Cooperation, Not Sanctions - Why removing child benefit won’t help tackle truancy
Jan Tallis, Chief Executive of School-Home Support, explains why removing child benefit will do little to reduce truancy compared to other approaches… While truancy is undoubtedly a serious challenge, it is important to consider it both within a wider socio-economic context and on an individual, case-by-case basis. School-Home Support (SHS) works at the intersection of […]
- by Jan Tallis
Jan Tallis, Chief Executive of School-Home Support, explains why removing child benefit will do little to reduce truancy compared to other approaches…
While truancy is undoubtedly a serious challenge, it is important to consider it both within a wider socio-economic context and on an individual, case-by-case basis.
School-Home Support (SHS) works at the intersection of pupils’ academic performance and domestic context. Founded in 1984, we have decades of experience mediating between the two spheres of a pupil’s life.
In supporting families from disadvantaged backgrounds, we’ve found that truancy can have a number of root causes, such as homelessness, parental addiction or mental health problems, domestic violence, extreme poverty, and caring responsibilities.
The home front Housing is a key factor. According to Shelter, 1.6 million children in Britain live in housing that is overcrowded, temporary, or run-down. Not having a stable home inevitably affects children’s attendance in school.
Alcohol Concern, meanwhile, estimates that 2.6 million children [PDF] are currently living with parents who are drinking hazardously. The BBC has further suggested that there may be up to 700,000 children in the UK forced to grow up too quickly by having to take on caring responsibilities for their parents.
The most worrying statistic, however, remains the finding by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that 3.5 million UK children are currently living in child poverty.
The role of poverty Children, even those in primary school, may feel a responsibility to be at home for their parents if they worry, as in one of our cases, about their parents getting into arguments about money. Often, children will suffer from extreme hunger, and it is not until their financial circumstances are recognised and understood that the resulting truancy or underperformance can be tackled.
Our practitioners are trained to help with challenges like financial problems, language barriers and domestic abuse. What we’ve found suggests that there is a consistent correlation between poverty and truancy. Children eligible for free school meals are over three times more likely to be persistently absent from schools than their classmates from wealthier families.
Because of this correlation, we provide an SEN diagnosis for children with complex home situations. We’ve also consistently found evidence showing that early intervention, rather than sanctioning after the fact, best eliminates the triggers for truancy, and empowers schools and parents to address the needs of children before intensive intervention is required.
Pupil absence statistics have been steadily dropping, partly as a result of several education charities’ effort to provide a coherent programme of support for families. Following early intervention by our practitioners in 2013/14, 77% of persistent absentees improved their attendance and 98% of parents are now more involved in their child’s learning.
One-way action As well as tackling truancy, it is equally important that when in school, children are able to make the most of it. If they are worried about what is going on at home, or hungry because they didn’t have any breakfast, they are not going to be able to concentrate.
Schools are taking on more responsibility for ‘early help’, and are working with increasingly complex cases as thresholds for referrals in other services increase. Schools should be using the Pupil Premium to engage with families so that children are not just in school, but also ready to learn.
Sanctioning by removing child benefit is a one-way action on the government’s part, penalising families and children who often consider their circumstances to be beyond their control. It does not provide an insight into the challenges facing children in their homes.
Based on our experience, we instead recommend a strategy of cooperation between government, schools, local agencies, and charities. This strategy should be based on engagement with every child’s distinct family situation and complex needs, see the child as embedded in their communities and open, rather than close, the debate around truancy.
//bold// Jan Tallis is Chief Executive of School-Home Support, a national charity that seeks to tackle the underlying issues that affect a child’s ability to make the most of their education, and is currently Chair of Governors at a secondary school in East London. You can follow her at @JanTallis
