Jun 15, 2022, BBC News: Pupils missing school need more help - report https://www.bbc.com/news/education-61786325
Children need more support to get them into school full-time, as mental-health problems surge, a report says.
Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are among those currently being let down in England's schools, the report by children's commissioner Rachel de Souza says.
Concern has grown after an estimated 1.8 million children regularly missed school this autumn.
The government has said improving attendance is a top priority.
School absence fines ramp up amid growing concern
Almost two million pupils regularly missing school
Huge leap in children in mental health crisis ...
And some parents felt they were not listened to about the needs of their children, especially those with SEND....
'Severe anxiety'
Amanda Conway took her daughter Hannah out of school because she felt she had too little support for her additional needs.
Hannah, 11, was born prematurely, which has led to delays to her development and school learning.
In Year 5, she was given an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) - for children who need extra help such as one-to-one support.
Some schools' "one size fits all" approach left children feeling broken by a system focused on academic achievement, she said.
Increasingly worried about how she would cope at a large secondary school, Hannah's parents decided to educate her at home instead.
Since then, her anxiety has lessened and she is able to enjoy learning.
In response to the growing mental-health issues among schoolchildren, Ms De Souza's report recommends every school in England has access to a support team - in contrast to current government plans for such teams to reach 35% of pupils by 2023.
Some schools and local authorities were dealing with "multiple suicide attempts per week", the report found.
The government said it had put £79m [$96M] into speeding up the introduction of mental-health support teams for schools. And it has launched a review of support for children with SEND, which it says will lead to an ambitious set of changes....
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