A group of families with children who are labeled as "school refusers" are planning to initiate legal proceedings against the government to challenge the rules on truancy that allow them to be fined and prosecuted. Working alongside lawyers, the parents seek a judicial review of the school attendance regulations which label their children as "truants." The families argue that severe anxiety suffered by their children should be treated as a mental health issue rather than an attendance one. The children, in many cases, have underlying conditions, such as autism or attention disorders, that are not being adequately supported due to budget cuts to special educational needs and disability (Send) in schools and councils.
A joint report published last week by the cross-party education select committee has concluded that the government’s Send reforms failed children and “setting local authorities up to fail.” The issue is compounded by the lack of provision for mental health in the country. Affected pupils with "school phobia" are unable to obtain the medical evidence required to be classed on registers as an authorized absence rather than a truant.
These families plan to raise funds through crowdfunding platform CrowdJustice and legal aid to mount a legal challenge against the Department for Education’s absence codes and guidance. They claim that these discriminate against those with school attendance problems who are deprived of support.
In 2017-18, 783,425 pupils were classified as persistent absentees. In addition, 325,685 of all pupil absences were recorded as "more than 25 days." In the same period, local authorities issued 260,000 penalty notices to parents for unauthorized absences, an increase of 110,000 from the previous year.
An organization that provides support to families dealing with school attendance difficulties, Not Fine In School (NFIS), has 8,200 members in its closed Facebook group. On average, 24 new members join NFIS daily since September. Beth Bodycote, founder of NFIS, said: "We have almost 5,000 members posting on a daily basis. Their painful stories repeatedly illustrate the lack of appropriate understanding and support for attendance difficulties."
Colette Reid, a social worker from Manchester whose 14-year-old son James experienced anxiety due to going to school, said that she has been through a terrifying experience concerning the matter. The teenager has autism and ADHD but began at a mainstream secondary school without an educational, health, and care (EHC) plan, a document that outlines the support that must be in place to assist a pupil. Consequently, he had no extra support in class, break times, or elsewhere.
As James’s school phobia escalated, his absences were recorded as truancy. According to his mother, teachers blamed her for his failure to attend. Although his mother attempted to obtain support and explain James’s anxiety to teachers and council staff, she was fined £60 and later prosecuted. However, after representing herself in court, she received an absolute discharge by magistrates who said they "understood how challenging it was raising a child like James."
Fran Morgan, the founder of Square Peg, one of the organizations behind the legal move, said: "The term ‘school refuser’ is controversial as these are children who want to attend school but are unable to do so for reasons outside their control. School special needs budgets have been slashed, and cuts mean support staff are no longer there. Waiting lists for access to the child and adolescent mental health service are unacceptably long, and the thresholds to qualify for any kind of help are unacceptably high. At the same time, academic pressure is being piled on pupils. It is a perfect storm and a lot of children can’t cope."
According to a representative from the Department for Education, it is imperative that no student be removed from school without a valid justification. The guidance given to schools in this regard is unambiguous: they must sanction absences that result from illnesses affecting both physical as well as mental health.
