The 2024-25 academic year has started with a barrage of worrying statistics and reports about the mental, educational, social and economic health of the children in our schools.
The Children’s Society’s The Good Childhood Report 2024 states that on measures such as feeling safe in school, belonging and long-term school absences, the UK performed poorly in relation to the rest of Europe. Notably the UK had the second highest level of bullying in the continent.
The Guardian reports a troubling increase in children needing treatment for anxiety.
The Education Policy Institute reports that the gap in attainment between children in disadvantage and their more affluent peers remains at a level significantly higher than before the pandemic.
The number of pupils registered as having special educational needs has increased again, to 18.4 per cent of children in England.
Protecting pupils’ wellbeing
The numbers of permanent exclusions and suspensions have risen considerably, with persistent disruptive behaviour stated as the reason for 39 per cent of permanent exclusions.
We can argue that many of these are long-term, system-level challenges that schools have limited influence over. But what if there was a small change that we could all make that might lead to a big transformational effect for some of our students who struggle the most?
Few studies have systematically explored the lived experiences of pupils over time, but a recently published study by Hargreaves, Quick and Buchanan (2024) opens a window on to the self-perceptions of low-attaining primary school children as they moved through school, from the beginning of key stage 2 and into secondary.
In this longitudinal study, researchers followed the academic progress of 23 students, completing termly interviews with them. The data was collated into the life histories of the participants, revealing some insightful (and upsetting) themes.
Even from the age of 7, lower-attaining children often reported feeling less worthy than children who understood better and received higher grades. These lower-attaining children reported feeling inferior and excluded from their peers and their teachers.
One child, aged 9, described how his teachers deliberately walked past him and did not talk to him much because they could not read his handwriting.
The children felt that they were denied opportunities to participate in the mainstream school processes (both academic and social). By the end of the study, most of the students were withdrawn socially, emotionally and educationally.
However, there is hope. One student, named Fin, showed a more positive trajectory than the others. By the end of the study, when Fin was in secondary, he was achieving at the level of his peers and was engaged in social activities within school.
So, what made the difference for him? Creating close, affirming relationships; with his dog, with a friend like himself and with a single teacher. These special relationships helped him to feel represented and valued, and encouraged him to perceive himself as seen.
Although it is perhaps unfeasible for every child to have a dog, we can make sure that every child has positive, affirming relationships with their teachers. We can notice and care. Each one of us can have a positive influence on our worlds and those within them. As the new term starts, small changes could result in a life-changing experience for a child.
Megan Dixon is a doctoral student and associate lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
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