ET-JUL22-PG30-35.qxp_Page 6 07/07/2022 14:07 Page 30
Views & Opinion Safe over the summer? Comment by Dr ASHA PATEL, CEO of education not-for-profit Innovating Minds
When you say goodbye to children in your class in July, it may be the last time you see some of them. Some young people will be leaving school or moving house. But a number may just disappear. Many teachers will be
concerned about individual pupils in their school. Lockdown showed us that children were not necessarily safe in their own homes and many missed the routine and comfort of being in a safe space and interacting with friends. This summer, the holiday season could be a challenge for them. On 5th June this year, the Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de
Souza, wrote: ‘My mission is to make attendance everyone’s business. I want 100% attendance on the first day back to school in September and to achieve this we need to work together now to ensure that no child falls through the cracks. Last term almost 1 in 4 children were persistently absent (missing over 10% of their sessions).’ I talked to Nikki Holmes whose company Safer Together has
just started to work with Innovating Minds. She is keen to find ways for different sectors to come together to support children and young people who are being exploited or harmed. A member of West Midlands Police for eight years, she worked with young people who had committed ‘significant and serious offences.’ What she found was that in many cases these children had also been victims of abuse. Now she and her colleagues work with academies, trusts,
councils and Clinical Commissioning Groups to help them to identify and better serve the needs of these vulnerable children and to look out for those at risk.
Don’t target just the obvious cases Her key message is that schools and other interested parties need to ‘widen the lens’. Obviously, there are children who are already known to services. Some will attend sporadically; others will be out of education. She finds that too often preventative work focuses on secondary school pupils. She told me: ‘We need go further downstream and start that education early. It’s hard because we are dealing with very adult topics and we need to look at how we break down some of those messages for younger children. This is especially important during the summer holidays when they are out of normal routines, perhaps away from friendship groups, bored and lonely.’ It's not just those young people where family dysfunction is a
30
www.education-today.co.uk
factor who are at risk during summer holidays. Since Covid, parents may have returned to an office or be working long hours, split shifts and not have easy access to childcare. Economic pressures have been exacerbated by rises in the cost of living and parents may be physically and emotionally absent this summer. Schools can help by identifying and signposting what is
available locally and publishing it on their website. Holiday activities and Food Programmes operate in most authorities but some parents will need help or encouragement to access these, or for someone at school to set up an online account on their behalf. Look out for arts activities. Many of these are last minute and have short term funding so may not be on the usual websites. Museums, heritage sites and theatres sometimes have day or weeklong events. ‘I think sometimes we can overlook the services offered by the
voluntary sector,’ said Nikki. ‘Many of these organisations are really skilled at building connections and working in a trauma- informed way. Look at food banks and schemes that feed children in the holidays because hungry children may do things that they would not normally do, just to get food.’
Talk to the child All too often we hand out information but don’t target individual children. Try to involve young people more. Tell them: ‘You are going to be out of education for six weeks. We don't want you to be bored, we don't want you to feel lonely. What can we get you involved in? What might you like to do?’ It can be hard work getting a response but it is better than waving a leaflet about basketball under a child’s nose when they have no interest in sport. Make sure children know where to turn for help. Childline is a
frontline service that deals directly with children. Their website says: ‘During the holidays it’s important to be aware of where you can get help if you need to. If you’re concerned about your own safety or the safety of a friend you can contact a Childline counsellor for free on 0800 1111. Your call could be related to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, being a young carer or neglect. You can speak to us about anything and any time.’ When children return in September, make time to talk to them.
They won’t open up to routine questions such as ‘Did you have a good time this summer? Did you go away?’ You may need to dig deeper and avoid tokenistic enquiries. If a child seems to confide in a particular member of staff, make sure they talk to him or her. Children may find it hard to disclose their experiences and feelings but many of them who have experienced significant trauma or adversity have said. ‘I would have told somebody about this - if only they had asked.’
Innovating Minds
https://www.innovatingmindscic.com/ EduPod
https://www.myedupod.com/features-services Safer Together
www.safer-together.co.uk
July/August 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
