Sign In
Sign In
Register for Free
Primary

Schools Must Give Voice To The Voiceless

We can’t continue to ignore children’s cries for help. It’s time for action.

Paul Dix
by Paul Dix
Paddington Bear whole school resource pack
DOWNLOAD A FREE RESOURCE! Paddington Bear – Whole-school lesson plans & activity sheets
PrimaryEnglish

How many times must a 9-year-old threaten suicide before the adults around them drop the bureaucratic defences and actually help?

I’ve lost count of the number of times children in desperate situations have been flatly refused support or deliberately referred to another agency to delay intervention. A colleague of mine recently had to go down to the offices of one agency and threaten to call the press unless they saw the child. It took four hours for them to relent.

He visits the same office every week to advocate for children, and each week he receives the same faceless response. At the same time as politicians are proudly talking about ‘safety nets’, there are children falling through gaping holes that are being wilfully ignored. It is a national scandal – an asset stripping of the ugliest kind.

Increasing complications

Schools used to confuse mental illness with bad behaviour choices. In good schools we are well past this, and now have teachers who recognise those whose behaviour is not driven by deliberate choices. They know those children whose struggle is deeper than the day-to-day ups and downs of childhood.

Speak to teachers working in referral units, and they’ll tell you that the issues with which many children arrive are more complicated than they were 15 years ago. These are children who are growing up with complex needs, in families with addiction, domestic violence, foetal alcohol syndrome, ADHD – all of which are compounded by old-fashioned neglect.

If we weren’t so tied up with dealing with the symptoms, we could actually search for the reason behind this change. Emotional trauma in the early years is a scar that people carry for the rest of their lives. It is a hidden injury that rarely produces the same empathy in others as a physical disability. It is easy to imagine the brief and limited pain of a broken bone, but not so easy to imagine the constant emotional pain of childhood trauma that shows itself in behaviour, not bandages.

Stimulate collaboration

Some children hold it in; they appear to be ‘normal’ and pretend to be like everybody else, but it is exhausting. Without the space to talk, rest and refocus, the tension they feel will build and eventually release in an explosion of anger, tears, aggression and self-injurious behaviour.

In schools where there is no differentiation of intervention, where children are forced to conform and where punishment is used too liberally, there are real dangers. ‘Behaviour’ labels are given to children requiring medical interventions. Classroom management polices are used to try and crush behaviours. I have even heard of schools unilaterally rejecting evidence of mental illness because it doesn’t fit with their systems. It is cruel, misguided and has long-term repercussions in later life.

As a profession we need to do more to stimulate collaboration between agencies. We must refuse to sit in endless meetings talking around problems.

Instead, the professionals around the table should use the time to act, to intervene, and to stand up for those whose voice is rarely heard. I’ve sat in on many day-long meetings in which social workers, educational psychologists, pastoral leaders, learning mentors and so on sit around and chew the fat and make comments like, ‘We should write a report on this and come back to it next time.’

While the child sits and waits for the adult world to help, those that can are sat in endless reviews filling in pointless paperwork.

Consistent empathy

Therapeutic approaches can be highly affective, but are never part of a ‘behaviour’ policy. When executed properly, they can help children to operate within the ‘normal range’ of school behaviour.

Many schools are now providing their own support while waiting for appointments with other agencies. Many have gone further and trained teachers and LSAs in talk therapy, play therapy, safe touch, nurture, eye-contact games and positive self-talk routines.

Of course, consistent, empathetic responses from all adults to children with mental health issues is at the core of good practice. Making time to listen, to try to understand or just to be there can be as effective as planned interventions. A consistent caring approach from every adult must be the foundation for exceptional practice, regardless of the learners we are working with.

We must challenge the poor practice, speak out for those who have no voice – and make the bean counters understand that taking support from those children in need is the most inefficient use of their money.

Paul Dix is a lead trainer at Pivotal Education and co-presenter of the Pivotal Podcast.

You might also be interested in...