Commenting on pupil absence figures for primary and secondary schools in 2022/23, published today by Government, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Clearly, the best place for students is in school but there are many factors causing our current absence figures. What schools are keenly worried about is that they don’t have nearly enough resources or specialist support because of cuts and waiting lists. Many secondary schools now report a two-year wait for CAMHS meetings, and in turn GPs are looping families back to schools because there aren’t enough CAMHS appointments in the local area. This means young people aren’t getting timely intervention and personal responses.
“School leaders are desperate for Government to provide funding for counsellors, youth services, and access to mental health services for children and young people. A much quicker rollout of mental health hubs across the country is needed as well as more counsellors and school nurses in all secondary settings. CAMHS support has been run down to such inadequate levels and it places enormous pressure on school staff and parents.
“If Government is serious about helping schools with student attendance, they need to widen the focus from simply blaming and pressuring schools – to look at the role of a packed, narrow curriculum, and the under-funding of adolescent mental health services. The relentless overuse of numerical data to report to young people how they are doing is deeply de-motivating for a whole swathe of teenagers and a better approach to capturing and celebrating students’ progress is required urgently.”