A Call for Support, Understanding and More Choice in Education.
On the 20th October, Emerald Education will be heading to Downing Street in support of families asking for understanding, support and meaningful educational options when their children are struggling to attend school.
We’ve been invited to join Maddie and Susan, the parents behind a Change.org petition calling for changes to the way families facing barriers to school attendance are supported.
Their campaign grew from their own experiences and those shared with them by other families, particularly where children were struggling to attend school and parents felt the response focused on attendance enforcement rather than addressing the reasons behind their child’s absence.
It’s a conversation we believe matters.
This isn’t about mainstream vs home education
Emerald Education isn’t going to Downing Street because we believe mainstream education is wrong. For many children and young people, school works brilliantly. But it doesn’t work for everybody.
When a child is struggling to attend, we believe the conversation needs to go beyond simply asking “How do we get them back into school?” It also needs to ask: Why are they struggling? What support do they need? And could there be another way for them to access a meaningful education?
Current government guidance itself sets out responsibilities for schools and local authorities to support pupils and families where there are barriers to attendance, alongside the legal interventions available when those approaches do not work or are not appropriate.
Education shouldn’t have one route
This is where the conversation particularly resonates with us at Emerald. We want to see an education system with room for different learners, different circumstances and different ways of learning. Traditional education can be one route but it doesn’t have to be the only route.
When a family is already struggling to find an education that works for their child, the answer shouldn’t simply be greater pressure. We believe families need access to genuine support and appropriate educational options.
Maddie and Susan put it powerfully in their campaign: “Support isn’t being fined, and imprisoning us wouldn’t have helped our children obtain an education, but it would have torn our families apart. We need more local authority funding for alternatives to mainstream education, so that our kids can be in schools that are right for them.”
It’s that call for support and greater access to suitable education that Emerald will be standing behind on 20 October.
Why Emerald will be there
Emerald Education was created around a simple belief: education should be designed for the individual. That doesn’t mean turning our backs on schools. It means recognising that education can take different forms and asking how our wider education system can better accommodate those differences. Families shouldn’t have to reach breaking point before another educational route becomes part of the conversation.
On 20 October, we’ll be joining Maddie, Susan and other supporters at Downing Street as they bring that conversation directly to the heart of government. And for a very new Emerald Education, we can’t think of a more meaningful place to start.
Want to show your support?
Read and sign Maddie and Susan’s petition, share it with others who may be affected, and keep an eye on our social channels as we take you with us to Downing Street on 20 October.
https://www.change.org/p/updated-attendance-guidance-encourages-prosecution-and-fines-of-families-facing-barriers-to-attendance-undiagnosed-children-with-send-are-particularly-at-risk-please-don-t-criminalise-our-families
