Why the sudden concern about children not in school?

All of a sudden in the education sector, we have an occurrence as rare as hen’s teeth: an issue upon which politicians, local authorities and teachers vociferously agree. 

Is it the problems caused by our norm-referenced exam system? No. The systemic underfunding of schools? Nah. The wage stagnation of teachers and support staff over the past decade? Pfftt. 

The volume on the debate about how quickly we need to get all children back into school because they’re regressing and their futures are evaporating before our eyes is currently at 11, and likely to be turned up even higher in the next couple of weeks. 

Forgive me if my first reaction is to ask where all these people were before the pandemic, when we routinely had thousands of children out of school for long periods of time? (Spoiler alert: those children are still out of school, many without an actual school place and the live lessons, home learning and welfare calls that go with it, too.)

Coronavirus: Some children matter more than others

I can’t help but think the main reason everyone is marching in step on this one is not because of the sheer volume of children who are working at home at the minute; it is that many are the children of people with the platform to voice their concerns - some undoubtedly genuine and others on the lookout to cause trouble.

Take, for example, professional contrarian Laurence Fox’s zinger this week on Twitter: “Quick question. Do I invoice the school for my teacher’s salary this month or the government?”

I have long held the view that some children matter more than others in our education system and this is partly contributing to the clamour now. 

You may disagree but I see the evidence of it all around me. We systemically protect the rights and aspirations of our highest attainers. Schools are encouraged to boast of the numbers of children going to Oxford and Cambridge - as the BBC would say, other universities are available - as an indicator of success. Setting remains endemic, despite the evidence against it. Grammar schools are as important to this nation’s identity as hating Europe. And the proportion of children with EHCPs being educated in special schools is rising. 

Let me introduce you to Daniel. He was out of school for almost three years before he came to us in September. Three years. As well as having the label SEMH (social, emotional and mental health needs, of which we have seen none, by the way) he now is defined as having learning difficulties caused exclusively by missing almost three years of his primary schooling. Did I mention that Daniel is 10 years old? 

Daniel is not an isolated case. He isn’t even in a group of a few dozen. There are thousands of Daniels out there, missing massive amounts of their education. Where were all the impassioned pleas to get them back into school before the pandemic? 

There weren’t any, because it was always someone else’s problem. Now that it is everyone’s problem, people are interested all of a sudden. So, what are you going to do about it?

Where does the blame lie?

Local authorities, I blame you least. You have a responsibility for every child in your county or borough (one of the biggest weaknesses of the colander that is the academy trust system), and have long kept track of where they all are and tried hard to ensure that each and every one of them has a school place. You haven’t always got that right but you’ve been trying. 

My main criticism of you is that you are too nice to headteachers. Too many of us refuse to take children that we could and should take. I have been directed to take children before and I am pleased that you forced my hand. Use the powers at your disposal to do this more - including with academies - and force the secretary of state to make those directions. 

Headteachers: you have a set of strong stated values. You refer to them often in prospectuses, open evenings and your Twitter feed. So, next time you’re faced with what seems a tricky admissions decision - almost inevitably for a child with an EHCP - test that decision against your values. Remind yourself of Professor Gert Biesta’s warning: “When a child becomes a risk to a school’s performance, education is at an end.”  

Politicians: I want to believe that you care about this group of children but you’re making it tough for me. If you are not persuaded by the statistics of the success rates of parents against local authorities in the tribunal system, then I can’t help you.

(“Success” is the wrong word here. Parents aren’t winning anything; they’re simply breaking the bank - and sometimes other bits of their life - to secure an education for their child that the rest of society takes for granted and gets without having to ask, let alone fight with all the energy and money they’ve got.) 

I can help you with one thing: give Matt Keer (@CaptainK77) a formal role in reforming the system. He knows what needs to be done and has the parental scars to prove it. 

During the first lockdown, a colleague wondered if the way we lived might change permanently. I said that I doubted it: we would most likely go back very quickly to the way things were. 

My greatest fear is that this is precisely what will happen to Daniel and the thousands of others like him. They will remain a group that matters less. That is a tragedy. We can - and must - do better. Over to you.

Jarlath O’Brien works in special education with children with social, emotional and mental health needs. He is the author of Better Behaviour - A Guide for Teachers and Leading Better Behaviour - A Guide for School Leaders