Responding to a new survey of teachers from Action for Children
which found around 3.3 million pupils are facing barriers to
their education because of issues outside of school, Paul
Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:
“Children cannot simply forget about challenges they are facing
at home or in the community when they walk through the school
gates.
“Issues like poverty, mental ill-health and domestic abuse have a
massive impact upon children, and harm their ability to attend
school and focus and thrive when they are there, and this risks
baking in disadvantage from one generation to the next.
“School leaders and teachers tell us they are seeing more pupils
who are struggling, and while they do their best to help, they
lack the time, resources and expertise.
“The community services schools may have referred pupils to in
the past are often harder to access or have been lost entirely
after years of government funding cuts, and this is having a
devastating impact upon children, parents and schools.
“We need much more investment in vital services like children's
social care and mental health services, and in tackling child
poverty, so that families get help at an early stage, before
problems escalate.
“NAHT's own survey of its members last autumn, found that of the
51% of school leaders who are considering leaving the profession
within the next three years for reasons other than retirement,
61% said they felt helpless or overwhelmed in offering pupils
pastoral support.”
