As senior teachers have suffered a 13 per cent pay cut in real terms since 2010, it was reassuring to see that the Government was at least bringing something in education in line with inflation: parental fines for pupil absence.
As the NEU teachers union announced another ballot over strike action on pay, education secretary Gillian Keegan said that fines for pupil non-attendence would increase from £60 to £80, as part of a headline-grabbing crackdown.
It was welcomed by the zero tolerance brigade but even the Government’s new attendance tsar Rob Tarn admitted bigger fines would do little to improve attendance and it was more of a case of “convincing parents that the most important thing they can do is send their child to school every day.”
A tricky brief for the schools tasked with convincing the parents of autistic children that their noisy, understaffed local comprehensive is the best place for them: a report by the group Ambitious About Autism revealed that the number of autistic children persistently absent from school had increased 166 per cent in just four years.
Autistic children are staying away because their mental health needs are not being met, the charity’s chief executive said. Meanwhile, parents – desperate to find a scare special school place- are fined, and treated like criminals as they are called to explain themselves to the authorities.
It’s no wonder then that the number of children in England officially educated at home increased by more than 10,000 last autumn, with the figure blaming mental health reasons rising.
A relief then that the SEND crisis is finally getting the airtime is deserves: Robin Walker, chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, urged Jeremy Hunt to extend capital funding to create more school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
No doubt the private sector will continue to play a vital role in supporting SEND children, but even that hangs in the balance for many as the prospect of VAT on fees looms for those without an EHCP.
The SEND crisis may now have grabbed headlines, but will the Government step up the cash to give pupils what they really need?
Today’s budget revealed £105 million will indeed be spent opening 15 new special free schools, but no other extra money will be made available for state schools in general. Commentators have called the SEND schools commitment ‘a drop in the ocean’ compared to what it needs.