Present and correct? School experts say over-focus on attendance fails to tackle absenteeism and could be harmful to children

Tens of thousands of Scottish pupils are missing the equivalent of a month a year from school, prompting politicians, teachers and other educationalists to call for greater efforts to ensure children attend class.

In the 2022-23 educational year, 128,000 pupils – 41% of the school roll – missed one in 10 classes. But some experts take a different approach, arguing that an over-focus on attendance, rather than attempting to address the reasons behind pupils’ absences, fails to tackle the problem and is actually harmful to children.

Clinical psychologist Doctor Naomi Fisher is the author of a series of books on children, how they think and learn and how best to challenge inappropriate behaviour.

She believes there is too much pressure on children to attend school, and that the current approach to absences simply makes things worse for the children concerned and their families.

Fisher said: “A lot of our children are struggling with school. I think there are many reasons why this generation of children could be struggling more.

“One is Covid, but the other is austerity and that there have been cuts to early services. This generation of children has not had as much, basically as many services as other previous generations. It’s been harder for them to get access to early education, healthcare, all of that kind of thing, and at the same time education has become more focused on exam results, more focused on essentially getting children to perform.”

‘An exhausted and stressed-out child in school won’t be learning’

She believes parents are under intense pressure to make sure their children attend school. Some have told her how their children have woken in the night, highly distressed and saying they don’t want to go to school – leaving them in a dilemma as to whether or not to force them to go. But if they allow their children to remain at home, they quickly come to the attention of school authorities, with letters arriving from the school telling them their child’s attendance is a problem.

Fisher said: “There’s a kind of attitude that as long as the child’s in school, they must be learning and actually, this isn’t the case. If you have an exhausted and stressed-out child in school, they won’t be learning. They might be better served by just having a slightly more relaxed time at home. And then they’ll be able to learn better the next day. It’s like we’ve kind of lost sight of the humanity of our children.”

© Justine Desmond

Children in schools are facing a huge variety of issues, some of which would never have affected previous generations.

These include bullying, exam pressures, and relationship pressures, but now also issues around social media, cyber-bullying and sexting. Added to that are the worst child mental health crisis yet seen and a lack of resources to address that crisis, along with an increase in recent years in children living in poverty.

Supporting children’s mental health

Billy Burke, head of development and innovation at Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) and previously a head teacher for more than 10 years, says the schools that have better attendance rates are usually the ones proactively supporting the mental health of their students. SAMH’s work in schools to teach young people to manage their mental health and support their peers has also led to better attendance.

He said: “We need to consider whether the current school system still reflects the world young people live in.

“We’ve seen the increased issue of presenteeism in the workplace, and so complete attendance isn’t necessarily desirable.

“If young people need time off due to their mental health, schools should explore flexible approaches to support students. If we fail to offer real options and prioritise mental health as the safeguarding issue it is, attendance levels are likely to continue dropping.”

YoungMinds, another mental health charity that supports young people and their parents, said it hears on its helpline from parents whose children are experiencing emotionally based school avoidance, and the causes are often varied and complicated.

This could be because of anxiety, bullying, academic pressure, difficult relationships and a lack of support. Olly Parker, head of external affairs at YoungMinds, said: “Major reforms are needed to address the root causes of poor mental health, including changes to the education system so it prioritises wellbeing alongside academic achievement.

“Young people also need to be able to access mental health support earlier, including in schools.”

But others say the issue of attendance needs to be fixed as quickly as possible as it can have damning outcomes in the future.

Attendance issues

Doctor Markus Klein, from the University of Strathclyde, said it’s very important to look at all factors involved in attendance to solve the problem.

He said: “I think it’s very important because not being in school has severe consequences for children’s educational achievement and it also has long-term consequences on children’s outcomes.

“Our research found that children who are frequently absent from school are more likely to have no qualifications later in life and they are also more likely to not participate in the labour market.

“So it also has consequences beyond schooling. So it’s really important.”

Klein thinks schools are having to tackle a lot of issues and says that it’s important to understand the reasons behind absences and involve pupils and parents in the process of addressing them.

If the underlying causes of absence are not addressed, putting pressure on children and families will not work.

Among those demanding greater efforts – and pointing the finger of blame – is Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs.

He reflected the mood of many when he said the figures “deliver a damning verdict” on the Scottish Government’s record on education. “Everyone involved in Scotland’s education system is being failed by an SNP government who are detached from the reality in our schools,” he said.

“It is time for them to change their approach and adopt common-sense measures to reverse this alarming decline.” But Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that absences from school are the responsibility of parents and carers, who have the legal obligations to ensure their child receives an education.

© PA

She said schools in Scotland, like those across the UK, continue to be responsive to post-pandemic challenges – and we know that the Covid lockdowns affected school attendance and that although recent official figures showed some improvement, sustained effort is needed across the education system.

She said: “We are working with Education Scotland and the Interim Chief Inspector to address attendance issues and identify ways to make further improvements alongside the work of each local authority to achieve better attendance and reduce absence.”