Latest news with #schoolabsence
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Oxfordshire child's 'harrowing' struggle to fit in at school
A mother has described the experience of her autistic child struggling to attend school and fit in as "really harrowing".The number of severely absent pupils in Oxfordshire has risen sharply, with one in every 38 children now missing more than half of number of so-called "ghost children" – those missing more than 50% of school – has increased more than five-fold in the county over the past decade, from 427 in 2015/16 to 2,305 in 2023/ Department for Education said the "government inherited a broken system" but that it was "determined to turn the tide on poor attendance". Lauren, not her real name, said her child's anxiety around school became so severe they once said they "didn't want to live any more".She said her child found it "very difficult to do anything normal... most of the time they spend half an hour in school each day". Sometimes Lauren would wait with her child at school for up to two hours. "You can tell they can't cope with being there," she said."Am I imagining these things? Am I a bad parent? You question all those things when, deep down, you know your child and you know they're unhappy"."The frustration of them not having those opportunities to fit into a normal education system is really harrowing."There can be many reasons for school absence including long term physical illness, or mental health issues, such as stress or rise in the number of children with a diagnosis of special educational needs and disability (SEND) was also creating a problem for schools, which often do not have the resources to support them. The Oxford-based charity Ark-T run therapeutic sessions at Orchard Meadow Primary in Blackbird Leys, where small groups of children work on art-based projects in a quiet, protected teacher Heather Richards said missing school could become a "vicious circle" but that the sessions had led to "real improvement" in attendance figures. "They have a stronger connection with some of the children in their year group," she added. "They also build their confidence."Lauren's child attends an online version of the sessions and said they "literally leap" to go to attend. 'Need a national effort' "Even if they're having a really bad week, they'll go to that session and they'll come out really buoyant and happy," she said. In a statement, the Department for Education said; "The government inherited a broken system, with children and families facing poor outcomes and barriers to opportunity. "The case for tackling the epidemic of school absence could not be clearer: improved grades, higher wages, better life chances."Tackling this issue is everyone's responsibility – government, schools, parents, and children – and we need a national effort to get our kids back in the classroom."As part of our plan for change, we are determined to turn the tide on poor attendance and break down barriers to opportunity - whether it's through attendance mentors, free breakfast clubs, improved mental health support, additional investment in family support, or more focus from Ofsted." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Girls on period skipping school over toilet rules, says charity
Girls have been absent from school during their periods because of fears they will not be allowed out of class to go to the toilet, a charity has West Yorkshire-based Freedom4Girls said students had reported being refused permission to leave class and were unable to concentrate because they were worried about leaking."They've been telling us that they're missing school because the toilets are locked during lessons and they're embarrassed about asking to go," charity founder Tina Leslie Department for Education said it was for schools to decide when pupils take toilet breaks, but they were expected to be mindful of their duty of care responsibilities. A 17-year-old girl from Leeds, who did not want to be named, said she had avoided school at the start of her period."I wouldn't want to go in because I didn't want teachers to tell me that I can't go," she which provides period products to schools in Leeds, said it had received emails from worried parents for several years on the subject. "Girls are missing up to a month of education every year and it's not acceptable," said Ms Leslie."Their attainment levels are dropping, their truancy levels are going up. "Girls want to go to school to learn, they don't want to go to school and worry that they're going to leak." Leeds Youth Parliament member Wania, 15, took part in a period dignity debate at the House of Commons and said the issue was a priority for her."I think simply taking bathroom access away is taking away human rights from young people," she said."They have a right to access a bathroom when they need it and they should be able to do that."Wania said the impact of toilets being locked during lessons affected the whole school day."These measures are put in place because of schools thinking it will either disrupt lessons or students will skip lessons and hide in bathrooms, but blanket banning it doesn't address the problem." Individual schools have their own policies on using bathrooms during lessons, with some providing passes to students and others locking toilets until break High School in Sheffield said it had enough staff to ensure students could always be escorted to bathrooms whenever they needed to use them."It's discreet," said head teacher Lisa McCall."Boys and girls can ask for a toilet request and it's part of the culture that students ask for it."As soon as the request is put through, that student is picked up and escorted."Ms McCall said period products were provided in bathrooms and education about periods was a priority for the school."We want to have a culture whereby the stigma around periods is gone," she said."Although we do some work with girls on their own, most lessons and assemblies will be everybody together because it's important that the boys also hear it and talk about it." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Parents fined £640 for taking daughters out of school for medical treatment
Parents whose daughters suffer from a skin condition have been fined hundreds of pounds for taking their children out of school for treatment. Cristina Halmac, of Johnson Fold, sends her two daughters to Church Road Primary School in Smithills. The girls, who are in Year One and Year Five, both suffer from a skin condition and have been awaiting dermatology appointments through the NHS. However, Cristina says that these appointments have been cancelled on more than one occasion. In late June, a further dermatology appointment for the girls was cancelled, so Cristina decided to take them to see a specialist in Romania, for which they missed seven days of school. She applied for a leave of absence, but it was not authorised by Church Road. Under national guidance, all schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed five days or more for unauthorised reasons. The skin condition suffered by Cristina's daughters (Image: Public) In total, Cristina and her husband were fined £640 for the absence. The girls have since returned to school. She said: "The NHS appointment was cancelled, they were cancelled many times. So I thought I needed to take my children to a different place." Read more: Schools relying on food banks and vouchers amid cost of living crisis, says head Read more: School launches important book celebrating community's rich cultural diversity Read more: The outstanding school which children love to attend The girls were seen by a clinician in Romania, who prescribed them medication. Skin condition (Image: Public) Cristina added: "I took them to the doctor and when we came back we had been given a penalty. "I don't think it is right. I tried to explain the situation but the school did not want to speak to me. "I want to change my daughters from this school, as I don't think it is normal to penalise people for taking their children to a doctor." A spokesperson for Church Road Primary School said: 'Children need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education as missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. 'Parents are committing an offence if they fail to make sure that their child attends school regularly and the absence is unauthorised by the Headteacher. 'If anyone is experiencing problems with their child's attendance at school, it is important they work closely with the school to resolve the matter.'
