Default: children need support, not sanctions | Letter

As a teacher and lawyer who has represented children in special educational needs courts, but especially as a parent with children who have experienced a mental health crisis, it is difficult not to feel powerless by the lack of appropriate support for children in crisis and therefore struggle to attend school (Government to fund ‘school attendance mentors’ in worst-affected areas of England, January 5).

In older children, poor school attendance is often linked to depression and anxiety. This is not an intentional absence and cannot be remedied simply by sanctions for non-compliance. This often results in students’ low mood dropping even further.

With schools’ eyes firmly on attendance data, with letters sent to parents and contracts to be signed for those whose attendance is below acceptable levels (and penalties for breaching such agreements), coupled with insufficient support for children in crisis, we are still a long way from supporting our children back in the classroom.

There is no quick fix. The solution does not simply lie in introducing “presence mentors” to some of the “hardest hit” areas.

Labour’s plan to have mental health counselors in every secondary school and mental health centers in every community goes further and should be welcomed, but until schools more fully understand the impact of poor mental health on children’s attendance and are fully supported by adequate mental health services for their students, we will not give our children the education and care they deserve.
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