A recent survey revealed that English parents no longer consider daily school attendance as vital for their children, marking a significant shift in attitudes towards education since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report describes this change as a “profound rupture” in the relationship between schools and parents, spanning all socioeconomic groups. Find out more details below!
see more
Innovative system for children’s literacy is generating results…
Project reinforces National School Meal Program
The practice is growing in the country
For decades, the idea that all students should attend school every day during term time was a tacit agreement between schools and families.
However, this social contract appears to have been broken, with some parents no longer seeing it as their responsibility to ensure their children's daily attendance at school.
This has triggered what the report describes as a “full-blown national crisis” in school attendance, which will require significant efforts and collaboration across multiple services to reverse.
(Image: AP/Reproduction)
The research revealed a more than 50% increase in overall school absence in England since 2019, with a an even more significant increase in persistent absence, when students miss 10% or more of the classes. This trend has worried authorities and led to a series of government interventions.
The reasons for this change in parents' attitudes towards school attendance are diverse.
The disruption caused by Covid-19, worsened by problems with mental health among young people and a crisis in the cost of living, played a fundamental role in this transformation.
Furthermore, the ways in which schools delivered learning during lockdowns altered parents' perceptions of the importance of school attendance.
The research showed that, due to the pandemic, schools sent home a significantly smaller amount of learning material, leading some parents to question the need to be present at school daily.
School holidays have also become more socially acceptable, and the recent strike days Teachers further undermined the “every day matters” narrative in terms of attendance school.
The report suggests that fines for failure to appear should be reviewed and possibly abolished as they are deeply unpopular and contribute to alienation from parents.
Furthermore, the document highlights the need for investment in special education and mental health services to improve school attendance.
The downward trend in school attendance is seen as a significant challenge for the education system British, requiring a joint effort from schools, families and government to address and reverse such crisis.
