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Written evidence submitted by Chance UK

Chance UK is a London-based charity delivering services across the UK. We have over 25 years’
experience working with children who have faced trauma in their childhood. We use evidence-based
interventions to respond to each child’s individual needs. Through one-to-one mentoring, group
sessions and school workshops, our team of experts support children to develop the skills they need
to build a brighter future. We offer the child’s family specialist support to build their knowledge,
skills and personal resilience. Where needed, we also work with the child’s school and any other
support service involved.

Reason for Submitting

We are submitting a response to the call for evidence because we have an accumulation of over 25
years of expertise of working with some of the most vulnerable families, children and young people
in London – and have witnessed how vulnerability and school engagement has been impacted
negatively since the events of 2020.

Last year, 35% of children we supported had social care involvement, 65% were accessing, or were
on the waiting list for CAMHS support,45% had experience of domestic violence 71% were eligible
for free school meals (up 20% from pre pandemic levels) 13% had links/experiences with the
criminal justice system, 23% were excluded from school and 56% were affected by parental factors,
e.g., substance misuse and mental health. Many of these children experienced difficulties across
multiple areas of their lives - 84% of children impacted by Criminal Justice were also receiving Free
School Meals, and 48% who had social care involvement were impacted by parental addiction.

Submission

We welcome this inquiry into persistent absence, particularly the focus on understanding the causes
of absence and what support is needed. We urge the Education Committee to put the child’s
outcomes at the centre of this inquiry, and to keep an open mind about what factors emerge as
those causing absence and how children can be supported. As an organisation who has delivered
services across London and the UK since 1995, we have seen an increase in the complexity–
heightened in recent years for example we have had a 20% increase in the number of children
accessing Free School Meals and indication of worsening economic circumstance. As a service, we
have recently changed our operating model to introduce professional Youth Workers due to the
increased complexity of cases and safeguarding concerns including self-harm and suicidal ideation in
children of primary school age. This enables us to better meet the needs of an increasingly
vulnerable population.

Based on our nearly three decades of experience supporting children with complex childhoods, we
would like to focus our submission on five primary areas of learning:

1. Trauma-informed Approach

We believe all schools should take a holistic trauma-informed approach to absence, supported by
significant financial investment to enable schools to invest fully in training, higher staffing ratios and
the additional expertise needed to create a successful whole-schools approach. One in three
children experience trauma in their childhood (source: The Lancet Psychiatry) This exposure can
have a life-long impact on the child’s wellbeing, behaviour, attainment, attendance and future life
chances.
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Schools which don’t recognise that all behaviour, including absence, is communication, and who
don’t seek to understand the “why” behind what they see, damage the bond of trust between
themselves and the child. We have seen that persistent absence can be a symptom of a much more
complex environment that a child is a part of, and to simply focus on the absence would be denying
the wider context – persistent absence does not occur in isolation.

Throughout this work, we would strongly urge a holistic and supportive approach in understanding
the whole picture rather than reaching for punitive measures early on.

2. Wellbeing At the Centre

We are currently amid a national mental health crisis, and we cannot under-estimate the impact this
has had on children. As they are, waiting list times mean children and young people aren’t getting
the support they need, when they need it. A child struggling with their mental health, such as
significant anxiety, will find it increasingly challenging to attend school consistently without the right
support. It is also important to note that this support is likely to be needed over the long-term and
the change in the child is incremental over time.

We would also argue that a child’s wellbeing must be the priority as the foundation for attainment
and attendance. Psychological and physical safety are pertinent to learning. Hidden struggles, unmet
or undiagnosed need will act as a barrier to establishing a foundation from which the child can learn.
An overly narrow focus on academic achievement in a school environment, where the pressure of
assignments, tests or making grades can add to overwhelming pressure to children who already live
complex lives. If we are serious about tackling attendance and attainment - then a broader look at
the school system and how to make this work for a wider range of children is needed.Only once a
child feels safe, well supported and valued will it be possible to look at tackling attendance. Our
team of youth workers work closely with schools and encourage professionals to see the wider
picture -that behaviour (including self -exclusion) is a way of communicating difficulties or distress
that the child may be unable to name and express let alone overcome. Whilst doing so they also help
the child to identify strategies to cope with what they are experiencing. We also see the impact of
poor parental mental health on children and their attendance. One of the schools we work with
explains, “access to adult mental health support … I can’t justify paying for it out of our school budget
but I know it’s the thing that that child needs to make them feel better, is I need their mum to feel
better.” There are established links between parental and child mental health and the outcomes for
both the child and their care giver. A system that acknowledges the needs of both parent and child,
and which helps empower them to build resilience will positively impact on the child’s attainment
and engagement in education. We can see this in the journey of one child who upon referral had an
attendance rate of 34% and are now showing an increased ability to engage with education and
school life.

3. Challenging Home Environments

We also see the impact of challenging home situations affecting children’s willingness and ability to
attend school. An example being a young carer to a parent whith three younger siblings. The
additional caring responsibilities for both parent and siblings have a significant effect on their ability
to attend school. Better support for young carers and their families, is essential in enabling school
attendance and to enable the child to engage in positive activities in a one-to-one setting which
provides an opportunity to build resilience, self-esteem and confidence and coping mechanisms.

4. Peer Relationships
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Our work has demonstrated children have suffered from a lack of socialisation through Covid-19,
however it is easy to overlook the capability and resilience they showed. Peer relationships are
pivotal to a child’s wellbeing, and we consistently see that a child struggling to have and maintain
healthy social relationships has wide-ranging impact. When a child loses faith that school is a safe
space or feels isolated from their peers for any reason, absence can be a form of self-exclusion,
enabling a child to control or at least avoid challenging situations. This underlying cause of absence
needs to be better understood by schools. Youth workers can build a trusted relationship and
rapport with the child often leading to disclosures that other professionals are unaware of. The
team are then able to support the school and parent to respond as well as providing wrap around
and in school support to encourage the =to express themselves and engage with those around them
through pro social behaviour and strengthened social and emotional skills.

Covid-19 naturally made school transitions harder, whether moving school or transitioning from
primary to secondary, making settling into school and building those vital peer relations more
difficult

The increasing digitalisation of life has also meant that growing portions of a child’s life are at risk of
being misunderstood, hidden or unknown by parents and guardians. There is significant need to
increase awareness and understanding of appropriate online safety as we see increasing numbers of
children developing relationships online, often without strong knowledge of boundaries and
personal safety, heightening the risk of toxic relationships.

The lack of support available through the pandemic, including through schools and social services,
compounded the risks children have been, and continue to be exposed to. Children need role
models of good relationships and increasingly we see the need to develop what a healthy
relationship looks like. A focus and awareness of healthy relationships is key to building the
confidence, resilience and self-esteem to combat the negative influences children are open to online
or through peer-pressure.

5. Parent-School Relationship

Parent views and experiences of education can affect child’s expectations and understanding around
school. Similarly, our work supporting school transition has identified a need to work with the
parent to process their own experiences and understanding of this key moment in development to
support a child who is in or approaching the same milestone

A trauma informed approach to working with the child and parent (understanding their own
experience of education) can lead to greater educational and social outcomes. These are worsened
if learning needs have not been identified and are left unmet with a fear that their child will face the
same experience.

There is a significant bridge to build with some families, to break that cycle of mistrust and to change
the dynamic from paternalistic to a positive, collaborative effort to jointly support the child to realise
their potential. Our practice sees youth workers and parent support workers come together to form
a team around the family to adopt a unified way of communicating, listening and supporting children
at home, and in the school environment. Working with and agreeing a strategy to encourage school
attendance is more effective and results in a more cohesive approach than a punitive system.

Summary

Our experience shows that persistent absence is a symptom of a myriad of complex and challenging
causes unique to each child. For this reason alone, we urge the inquiry to consider exploring wider
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system mapping to understand this issue in the detail it deserves. To focus on the presentation of
absence alone would be a disservice to children and young people, denying them their multifaceted
and personalised narratives. We welcome this inquiry and hope it leads to a greater level of support
for children and young people in all areas of their lives, enabling them to engage fully in a school
experience and ultimately reach their potential.

February 2023