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The Independent
09-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
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.'
BBC News
09-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Houghton-le-Spring Kepier Academy criticised over prom tickets
Parents have criticised the way a school has allocated prom tickets, saying it is "cruel" and puts extra pressure on pupils at Kepier Academy, in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, have not been invited to the school prom because their attendance is too low or they have fallen behind with their parents say health issues or struggles with school work have not been taken into school is part of the Eden Learning Trust which has been approached for a comment. One parent, who asked not to be named, said: "I understand if they are really badly behaved, but half of these kids are not badly behaved."It's because they've struggled to manage their homework or they've struggled with school life."I think they [the school] are a disgrace."It's just cruel." Schools commonly have rules for proms which make admittance conditional on meeting set levels of attendance or standards of event is due to take place on 26 June with at least 30 teenagers not permitted to attend, the BBC said it was "disgraceful" as they had also not been able to go to a leavers' assembly at primary school because of the Covid-19 pandemic. One mother said her daughter was well-behaved and had good attendance but had difficulty keeping up with homework after struggling with her mental health and was now feeling "isolated" and "left out"."My daughter came home from school crying her eyes out feeling she wasn't worthy," she said."It broke her heart."A class chart penalised students too harshly, sometimes taking away points for forgetting a pen or a ruler, she added. "The kids have been on yo-yos all the way through because they knew they had to get these behavioural points to get to proms," she said."This has been extra pressure on top of the children." Other students were stopped from going to the prom because of low attendance, which their parents said was due to health parent, Miss Peterson, who asked for her first name not to be used, said her daughter missed out on a ticket after her attendance dropped when she was unwell."I think it's disgraceful with all the other children who want to go to prom and can't," she said."These are the kids who didn't have leavers' assemblies at primary school because of Covid and now the school's taken away the prom from them." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
