School's out

It's seven o'clock on a Wednesday morning. A mother enters her child's bedroom to wake him for school. When she turns on the light, she sees his nose is red and running. Then he starts to splutter and cough. Does she send him into class?

According to the latest UK government advice, the answer is yes. Britain's NHSThe National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948. says that it's "fine" to send children to school with sore throats, coughs and colds. But, if they are vomiting or have a temperature, it is safer to stay at home.

The advice is part of a government campaign to improve school attendance. Called Moments Matter, Attendance Counts, it aims to bring down cases of avoidable absence from school.¹ As well as tips for parents, they have launched 18 attendance hubs, with special support for schools that are struggling, from breakfast clubs to after-hours activities.

School attendance is a serious problem. Figures released last autumn show that 21.2% of pupils in England were "persistently absent", meaning they missed more than one in ten days of school. Furthermore, 140,000 pupils were "severely absent", meaning they missed school more than half of the time.²

Parents can face fines if their child skips school without good reason. The new government campaign suggests this method is not working. Critics argue that major changes are needed to stop the problem getting worse.

For many, absent pupils are caused by a lack of education funding. Cuts to summer schools, speech and language support, Sure StartA UK government initiative to improve early childhood through childcare, education, health and family support. It is similar to the Head Start programme in the USA. centres and youth services mean that schools are struggling to help pupils with mental health problems or learning difficulties.

Parents are reluctant to send their children to schools with problems. The Not Fine in School group, set up to support parents, has 37,000 members. Their website lists the main "barriers to attendance", such as bullying, too much academic pressure and overly strict teachers.³

Others argue that parents, rather than schools, are the real problem. Journalist and teacher Kristina Murkett claims that, after the lockdown, parents are more likely to treat school as optional. In 2023, a record 350,000 parents were fined for taking their children out of class for holidays during term time.

She also warns that keeping children at home because they do not enjoy school could make the problem worse. While parents should listen to their child's concerns, Murkett argues that there is a tendency to "over-medicaliseTreat something as a medical problem. and over-analyse normal childhood worries" today.⁴

Coronavirus played a part in school absences. The number of "severely absent" pupils has doubled since before the pandemic, and the lockdown may have also made children more fragile. According to the mental health charity Mind, seven out of ten pupils reported being absent from school because of anxietyA feeling of unease or worry. It can be mild or very severe. or stress.⁵

Whatever the cause, finding a solution to pupil absences will benefit everyone. As respected Oxford academic Professor Cathy Creswell argues: "Investing in children and families is investing in everybody's future."  

Is it the system that's wrong?

Yes: Cuts to funding mean that schools can no longer support pupils with educational or mental health needs. No wonder the children prefer to stay at home.

No: There are plenty of reasons why a child might not want to attend school, but parents have a responsibility to make sure they go to class unless they are seriously ill.

Or... The high levels of absence from class have many causes and it is a mistake to blame just parents, schools, the pandemic or even children themselves.