Greater attention must be paid to the challenges facing pupils beyond the school gates, including poverty, homelessness and long waits for mental health care, the children’s commissioner for England has said.
In a report published on Monday, Dame Rachel de Souza says that schools are increasingly being left to shoulder the burden of supporting vulnerable children and families, as public services struggle to meet demand.
A survey of primary and secondary schools in England found widespread concern about issues affecting pupils outside the classroom.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, highlighted the importance of children feeling safe in a permanent and secure home
AARON CHOWN/PA
Access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) emerged as a top concern for 70 per cent of primary schools and 78 per cent of secondary schools.
“Schools are increasingly dealing with more pupils with mental health difficulties and being asked to fill the gaps where children face long waiting lists for community services,” the report said.
De Souza said that while having a “brilliant teacher is foundational” for young people, “it’s not enough on its own” as she highlighted the importance of feeling safe in a permanent and secure home.
She said: “Good teaching alone can’t keep children safe at home, can’t mitigate the impact of living in temporary accommodation, can’t make living with domestic abuse easier.
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“And without that additional support, the gap between them and their peers will continue to grow. Their challenges lie not only in the classroom but beyond it, from housing and health challenges to having a parent in prison, bereavement, needing a social worker or being at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation or having caring responsibilities.
“It is those services outside the classroom which — as evidenced by the findings in this report — are often the key to unlocking effective support for children’s wider needs.
“They have not benefited from the same rigour, focus or investment as schools. And if we are to smash the glass ceiling on attendance, engagement, attainment and excellence, they must be where we turn our collective energy.”
The findings also show that attendance and the progress of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) are top concerns.
Nearly four in ten children (37 per cent) will need additional support with learning at some point in their education, and a quarter will need a social worker.
Meanwhile, a million children live in destitution, and over a million children miss a day of school every fortnight.
Despite these growing needs, ministers are considering plans that could see hundreds of thousands of children lose their legal right to support in school through education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
However, the commissioner says no child with an existing EHCP should lose their plan or be forced to move school.
To prevent vulnerable pupils from falling through the cracks, the commissioner is calling for a children’s plan for every child in England.
This joined-up support record would combine education, health and care information on a secure digital platform, giving professionals and families a full picture of a child’s needs.
For some, this would mean a modified school report; for others, it would serve as a tool to help professionals across services better understand their needs and support them.
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Children with life-determining conditions should automatically receive statutory support until age 25, without lengthy assessments.
Children not “school ready” by the end of reception should receive support through a children’s plan, including, where needed, an extra year to meet key development milestones before starting Key Stage 1.
De Souza is expected to say on Monday: “My school census confirms what children have already told me: that they deeply value education, but where they need extra help, it should be easily accessible and available locally. School leaders have agreed, with powerful results, as they lay bare the challenge of filling the gaps left by years of neglecting other services, without the structures and systems to support them.”
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said: “We’ve inherited a system that has failed generations and left teachers carrying the weight of society’s broken safety net. But we are changing that — with mental health support in every school, expanding free school meals, and overhauling children’s social care through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.”
The government is expected to set out its reforms to the Send system in a white paper this autumn.