Parents say it’s voluntary for their child to go to school: Mom says ‘life is too short’ not to have a half-term break and another says her son is ‘too scared’ as report finds Covid caused a “seismic shift” with 24,700 student absences in one day alone

It was revealed today that parents in England are no longer of the opinion that their children need to go to school full-time, but are increasingly convinced that “life is too short” not to have school holidays and that they do not care about fines take care.

According to a report by consultancy Public First, lockdowns have led to a “seismic shift” in parents’ attitudes towards schooling, with children staying at home and half-term holidays now “socially acceptable”.

The study claims that pandemic closures and teacher strikes have damaged the social contract between schools and families, with 24,700 children missing out on education on a sample day in spring 2023.

This comes after Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, previously suggested that since the pandemic, students have been staying home from school on Fridays because their parents are at home.

A parent named Dominique says her son Elijah has been too “scared” to go to school since the “lockdown ended” – so he’s stopped going.

She said: “The children have been away for so long that they were really nervous when they came to school… especially my eldest son.” He suffers from a lot of anxiety and has attachment issues, so I felt like it was harder for me was to take my son to school.

“The first day I had to take him to school, I sat outside until 3 p.m. because I felt like something was wrong and something was going to happen.”

Since the pandemic, parents no longer believe their children need to go to school every day, according to a report

Covid-19 lockdowns have caused a “seismic shift” in parents’ attitudes towards full-time schooling, which will require a “monumental” effort to change, according to a study by consultancy Public First.

“As soon as he went to school and went to the playground, I felt like everything was too much for him, there are so many characters that he had to redefine himself as a child.”

“When he started coming back it was very, very difficult. There are always challenges and power struggles with other children and Elijah is one of those children who gets easily irritated and when other children see that it is all fun and games for them.

“They approached him, they harassed him, most of the time they were very physical with him, which affected him and stopped him from wanting to go to school. “It was a tough battle with him.”

Asked if the threat of fines worried her and others, she told the BBC: “It wouldn’t have made any difference because when they fine you they’re trying to scare you.”

“But on the other hand, there are parents who don’t care about fines and keep their children out of school just because of it, and the parents who actually have a hard time getting their children to school are ruined by it.”

A mother of two primary school children from Manchester who took part in the study said: “Before Corona my main concern was getting the children to school, you know, school attendance was a big thing. “Education was an important issue .

“After Covid I won’t lie to you, my attitude towards presence and absence now is like I don’t really care anymore. ‘Life is too short.’

A mother of a 15-year-old from Bristol added: “We always took her skiing in February half term to try and stay within the regulations.”

“Now I look back and think, why on earth did I do that? Why didn’t I just take her for a cheap week in January?’.

According to a report by consultancy Public First, the lockdowns have led to a “seismic shift” in parents’ attitudes towards schooling.

The study, which highlights findings from focus groups with parents, comes amid growing concerns about the rising number of children missing out on school in England.

This comes after Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, previously suggested that since the pandemic, students have been staying home from school on Fridays because their parents are at home.

It will take a “monumental” effort to change parents’ attitudes towards full-time care, the report concludes.

It says: “Before Covid, ensuring your child goes to school every day was considered a fundamental element of good parenting.”

“After the Corona crisis, parents no longer feel this way, but instead see school attendance as one of several – often competing – options or demands on their child in everyday life, against the background of a more holistic approach to daily life.” .’

It continued: “The parents agreed that not every school day can be that important because so much time has been lost due to lockdowns and strikes.”

“In addition, parents felt that other aspects of their lives were just as important as school attendance, if not more so.”

More than a fifth (22.3 per cent) of pupils in England were “persistently absent” – meaning they missed at least 10 per cent of their school hours – in the 2022/23 school year, government figures show.

This is significantly higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 10.9 percent in 2018/19.

The report calls for school absence fines to be reviewed and “potentially abolished” as it suggests they are failing to change parents’ behavior and are “undermining” relationships between schools and parents.

According to the report, the increase in mental health problems and the cost of living crisis are also among the factors contributing to higher rates of student absenteeism.

However, no evidence was found that the rise in parents working from home since Covid has encouraged more children to stay home from school

In June and July this year, researchers conducted eight online focus groups with parents of school-aged children in eight different locations across England.

The study also incorporated extensive research with practitioners working for the charity School-Home Support and a small number of student focus groups supported by the charity Khulisa.