School is incredibly important for a child’s development, and also for their future as an adult. In this article, we’re going to discuss five ways prolonged absence from school can affect a child…
When a child is ill or injured, time off school is inevitable. This can have a profound effect on their learning, social skills, development, and more.
A child personal injury claim can provide considerable compensation, depending on the type of accident and the impact it has had on the child’s life. This compensation can help pay for educational resources, private education, and/or tutoring. All of this can aid the child with their return to school, and any missed education whilst suffering from their injuries.
That said, even with this tutoring, a child may be affected negatively by their absence. A prolonged absence from school, especially, can have a considerably damaging impact on a child, not only with regards to educational reasons but also to their personal development, including social aspects. Let’s explore this further…
5 Ways a Prolonged Absence from School Can Affect a Child
1. Struggle to Keep Up with Schoolwork
Most schools send children home with homework on a frequent basis, and this helps to keep them studying outside of school hours. Homework is very important, as it helps with children learning to work independently, using resources, as well as providing additional learning and assisting in the retention of information.
It is particularly crucial for students facing exams. Missing school means no education and no homework. If your child is absent for a long period due to an illness or injury, that then impacts the child’s return to school, missing key information that other children have learnt in the meantime.
2. Vulnerable to Poverty and Crime
Missing school due to illness or injury, and not achieving the grades needed for well-paid jobs, can leave a child vulnerable in their early adult years, working minimum wage jobs potentially into later life. Sometimes this can lead to negative implications, such as money struggles and occasionally leading to crime.
3. Affects Attainment
In UK primary and secondary schools, there are key subjects that are taught throughout due to being needed for children’s futures. These subjects are Maths and English.
Statistics show where primary school students miss an average of 15 days a year, less than 65 per cent will achieve good grades. Where a child is not consistently going to school, their attainment is going to take a hit. They will become behind in their education, and their peers who do not miss school will be ahead with their learning and more likely to retain information for exams.
Not learning and retaining information for exams will impact a child’s future, such as what they can study at college and university. If they fail their exams, it means they will have to retake in year 12. Where a minimum C grade is not achieved, it can additionally impact the type of future career that a child can get.
4. Worse Prospects for Future Employment
As briefly mentioned above, low grades often mean that college and university choices are impacted, and this means a child’s future could be prohibited. They may not be able to get a job that pays more due to their lack of qualifications. Instead, having to go for jobs that require little or no qualifications, and often ones that pay minimum wage.
This is, of course, not the case for everyone; not going to higher education is not synonymous with minimum wage. Instead, these absences simply limit a child’s prospects, where they may otherwise have more opportunities.
5. They Might Have to Repeat a School Year
Repeating a year of school is as common in the UK as it is in America. That said, it does happen if a child is missing enough school, which is going to set them back a year anyway. In these cases, there is the possibility that the school may decide it is better for the child’s future to have them repeat a year.
Usually, it could be one or two subjects they are made to repeat, or they will receive additional support, such as one to one tuition. Although this can be seen as beneficial for the child in question, it may make an impact on their mental health and general development, particularly where it concerns their peers. Repeating a year could leave that child subject to bullying and lack of socialisation.
The Education Endowment Foundation can provide further helpful details about repeating a year of school.
Sometimes Prolonged Absence Can’t Be Helped
What we can conclude from this article is that prolonged absence doesn’t help a child in their development. But it is possible for parents to assist in their child’s education whilst they are unable to attend school due to an injury or illness.
Where the child has been subject to an unfortunate accident, they may be eligible for compensation. This money can be put towards educational purposes to help them catch up on anything they might have missed on their time off.
Technology now allows for easy communication. Investing in a laptop or iPad could provide the child with the ability to access schoolwork from home, which will allow them to keep in contact with their teachers and other students.
Has your child missed a considerable amount of school? How have you helped them stay on top of their schoolwork? Leave a comment below.