Square Peg has been set up to effect change for children with school attendance difficulties and their families. Its aim is to connect relevant professionals and policy makers and focus on three core areas of change: legislation, research and guidance. The end goal is consistent guidance, based on proven, effective best practice that works for schools, children and families.
Attendance and attainment cannot be at the expense of a child’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Collaborations with Education Law specialists Irwin Mitchell helped us to explore potential legal challenges against the Department for Education on behalf of children with school attendance difficulties. In order to do this we raised £7,000 for the initial stage of work.
There are no easy answers to school refusal
Create a new legal attendance/absence code that will measure the scale of school refusal, ensure a consistent school response and alleviate parents from the threat of prosecution.
Not Fine In School and Square Peg made a written submission to the current SEND Enquiry detailing the findings of three NFIS surveys about school attendance difficulties and the links with SEND.
Press release about the judicial review crowdfunding (May 2019)
Article about the judicial review crowdfunding campaign by Beth Bodycote (May 2019)
Is School 'Refusal' Really Refusal? by Fran Morgan (October 2019)
The injustice of school 'refusal' by Fran Margan (October 2019)
Article about our campaign by Julie Henry (November 2019)
Square Peg supported by NFIS have launched a campaign to evidence the scale of the school attendance problem. We aim to build a picture of the number of children experiencing barriers to attendance and the length of time some have been out of school. Please take a look, and add up to 3 children if they have experienced barriers to attendance now or in the past.
Not Fine in School is a member of the Children & Young People's Mental Health Coalition.
CYPMHC's purpose:
We see mental health as everyone’s business. When one of us is in distress, there are implications for everyone: lost potential, unemployment and crime are just some of the consequences.
We want the Government to hear what we have to say and to put our ideas into practice. We would like ministers, commissioners and everyone who makes decisions relating to children and young people to note that promoting positive mental health, preventing mental ill health, and intervening early when problems arise requires cross-government action.
We do not represent any one organisation, approach, or professional group but rather we engage with our members and come together to provide a strong unified voice speaking out about children and young people’s mental health.
Founder: Janet Willicott - FRSPH FBII ACIEH MEHBEA MBESA MBHRC
An Independent Educational and Public Health Advocate & Legal Representative for SEND, Parliamentary Adviser, Expert Witness, Speaker, PhD Student, LDE Academic and Neuro-plasticity Researcher for her Foundation called SETD 5.
Consultancy in SEND Education, Public, Educational and Human Rights Law, and ALL Public Health Principles. Advocating and Supporting all those with a diagnosed or undiagnosed Disability, Need or Difficulty, to include Mental and Emotional Health and Well-being. Assisting Professionals, Courts, Governments, Organisations, Charities, Rare Disease Groups, Young People, Children and Parents. [Educational & Public Health Research Consultancy Services, Dispute Resolution & Mediation. [Expert Witness] NHS Research]. Normal Like Me is an organisation, Researching, Advising, Advocating and Supporting, those who have been diagnosed with a disability using the holistic, “beyond the norm” methodology.
Fiightback originated as a small secret group about seven years ago after a numbers of us were accused. We found each other and supported each other. We found other groups that supported us and we slowly grew in number.
After the Royal college of nursing published the fii masterclass slides a small number of accused and non accused mums saw the need to expand the group and start campaigning against the flood of accusations that were coming in and fiightback was born June 2017.
We try our best to support, guild, find expert lawyers, advocates, organise press, lobby, build networks, build evidence of what’s happening and come up with ideas to change the situation. We aren’t perfect but we try. We will try our best to be there for you. We won’t judge you.
TEAM DANIEL's Problem Shared campaign is calling for every school to have a counsellor, so that every pupil has somebody to talk to if they’re struggling.
NFIS group member, Emma started the campaign after her son Daniel took his own life - she explains:
Daniel was 15 years old and due to sit his mock GCSEs in May/June 2017, he’d sat a few mocks but I could see the changes in his behaviour and he became obsessed with revision because he thought he wouldn’t be able to remember everything.
One day when I came in from work I found him rocking at the kitchen table just staring at the wall and I told him he had to stop… this was a week before he took his own life… he had a mock exam on the Monday and he took his life Sunday afternoon whilst I was downstairs. Ever since I have been campaigning and meeting MPs etc and I’m slowly getting somewhere and people are listening
This is the petition link:
https://planetradio.co.uk/aire/local/news/problem-shared-sign-petition/
This is the Campaign call:
https://planetradio.co.uk/aire/local/news/radio-aire-backs-call-counsellor-every-school/
Please sign the petition and support Emma’s campaign.
Radio Aire’s teaming up with a Leeds mum whose 15-year-old son took his own life in his bedroom because he became so stressed revising for his GCSEs.
Our Problem Shared campaign is calling for every school to have a counsellor, so that every pupil has somebody to talk to if they’re struggling.
Home Education UK is the oldest website supporting elective home educators in the UK. The website carries information on many aspects of home education, and related issues, including an excellent FAQ as an introduction to the subject for those first considering home educating their child.
A forum page features details of hundreds of forums where you can find local or specialised support as well as HE UK's own national forums, both FB based and email based, where you will find thousands of experienced home educators, many of whom are willing to share their experiences and collective wisdom.
Personalised Education Now (PEN) is the trading name for The Centre for Personalised Education Trust (CPE), a charitable company, limited by guarantee (Charity number: 1057442. Company Number 03231165).
We engage in…
The Centre for Personalised Education emerged in 1995 from a longer history dating back to 1988 with Education Now and various groups that grew from the same roots with overlapping memberships and networks. Alongside these the Education Now Publishing Co-operative and Educational Heretics Press provided a core platform for our thinking.
Alternative Schools
Flexischooling
Home-Based Education
Unschooling
Informal Education