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.
pushing a leftist agenda for their globalist overlords
Dear oh dear. I thought this community would be a refuge from this sort of nonsense. We don't have to share the same politics, but a unanimous respect for reality would be appreciated.
It completely misses the point that almost all - 92 per cent - of those struggling to attend are neurodivergent. It's not about colds or mild anxiety about school.
Yes absolutely! I completely agree!
Yep.
Train them all to comply with our culture of presenteeism.
In reality - which I accept the Government may struggle with - schools are generally rife with sickness, they're a perfect environment for spreading disease*- and absence is high, especially in the winter months.
*Except for in the pandemic, when disease didn't spread in schools and there was apparently no problem...
It completely misses the point that almost all - 92 per cent - of those struggling to attend are neurodivergent. It's not about colds or mild anxiety about school. It's a problem caused by lack of support and UNDERSTANDING about autism and the sensory/emotional difficulties posed by mainstream schools. in those cases often regular attendance CAUSES the problem so can't also be the cure without big changes.
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.
Yes I completely understand why, as this campaign shows attendance is usually always prioritised over wellbeing.
I think I'd have more respect for the campaign if they offered concrete support.
Absolutely or at the very least investigate reasons for not being able to attend school (preferably by listening to lived experiences.)
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 don’t want children’s innocence being destroyed by being taught any aspects of sex education until they are 21 for both straight and gay sex, especially not in primary school
Do you think anyone under the age of 21 would not have access to the internet and find out this stuff anyway?
I am totally opposed to “drag queen story hour” being run in public libraries that is pushing a leftist agenda for their globalist overlords
We have had pantomime dames and stuff like that in this country for decades, what's so different?
the Catholic Church’s traditional teaching that sex is not for “pleasure” or recreation, only for the purpose of bringing children into the world, only for within Marraige between a man and a woman is the correct teaching
I think my question, really, is: why does any of this bother you?
Yeah. I always used to get wound up by things like "100% attendance awards" (and I still think they're unhelpful).
I think I'd have more respect for the campaign if they offered concrete support.
It's good that you can stay away from all of that then.
I'm glad other people are taking care of all that. I'd probably end up swimming in the (justified) anger if I was on Twitter and it wouldn't have been good for me.
Absolutely! I completely agree! Thankfully there is lots of backlash and criticism of the campaign being shared online though.
It just feels like it trivialises things. Yes, you probably couldn't fit all the nuances of it on a poster.
Which is a good reason not to do it!
so it's okay to send kids to school even if they're sick?
Yes that’s exactly the message the campaign is sending! Despite the fact that in doing so this will cause outbreaks of illness and potentially lead to parents not trusting their young people when they feel ill or under too much stress to attend school.
This will deny young people agency and suggests that they should go against their natural instincts.
