What learners need now

Prior to the pandemic, mainstream schools were saying they were unable to get timely support for students who needed more than they themselves could provide – particularly in respect of learners who needed CAMHS support and special schools were telling us that they were operating with over-commissioned places.
What has changed in 2023? We have, of course, experienced a pandemic during which many learners were not in school. We know from various reports, including from Ofsted’s Covid-19 briefings (2020), that the pandemic has had a negative impact upon all learners, including those with SEND.

The five areas of loss identified by Barry Carpenter, professor of mental health in education at Oxford Brookes University, and Matthew Carpenter, principal of Baxter College in Kidderminster, in their recovery curriculum back in April 2020 are still useful to guide our thinking almost three years on.

• Loss of routine.
• Loss of structure (writing skills have taken a particular hit).
• Loss of friendship (loss of social interaction).
• Loss of opportunity (mental distress; self-harm/eating disorders).
• Loss of freedom (loss of stamina and physical fitness).

As they state: “Those five losses can trigger the emergence of anxiety, trauma and bereavement in any child. The overall impact cannot be underestimated. It will cause a rapid erosion of the mental health state in our children.” (Carpenter & Carpenter, 2020). How true these words are as the latest NHS research shows that in young people aged 17 to 19 years, the rates of a probable mental disorder have risen from 10.1% in 2017 to 25.7% in 2022. That means in a five-year period we have gone from 1 in 10 to 1 to 4 (Newlove-Delgado et al, 2022).

Meanwhile, 18% of seven to 16-year-olds are now considered to have a probable mental health disorder, up from 12.1% in 2017. It is no wonder our services are creaking.
These learners are in our schools, and often unable to access external support. We are hearing daily from leaders that they are seeing an increase in worrying behaviours. We heard from students at an event we held in December 2022 how they were finding it hard to re-adjust to the rhythm of the school day. We heard from teachers and leaders that learners had lost social skills and the ability to manage some social situations leading to more arguments and altercations. Yet all we hear from government is the need to catch up on lost learning. There is no acknowledgement that what many learners need goes beyond academic learning but goes to the roots of our humanity.

School leaders, teachers and support staff are stepping up to the mark and meeting the needs of learners. At times they are going outside their comfort zones in order to meet the needs of learners they would not ordinarily teach.

They see the lasting negative impact the pandemic has had on some learners and are doing everything they can to support them in a system where the government only seems to value GCSEs, progress 8, phonics and multiplication tests.

That is why SSAT along with school leaders, academics and partners came together in December 2022 to talk about the crisis in childhood. The outcome of the seminar was the development of a Children’s Charter which has six principles. We are asking schools in all phases and contexts, nationally (and internationally) to sign up to and pledge their commitment to bringing the charter to life.