Fearful parents who keep their children out of the classroom when schools fully reopen in September can expect an “understanding” approach, a meeting heard.
Milton Keynes Council is working with local schools to help them get ready for the big reopening at the start of the new school year in the autumn… and has the power to fine parents if their kids don’t turn up.
“There are national figures going around to say that 20 per cent of parents are concerned about their children returning in September,” said Mac Heath, the director of children’s services at a meeting on Wednesday.
Dr Heath said the Government is pushing non attendance fines, currently £60 per parent as the way to approach the issue.
But he told the covid-19 task and finish group that he did not agree that was the best course of action.
“What we need to do is recognise the different anxieties there are for different parents. That’s our Plan A, to encourage children back into school and encourage and understand what are the barriers they feel would stop that.”
He said there is a “real concern and genuine worry”.
“I think what we need to do is work with parents and families to mitigate that and help them understand is that actually the best interests of their children are likely to be found within schools.”
The council is looking at the challenge of how to “re socialise” children during the summer break so they are ready for school from September.
All the city’s schools have been open to certain year groups, and key worker children, during the pandemic.
Overall attendance has been at about 16 per cent, which is above the national average, a report to the meeting showed.
Dr Heath says they are looking at ways to provide the best “catch up” education for children who have “not seen the light of day for six months.”
But he said the evidence is that catch up education is best provided by a teacher in a classroom.
He added that children themselves will be a factor when they they they want to go back to school to see their friends.
The specially set up task and finish group is focusing on lessons learned from the pandemic, while individual scrutiny committees are looking at areas in depth.
Tuesday’s meeting of the children and young people scrutiny committee heard that some young people haven’t been receiving school work during the lockdown.
Dr Heath said: “There might be some young people who, come September, it will be six months since they’ve actually engaged in work.
“There have been opportunities for some to come into school, either their parents felt that was too vulnerable a place for them and they didn’t want to go ahead with that, or the young people themselves were saying that made them different from their friends who weren’t attending school.
“We want to understand what provision and what response we need to make in September.”
