Education is our biggest tool when it comes to changing the lives of young people and creating widespread, long-term change, and right now, it is failing.
In recent years, we’ve seen the landscape of education shift dramatically – social isolation, online learning and disrupted exams created unrecognisable new forms of teaching and learning. This disturbance had detrimental effects for thousands of students, but it also had the potential to be a catalyst for greater change, an opportunity for a re-evaluation and renovation of the education system. Instead, many students returned to an education system that had only deteriorated; original problems had been left to fester and grow, whilst curriculums remained in a state of inertia, unreflective of a changed and changing world.
Now, many thousands of children across the country dread going to school every single day.
There are increased conversations surrounding falling rates of attendance, and yet, the root causes of this decline continue to go unrecognised. For so many children and young people, particularly those who are disabled or neurodivergent, the education system actively works against them, leaving them vulnerable, scared and anxious, trying to fit into a mould of success that only suppresses them.
As a student myself who has faced difficulties within education, these conversations around attendance are frustrating. In my experience, students regularly not attending school comes as a method of survival, rather than simply ‘skiving.’
And how can we blame young people, when seeking support is still so inaccessible?
In my own school, the pastoral support team was behind a locked door – sending a direct message to students that their wellbeing was not their priority. In order to even be able to speak with a staff member, students had to go through a convoluted and exceedingly public process of arranging a meeting.
For students struggling with anxiety, this kind of process is not a realistic way of them seek help – and this is before any action has been made to actually provide support. It goes without saying that it should be made as easy as possible for students to reach out for help.
Schools are our biggest assets in improving the lives of young people, and we must utilise this - they should be the first port of call when it comes to ensuring the safety, happiness and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK.
Overall, the education system has so much potential to create drastic, long-term change. It's a long-held criticism that school doesn’t teach people enough life skills, and I think in today's world, this holistic approach is more vital than ever.
My generation are the first to grow up perpetually aware of everything going on in the world all of the time. How do we even begin to know how to navigate existing in a world like that? How do we remain afloat, let alone hopeful and ambitious, when we are surrounded by a world that seems to be splitting at the seams? I would love to see a greater guidance from schools regarding these issues of simply being human.
My vision for education is a system that empowers young people, rather than wears them down. I see a future where different ways of thinking and different ways of being are not only accepted, but celebrated. I see a future where our definition of success is expansive and all-embracing. I see a future filled with curiosity, creativity, and compassion.
Evie is a guest contributor and writes from North Walsham
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