21% of pupils are persistently absent! National average is double post COVID

[FusionChefGeoff]

Just read this on the BBC

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd1ddegp8zvo

It's a stark statistic that nearly a quarter of kids are basically not getting an education. A quarter of our society is being failed before they even reached adulthood.

The article does explore various different reasons that contribute or explain the massive number but I'm shocked at how high it is and what a massive challenge it is to sort it out. I'm definitely going to be listening hard to the politicians take on this issue or is everyone who matters just ignoring it?

I'd break it down into the following categories and I think points 2 and 3 demonstrate why this is such a major problem as they are a 'dammned if you do, damned if you don't' combination.

• genuine, extreme medical mental health issues which you'd imagine should normally be quite a small number but has been drastically increased by the collapse in our CAHMS service
• school induced medical health issues due to draconian rules / behaviours management systems
• school induced mental health issues due to the lack of the above and disruptive behaviour / breakdown of trust / general chaos
• home induced mental health issues due to family situation eg mental health issues in parents / bereavements / other trauma
• inherited lack of belief / value in education so parents don't care, kids don't care, don't bother going to school basically neglectful parents
• manipulative kids using 'mental health' as a way to get out of doing something they don't want to do combined with permissive / poor parenting which allows this behaviour

The biggest thing we have to tackle is why there's such a huge increase in ADHD and autism diagnoses (assuming you can access any kind of assessment of course)....

is it just that we talk more about it?

Is it early access / excessive use of devices that wires our kids all wrong to cope with the world?
Is it a rise in well intentioned but misunderstood 'gentle parenting' ie people doing it wrong and ending up with very permissive / neglectful parenting that again, wires their brains all wrong and removes all resilience?

We can't just keep looking at throwing money and resources the very acute symptoms ie the school refusers without putting the same effort into understanding and FIXING the problems.

I just can't accept a world where a quarter of kids are at such an enormous disadvantage in life before they even leave school it's too sad.

Persistently absent is classes as missing more than 19 days during the academic year, (about 6 days per term or attendance of below 90%).

To be fair, for most of the children in our local school many of these absences are for several term time holidays over the year. Unnecesssary. I could understand one week, but 19 days is a lot of school to miss, they will struggle ever to catch up.

I'm a SENDCO in a PRU and we have a real problem with attendance. Personally I think one of the big issues is that the genie came out of the bottle during Covid. Families know now that school isn't as important as it was mooted; after all no one went for better part of a year and it was all brushed under the carpet. Sadly if you were already distrustful of education, that won't have helped.

For my dd

Undiagnosed ADHD and autism

She was an expert masker and burned out.

She did all the research herself
But I know she has a true diagnosis It's all adds up now.
I believe awareness's is getting better and better and we need to let go of the stereotype of rain man being the only obvious signs of autism.

Social needs and schools massively need to change the way they educate ND people. The system as it is is causing active harm.

My dd misses a lot of school (year 9) for many reasons. normally a 1 week term time holiday which she goes on with her grandparents, younger cousins and extended family. She gains a lot from this. Normally a couple of days doing a day trip somewhere, such as a city, theme park etc (much quieter and cheaper). Then we have the normal doctors, dentists etc appointments (worst as she has braces, so every 6 weeks), these are normally in the middle of the day, school is 20 miles away from home (rural location) so we normally don't bother with the effort of going in just for a hour. Then she competes in a sport to a high level, sometimes she gets tired from the training, or wants to rest properly before or after a big event. School does not acknowledge her sport at all, not even sure they are aware. Then we have days where her period is so heavy she struggles to manage it in school (kids aren't allowed in the toilets during lessons and during break times they are basically a nightmare). Then we have days where she has lots of lessons she has no interest in such as music, French etc, which makes it difficult to persuade her to go in. And then for other lessons she doesn't even have a set teacher for, maths is one, so just has to 'go on an iPad' - which she argues she can do from home. In all honesty I cannot make her go in, I mostly leave for work before she leaves for school. I have never been a huge fan of the education system, covid left me even more disillusioned - suddenly not going to school is fine, then it's not - which is it?
That said I do know her attendance needs to improve for years 10 and 11 (currently around 80%). I'm hoping dropping the subjects she doesn't like will help along with knowing her attendance needs to be high enough for college entry, school prom etc. totally expect to be flamed, but just being honest. My ds had a near enough 100% attendance in secondary, occasional day out and that was it, but he didn't want to go on the grandparent holiday, didn't do sport to a high level, didn't have braces or periods and generally enjoyed all subjects to a certain degree.

Love your honesty @Hairyfairy01 very similar situation here. Dds attendance is 86%. She's in year 8 but I'll be stricter in GCSE years but for now, she's doing well and I'm not going to stop her having days off when she's crying or not feeling well. Maybe I'd feel differently if she was struggling/failing school.

DD has more days off now than previously as I changed jobs from teaching to a WFH role. It's not because she's not genuinely ill it's because I probably sent her to school dosed up on Calpol and crossed my fingers when I was teaching because ringing in and planning cover short notice was a nightmare.

She has an ASD diagnosis, I recognized the signs years ago although watched and waited until things became more challenging on the move to Secondary. There are many, many family members going back generations who have had similar or more severe traits, some housed in supported living places but most never treated, never diagnosed but told they have X, Y, Z mental Health conditions. High levels of unemployment or limited employment compared to their potential, and extended family that self medicated with alcohol and other substances.

I saved up for DDs private assessment as I knew from work what the wait list was and earnt enough to do so, I was confident in approaching the private clinic, could drive so that I could make the journey. Compared to my mother when she tried to get help for my brother in the 90-00s, who had no real awareness other than something wasn't right, couldn't drive, didn't have £2k spare for a diagnosis anyway to go private and a diagnosis of a MH condition later as he presented in what is now knows as 'female' autism but is really just quieter more subtle expression of traits. DD doesn't experience school refusal as she has plenty of support in place but my brother did it's not a new thing and I have no doubt she will thrive, go to uni amd work although that might need to be part time so she can manage her asd, but it's something she can work with and won't stop her flying high.

If she's off school for any reason she is incredibly diligent and will catch up on Seneca or other resource because we are fortunate enough to have access to those things. I'm not concerned about her attendance impacting her grades as she scores top marks anyway she's sitting at 96% this year but last year was 89% and the year before 80% but she had COVID twice the first time quite badly.

I don’t know about autism, but I’m starting to suspect ADHD is an anxiety related condition. Constant anxiety puts someone into a fight or flight mode, this hyper alert state makes if difficult for them to sleep, the ongoing exhaustion and survival mode means their brain stops executive functioning and just moves to impulse led responses. The toxic dysfunctional school environment of bullying and unpredictable discipline actually causes ADHD.

A relative of mine is a governor at a primary school in an area some would probably call "deprived" (low wages, high unemployment etc)

They were telling me that attendance is the biggest issue at every governors meeting (for about 30% of their pupils) and the HT spends time every morning trying to round up missing kids. Most of the time, it's the parents giving weak excuses as to why they couldn't bring the kids in that day. COVID and homeschooling is often brought up in a "well we coped fine then" kind of way.

As education standards in this country have dropped, so has the perceived value of going to school. It's so sad

We spent 2 years saying attending school wasn’t necessary and are surprised now that some families see it as optional?

Having taught children that were school refusers I was not surprised.
I taught in the same school that I attended as a child however the overall student experience was completely different. With such focus on targets and paperwork, appalling behaviour from other students, rapidly changing supply teachers it isnt an environment I particularly wanted to be in let alone a child who struggles. Changes to linear GCSEs rather than banking grades through coursework. 30 minute lunches instead of an hour not long enough to eat let alone regulate yourself for students or staff. The whole day even as staff you feel reactive and on adrenaline surges all the time. The whole set up is against anyone that has any sort of struggle.

When I first started working in the school I used to take a group on a vocational afternoon to the local college for students to do hair dressing, bricklaying, plumbing and car maintenance and it was fantastic particularly for those ADHD students who were often in trouble and couldn't sit still they were completely differently and got a sense of achievement and could see a future where they were in work - and then the funding got pulled.

My DD had glandular fever in year 9. That alone dropped her attendance down below 90% and made her persistently absent.

She was ill.

There's a lot of mental health stuff going on, but as the medical profession keep pointing out, there's a lot more infections hitting children at the moment as well.

19 days a year is enough to be persistently absent and honestly that could be one lot of
Flu or two or three bad colds.

It really doesn't surprise me that after a pandemic more children are ill.

It would be interesting to see if the same pattern is replicated in other countries.

My daughter is currently on her 7th week out of school.

she has recently been added to the ASC pathway and suffers from anxiety and emetophobia. I can’t even get her in the car anymore.

CAHMS not interested, apparently they’ll only see kids if they are suicidal/making attempts.

we have managed to access some counselling via a charity.

people are so ignorant around school avoidance AKA EBSA/EBSNA. It is incredibly stressful for all involved.

But surely parents can clearly see the benefits that school brings? The education system needs an overhaul, definitely, but if we’re willing to accept that a lot of mistakes were made in the pandemic it’s a shame that parents and the education system seem to be at such odds in their views. So many factors at play, but the importance of school for psychosocial development can’t be downplayed

@WaitingfortheTardis interesting extra perspective there. I suppose the breakdown of primary v secondary would be useful and an indication of what the reason was. But yes, the article is focussing very heavily on the mental health / SEN angle so that has passed me by.

@HeBeaverandSheBeaver a good example of looking at the root - perhaps if primary adjusted the fundamental approach to HOW we educate, you'd avoid some of the issues further up the line for ND kids

@Hairyfairy01 beautifully proving @OhYoko's point there - the previous default of 'school is mandatory' has disappeared. I was with you until we got to 'and the days when she doesn't like the lessons' - what happens in work when there's meetings she doesn't want to attend?

@HermioneWeasley but that wasn't the case was it? The situation now is completely different - the argument was "going to school in person is not as important as protecting the world from a fatal global pandemic." That's not the case now so the argument is false.

@Singleandproud that's a great paragraph neatly outlining some really easy wins to instantly make school less damaging.... here's hoping whoever gets in next will look at that as the priority - there's no point pushing anything else, really, if a huge chunk of students can't even get into the building.

@Octavia64 yes woops the article was leading on the mental health but of course physical health is an issue - suffering from the same lack of funding / treatment / massive waiting lists that CAHMS is.

Same here. As a school we are doing so much trying to get children in but some families just aren't bothered. We spend a huge amount on family support workers - equivalent to each class having an extra TA in for a day a week. We support parents in all aspects of their lives - doing food bank referrals, sorting heating grants, providing free uniform and breakfast. Some schools are really trying their best, whilst also needing to put resources into teaching the children who do turn up.

While I agree with this, I would say educational standards in Britain are now higher than ever before. We are doing a phenomenal job teaching the vast majority of children compared to any time previously in history

Oh posted too soon

while schools do an amazing job I think with the kids that turn up, getting them in is such an issue. I do think if you are not switched on to educational social media you could think the pandemic had no impact on school outcome as the teacher- marked exams hid a lot of the issues. So you might think it’s ok to carry on in that fashion

@Begaydocrime94 but the social element, at least in many Secondary schools have been lost, short lunches and breaks to avoid paying for mid day supervisors. Fewer sport, theatre or music extra curricular groups as no time at lunch or so many supply staff they can't run it, or no money in coffers. Some schools don't allow talking in corridors etc, there are no chances to develop social skills other than just existing with others their own age.

Thankfully DDs school aren't like that which is probably why she's thriving and doing well despite her ASD.

But my former school less than 2 miles away is completely different. Come July everyone still remaining in my former department is leaving, because the school is as bad for staff as it is for students, and it won't be the only school like that. That is several teachers each with 20+ years experience, along with a few who have been there a few years. It was the highest performing department in the entire school.

I don’t think 19 days off in a year is that bad or parents not making them go to school.
Ds isn’t at school yet, but for example he’s had a 4 day hospital admission, 3 days separate appointments just since Christmas. He’s also been off nursery various times ill, at least 2-3 days at a time. He’s started a fever, and wheezy breathing last night so ill on the sofa right now feeling miserable with himself, I definitely won’t send him into nursery tomorrow as he hasn’t slept and is ill. He was also off 3 days last month for overseas wedding.

He no doubt had 20+ days off since September. At his nursery parents appointment around Easter he’s ahead or at level for everything expected for his age, so doesn’t seem to have made any difference

This thread reads like an advert for private schools.

I agree. And behaviour in my secondary in the 80s was feral. No pastoral care, well being staff etc

Are other countries having this issue too?

If people miss 20% of time at private schools they won’t do well either.