The best place for any child to be during school term is in the classroom, beside their peers and friends, learning together in front of a teacher who can help them develop into the best person they can possibly be.
It may seem like an idyllic notion, but the truth is not every child is happy in the classroom and not every pupil wants to go to school. Some are anxious, some are obstinate, some are from a background where the inherent belief is that an education will not help them achieve much in life and there’s nothing much out there worth aiming for. Some have issues at home that leave them feeling like outsiders, lacking the confidence or ability to shine. Some simply are not encouraged to go to school by parents.
There are a number of reasons why any child becomes a chronic non-attender at school. Only by getting to the heart of each issue, and they will all be individual, can the right support network be built to bring them in from the cold and help them realise that an education will open doors to a future. Children need to start believing the classroom is where they need to be.
Too many are falling through the cracks. And though the latest figures from the Department of Education show a slowdown in the number of pupils who are not attending, any attempts to tackle the issue have barely scratched the surface.
It’s a problem in society that has never been properly addressed and, especially since the Covid pandemic, the issue of non-attendance at school has become chronic. NI Children’s Commissioner Chris Quinn has consistently warned that unless the situation is treated with the seriousness it deserves there will never be an improvement in outcomes with so much wasted potential the result.
Not enough attention has been paid to the reasons why so many of our young people are not attending school. Non-attendance is often a symptom. Identifying the cause should be the first step on the road.
Efforts were made in the immediate post-Covid period. Programmes such as Happy Healthy Minds and Engage enabled children to feel comfortable back in the school environment with targeted support. Those schemes have ended through financial constraints.
Schools themselves make a big deal about the fact that the more regular attendance at school is, the more chance that pupil has of achieving the maximum benefit from their education.
If the future of every child does matter, then everything must be done to ensure every child attends school. That’s where the majority of issues can be assessed and addressed.