a special school and they are advising parents to keep them at home unless both parents are keyworkers.they have a timetable put on thier class account everyday and are available on googlemeet.out of the 10 children in his class only 3 are in school and only my ds and 1 other actually logs on everyday to work

@Love51

Are they counting children who have a social worker due to disabilities? I've a few of those in my life and they are less likely to attend school than their peers without disabilities. Those in my life need up close personal care. One was waiting for an operation near the start of lockdown (now cancelled) meaning he would have been shielding even without lockdown. If the child is safe at home, they should still be at home. It is a nuanced decision, but rules from the government aren't nuanced so 'schools must offer a place to children who have social workers' is a fairly decent broad ruling. The social worker can then either build attendance into the child in need / child protection plan, or not, if it a bad idea for that child. It would be tricky to estimate the 'right' percentage without knowledge of a lot more stats.

Social workers are stretched very very thin. Many many kids are falling down the cracks because they are not in immediate danger. I have a ex SW friend who I actually spoke to about my family member. Even though she could see a problem with what was going on in my family members life - he would be at the bottom of a very long list of priorities because he wasn’t in immediate danger - which so many kids are!

Meant to say I agree with keeping my ds at home as that is where I feel he is safe and because like a previous poster said a lot more children in his school are more medically vulnerable to the virus.for his school transport he is mixing with children from different classes/years in thier bubble but I know that some of the children still go out and mix with people outside of school so the risk is on transport also.

‘Not every child with a social worker is necessarily a vulnerable child as such though.’

I would have assumed that they were vulnerable in some sense ?

A lot of children with EHCPs will also be medically vulnerable or have vulnerable family members. Some students with EHCPs will have anxiety and not feel able to be at school.

I am a Social Worker and my experience is that all agencies are promoting school attendance and working extremely hard to work to ensure the safety of vulnerable pupils. Whilst the places are available, there are still parents fearful of sending their children due to worrying about health implications or citing this as an issue which is a barrier. Although school attendance can be recommended in planning for children, parents or children cannot be forced in this decision leading to huge pressure on other professionals by way of daily visits/ contact to ensure children are safe. Secondary school pupils are also reluctant to attend due to feeling different from their peers. It is hoped that as the current restrictions continue, parents may be more open to discussion regarding school places however this will be dependent on how long the school closures are forecast.

@Doublefaced they just don’t want to come and despite having a social worker, they can’t be made. It’s MUCH easier for us having them in school rather than spending substantial time liasing with the family, tracking work completion or not and dealing with basic issues such as food/basic needs.

Why? My child has an EHCP and isn’t in school. They are engaging with live learning daily. They would actually be more at risk in school in the current situation. I work in a school so you can save the ‘safe space’ talk. School isn’t safe. Yes, they don’t have SW but many in our position may for support.

My DS has an EHCP for asd/dyslexia (no social services involved). He’s not in school as all they are offering is the same remote learning as those at home are getting and a teacher or TA supervising the group so DS won’t get the 1-1 support he needs.

If his school were offering the face to face teaching those with EHCPs are supposed to be getting he may go to school. None of his friends attending is another reason he isn’t in.