I think it’s saying don’t keep children at home who are anxious about school because they’ll be alright once they get there. They’re trying to target the kids who didn’t want to go back to school when lockdowns were lifted due to anxiety
I think it’s saying don’t keep children at home who are anxious about school because they’ll be alright once they get there. They’re trying to target the kids who didn’t want to go back to school when lockdowns were lifted due to anxiety
Very good point! Nicely put!
I was an Education Welfare Officer but retired long before Covid. There were always a few kids with genuine mental health issues, but there were many more who just did not like school ... often for good reason. The main problems were unsupported or undiagnosed SEN, bullying and an overly restrictive school culture. (Silly rules about uniforms for example.) We need adequate CAMHS services that will identify and support neurodivergent students from an early age, and also identify and support students with genuine mental health problems. Most students need a learning environment where they can feel psychologically and physically safe and a curriculum that is relevant to their needs. Havighurst referred to "developmental tasks" - we need schools that are centred on the needs of the young people rather than ticking boxes for Ofsted. We need schools that cater to both the "academic" kids and those of a more practical bent. The Newsom Report (1963) failed to deliver parity of esteem. The new comprehensive schools became half-baked grammar schools that failed the most able and the least able by concentrating on the mediocre majority. Special Education and Talented and Gifted programmes are under-resourced. There is a one-size-fits-all all pedagogy that fails those of us who are neurodivergent or otherwise different. The problem is not that our kids have mental health problems, we have a maladaptive education system.
Most of us have, I am sure, tried to " throw a sicky" at some stage. Parents need to recognise when kids really do need to be off school - such as if they have diarrhoea or vomiting or are covered in spots - and when they need to show some tough love. I am sure some kids do suffer from anxiety, but there are also kids who have discovered that they can get their own way by pleading " mental elf". The Covid lockdown was a strange experience for all of us, but the majority of kids went back to school, maybe with a bit of moaning at first. Stuff happens.
I guess, if I was in that situation, I'd at least want to make a gradual return or some logical reasoning as to why it's all going to be alright.
