Children in tears over school prom ban for lack of attendance and homework
A school has been accused of unfairly banning children from their prom in a 'carrot and stick' approach over class attendance that has reportedly left dozens unable to go.
Kepier Academy in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, told students last year that if they failed to hit attendance targets for each term they would not be eligible for the leavers' party in June.
The criteria was 96 per cent attendance from September to January, 97 per cent from February to mid-March and 100 per cent from mid-March to April. It also included requirements on behaviour and homework.
The school, run by the Eden Learning Trust, is the latest to stop pupils attending proms due to absence from school, with leaders across the country attempting to tackle the issue.
Latest figures show there was a 7.1 per cent absence rate across schools in England in 2023/24 - much higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 4.7 per cent in 2018/19.
And despite support for Kepier Academy's approach by the Association of School and College Leaders, some parents have reacted with anger. The BBC report at least 30 teenagers have been told they cannot attend the prom on 26 June.
Some have even attempted to set up an alternative event to allow the children to celebrate the end-of-school moment - but a lack of interest has seen the idea dropped.
One mother told The Independent her son was ruled out from the prom earlier in the school year because of the 'really strict' criteria.
She said: 'Sometime poor attendance can't be helped. In my son's case he's actually under a consultant at the hospital and was undergoing tests and missing school due to sickness.
'Once he was punished [told he cannot go to the prom] for that his behaviour just became worse as he thought there was no point.'
Another mother told the BBC that her daughter had been banned from going because she had difficulty keeping up with homework after struggling with mental health.
She said: "My daughter came home from school crying her eyes out feeling she wasn't worthy. It broke her heart.'
Another parent said: 'I think it's disgraceful with... children who want to go to prom and can't.'
The measure to improve school attendance has been used by schools across the country for years.
Earlier this month, education secretary Bridget Phillipson called on headteachers to take responsibility on improving school attendance.
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'We support school leaders in the actions they take to promote good attendance.
'There is strong and consistent evidence that poor attendance leads to lost learning and has a clear negative impact on academic achievement and long-term outcomes.
'Schools are required to promote regular attendance through accountability measures and statutory duties, and they work incredibly hard to do so. We would like to see more support from the government through the provision of more attendance officers to work with families to remove barriers to regular attendance.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Five Lincolnshire primary schools to get hubs to help SEND pupils
Plans for hubs to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at five primary schools across Lincolnshire have been centres will provide a learning environment for pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) while still remaining within the mainstream school County Council said said there had been a "significant" rise in demand for SEND places across the Oliver, executive member for children's services, said the hubs were "an incredibly important and necessary step forward in improving the lives of children and their families". The hubs will be based at Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School in Grantham, The Meadows Primary School in Lincoln, St George's Church of England Primary School in Gainsborough, Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School and Church Lane Primary School in a council meeting on Friday where the plans were approved, it was heard the hubs will cost more than £7m and were being funded by the Department for McMorrow, the council's programme manager for the SEND and inclusion team, said special schools were oversubscribed despite an additional 527 pupil places over the last four years. The meeting was told that Lincolnshire had significantly more students with SEND than the national average, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Martin Smith, assistant director of children's education, said that nationally 4.2% of children have an EHCP, compared to 4.9% of children in councillor Stephen Roe said: "This has given a fantastic opportunity for some of our young people to not have to travel so far to get the education they need but also to get them involved in mainstream education which is very important."I have friends with children who have gone through mainstream school who probably wouldn't have normally and it has enhanced their opportunities."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Grade-school math sum leaves people scratching their heads... can you solve the simple problem in 30 seconds?
What seemed like a regular grade school math problem had people totally stumped on social media. The equation 9 x 3 - 9 shared by @BholanathDutta on X left social media users completely mystified. So, are you smarter than a fourth grader? Or better yet, the average adult on X? See if you can solve this equation in 30 seconds or less. But first, here's a hint: Ever heard of PEMDAS? The age-old acronym guides you through the proper order for solving a complicated calculation like this one. It stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and then Subtraction. Using that method, the solution is easy. There are no parentheses or exponents, so multiplication is first. 9 x 3 = 27 Then, the equation reads: 27 - 9 ÷ 3 But before doing any subtraction, PEMDAS implies that division is next. 9 ÷ 3 = 3 Now, it's painless. 27 - 3 = 24 Did you get it right? Commenters under the original X post made the common error of solving the math sum left to right, instead of utilizing the elementary principle. First they multiplied. 9 x 3 = 27 Then, subtracted. 27 - 9 = 18 And then divided. 18 ÷ 3 = 6 A few people even, inexplicably, got 9 as their answer. It had to take some mental gymnastics to find that solution. Sure, a calculator could be an easy shortcut. But, nothing beats the satisfaction of solving a problem yourself.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Mary Higgs: How woman went undercover in workhouses in 1900s
In 1904, a woman left her terraced house in Oldham, disguised in old clothes and pretending to be travelled to a common lodging house and what she found there left her is the story of Mary Higgs, who went undercover to expose the awful conditions in workhouses and common lodging houses in the early story is the latest to feature in BBC Radio Manchester's Hidden Manchester series. The mother-of-four was born in Wiltshire before moving to Bradford due to her father's 1891, she relocated to Oldham after her husband, Reverend Thomas Higgs, was given a job as a minister at Greenacres Congregational Talbot, who has written a book about Mrs Higgs's life, said: "When she came to Oldham she had found her sphere."She found things that she could actually do."It was during this time that Mrs Higgs became concerned about the conditions women faced at workhouses and in common lodging houses so she decided to go undercover alongside a friend. Dr Samantha Shave, a historian with expertise in British welfare policies, said: "The conditions were not great at all. They were very unhealthy in many ways. She would have encountered very stale food, innutritious food. "The bedding could have been full of vermin."After enduring five nights undercover, Mrs Higgs published a report on her investigation had the desired effect, causing shock and uproar. "For this period of time wasn't Higgs clever," said Ms Shave."She knew how to generate public attention for her cause. "She was able to gain evidence by observing and experiencing conditions at this time for women who were homeless." Royal recognition Later that year, Mrs Higgs was called to give evidence before a government inquiry. "She took the opportunity to offer constructive solutions to what she saw as the many inadequacies of the system," said Ms Talbot. She described Mrs Higgs, who was awarded an OBE for her work, as a "driving force" for change, helping to bring about better regulations for women's lodgings, advocating for welfare changes and helping to support many people within her community. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
