Educator;
Dad of 4;
Headteacher 2011-2023;
Navigating chronic illness;
Wearing many hats;
Music fan;
Writer;
Square Peg Associate;
Hope, always
Dec 12 • 31 tweets • 5 min read
Over the last two years, I've been chronicling our family's journey, as one of our daughters has suffered from an anxiety disorder. I've written regular Tweets and blogs about her health, the impact on her life (including school attendance) and her recovery and reintegration.
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Sharing our journey has been helpful for us as parents as we have tried to make sense of what was happening. More importantly, we have wanted to let others in similar positions know that they are not alone, and to give people hope.
Sep 26 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Here in the UK, we are now in the sixth school year of the global pandemic. 🧵
Schools, colleges and childcare settings everywhere are still struggling with the levels of staff absence.
Schools everywhere are still struggling with the levels of pupil absence.
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Children & adults are repeatedly falling ill, with an immeasurable (sometimes irreversible) cost to their physical & mental health.
Many pupils & staff have developed chronic illness, complex health conditions & even become disabled, either by single or repeated infection.
Sep 19 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
School Attendance and Illness 🧵
The biggest cause of pupil absence from UK schools is illness.
(It's the biggest cause of staff absence too.)
The biggest cause of persistent absenteeism is illness.
The biggest cause of school absence internationally is also illness.
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Of course, this is not new and it shouldn’t surprise anyone. Illness has always been the biggest cause of children’s absence from school, but the illness related absence of pupils has increased significantly since the pre-pandemic era.
Sep 11 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
Another day, another parent receives a very serious letter in the post.
Their child's school attendance level has triggered legal action under the Single Justice Procedure.
The parent has to respond by telling the magistrate if they are guilty or not guilty.
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If the child's attendance level is as stated, the parent can only declare themselves guilty to the magistrate. They may provide some context. This might mitigate the sentence but it can't change the "guilty" status.
There is no right of appeal.
Apr 28 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
The Invisible Problem (in Front of our Eyes)🧵
Imagine every school, college and childcare setting in the country had a serious asbestos problem.
The asbestos problem wasn't exclusive to educational settings but it was particularly prevalent there.
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The asbestos was known to be making many children ill - regularly, repeatedly, chronically.
For some, it even caused disability.
Staff were also ill and regularly too unwell to work.
Many staff.
The asbestos didn't discriminate.
Apr 23 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Mental Health, School Attendance and Mixed Messages about "Medical Evidence" - A Thread
If you're the parent or carer of a child who is living with mental health issues and struggling to attend school regularly, you'll likely want three things more than anything...
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1. For your child to be well.
2. For everything to just be normal.
3. Support, from family, friends, school, medical professionals and "the system".
For 1 and 2 to happen, you depend on 3.
The child needs to be wrapped in everybody's care.
The family needs to be supported.
Mar 20 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
Anxiety and Part-time Timetables - A Thread
When children are unwell and struggling to attend school due to anxiety, one of the approaches often taken is to put them on a part-time timetable. This might, for example, be as part of an EBSA pathway or within a Pastoral Plan.
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Sadly, the majority of part-time timetables are not successful when it comes to children with anxiety.
By 'not successful', I mean two things. Firstly, that the arrangement ultimately doesn't lead to the pupil's return to full time education in their original setting.
Feb 28 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
Prioritising Health in Schools - A Thread
It's early 2024 - four years since the emergence of a global pandemic.
We know that pupil absences are currently very high.
Children's absence, relating to ill health, has increased by more than 50% since the pre-pandemic era.
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We know staff absences are currently very high.
Teacher absence, relating to ill health, has increased by more than 50% since the pre-pandemic era.
We know that illness is rife:
Chronic illness.
Recurring illness
Physical illness.
Mental illness.
Viruses...
Oct 20, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Recovering from Anxiety - A Thread of Hope
This time last year, my daughter - then aged 11 - had begun to suffer from anxiety.
She masked at first, but she was struggling. As time passed, the worries became more dominant and we began to see her physical health deteriorate.
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By January of this year, the worries had taken over and my daughter was consumed by an anxiety disorder.
School attendance had become an issue but, more pressing than that, my wife and I were really concerned about our daughter's health and well-being.
Jul 16, 2023 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
Some Truths about Education -
A Thread
My daughter is one of the 1.8 million pupils currently classed as persistently absent from school.
She's not lazy.
My daughter was one of the 1.4 million under-18s referred to mental health services in 2022.
The trauma is real.
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Our family is one of hundreds of thousands of families whose lives have been turned upside down by their child's struggles.
