The Labour party has promised to address the issues of student absences and children’s mental health in order to mend the strained relationship between schools and families. This comes before upcoming policy announcements from both the party and the government.
On Tuesday, Bridget Phillipson, the opposition education secretary, will outline the significant difficulties that schools and students in England are currently facing. This comes one day after Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, reveals the government’s newest initiatives to improve school attendance rates in light of the Covid outbreak.
Phillipson informed BBC correspondent Laura Kuenssberg that the current issue of consistent absenteeism results in 20% of children frequently missing school. This number is projected to increase to 25%.
“That is an alarming amount of children. It is negatively affecting their opportunities in life and also impacting the opportunities of all children within the school community.”
Phillipson will address the issue of the strained relationship between schools and families in her speech, stating that the Conservative party has not offered any solutions to the crisis of low attendance. She believes that the proposed measures are only minor adjustments to a larger, long-term issue.
The Conservative party has a long history of high levels of persistent absence, which began prior to the pandemic. They cannot be relied upon to solve a problem that they are responsible for.
Labour’s proposals consist of increasing the number of mental health counselors in secondary schools and introducing free breakfast clubs for all elementary school students. These plans will specifically impact England, as education policies are managed by individual national governments.
Phillipson stated that it is the responsibility of parents to participate and contribute, stating to the BBC that “Parents who decide to remove their children from school for vacations or non-essential trips should carefully consider the impact it has on their children’s future opportunities. They only have one opportunity for education and childhood.”
A survey conducted by the Centre for Social Justice thinktank revealed that 28% of parents in the UK believe that the pandemic has proven that daily attendance at school is not necessary for children, while 58% disagree with this statement. However, when asked another question, 88% of parents agreed that it is crucial for children to attend school as frequently as possible, with only 8% expressing disagreement.
The DfE will announce their own plans on Monday to increase efforts in promoting attendance. The Guardian reported last week that Keegan’s announcement will allocate £15m for “attendance mentors” in 10 heavily affected areas, offering personalized assistance for approximately 3,600 chronically absent students annually.
A program, organized by the child welfare organization Barnardo’s, is currently in operation in five regions as part of their attendance mentor initiative. Barnardo’s reported that in Middlesbrough, the mentors have successfully increased attendance for over 80% of the participating children.
According to the latest data from the Department for Education, unauthorised absences and absences due to illness in secondary schools remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2020.
The Department for Education (DfE) will launch a nationwide initiative this week to promote the significance of attendance, with the slogan “moments matter, attendance counts”. The DfE did not reveal the budget for the campaign.
Keegan stated that improving attendance is his topmost concern.
Source: theguardian.com
