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Shim's avatar

All this attendance rhetoric is about conformity. It’s not in the interest of the children’s or their families. “Do this or you’re a failure. Then go to work and do that or you’re a failure.” Be part of our system or we’ll label you a failure.

It’s so toxic.

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Catherine Woolley's avatar

As a neurodivergent adult who ‘succeeded’ at school but now is still struggling with mental health issues that were indoctrinated into my brain by the demands of school, I refuse to let my neurodivergent children suffer the way I did. I came out with good grades which did enable me to get to university and train to be a teacher (which I did for 23 years with SEND children), but the cost was not one I would in hindsight pay. My children are home schooled so they can develop more skills than regurgitating knowledge. The things I remember from school are not the facts I was taught - most of them were forgotten straight after exams - but the attitude of teachers and the cruelty of my peers. The best thing we did as parents was to stop *making* our kids attend school - they were immediately happier in themselves and feel able to express their individuality rather than trying to conform.

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