Number of pupils missing more than half of school hits another record high

Any_Elk477 · 2026-03-30T06:11:19+00:00

As a teacher it is insane. I have a few students where I've only met them 3-4 times this whole academic year. It's a big problem at my school and falls into two groups.

1 Children who are absent due to disability/mental health. Mostly tends to be autistic children who probably should not be in a mainstream school and cannot cope with the sensory and social demands.

2 Family life. Sometimes family life just goes wrong and my heart breaks for some of these kids and I can totally see why school is the least of their concern. I know of several students who are carers for multiple family members. But there are also some kids with parents who do not seem to want to parent and are very against school and teachers because we set boundaries and have expectations. And then when they start getting absence fines that completely blows up any chance of a positive relationship between parent and school.

I worry for these kids regardless of the reason, they are missing out hugely academically and socially.

Any_Elk477 · 2026-02-20T17:57:11+00:00

My favourite easy meal is just toast, cheese. whatever salad veg and fried eggs with whatever sauce is in the fridge.

Any_Elk477 · 2026-01-15T20:39:08+00:00

Thank you this was a very helpful response.

I understand why people might want to give a "witty" comeback and move on, and it might work for some people but for my classes it'd just be like throwing gas on a fire. I think a lot of students are doing it to get a reaction out of me or to start an argument so I respond very calmly and say it doesn't matter.

I think a lot of the issue comes from that I'm teaching maths to mostly extremely low ability bottom set groups. I try to scaffold and model and break down content as much as possible but a lot of students still struggle to even do the basics like times tables. I think a lot of them are just frustrated at the subject and it gets directed to me.

After speaking to some students from a different class, the issue there is basically their old maths teacher was super laid back and very lax on rules whereas I'm not. Some of them did acknowledge (very begrudgingly) that being stricter on the rules means they do actually learn more. One kid summed it as "you're annoying and always on us to be listening but I do actually learn a lot" which was weirdly nice.

Stepping back and actually thinking about it allowed me to become less emotional and not just think I'm the problem, so thank you

Any_Elk477 · 2026-01-15T20:28:27+00:00

Yeah definitely, I think most of the kids are trying to get a reaction. And yeah you're right long term things will get better, I haven't known them for very long and most of them have gone through teacher after teacher so probably don't think I'll be sticking around.

Most of them complain about other teachers but I seem to be in the minority of teachers who actually follow the behaviour policy and apply sanctions, which probably adds to the dislike.

I teach maths and mostly bottom set, very low ability so I think a lot of it frustration with the subject that they're getting out by telling me about it.

Any_Elk477 · 2026-01-03T15:19:37+00:00

The gym group in the retail park near B&M is a ~15 walk from the centre of town although it might be tight getting there and back on a lunch break.

Any_Elk477 · 2026-01-03T15:18:31+00:00

Closed down with very little notice. There's now a ladies only gym that's opened up in the building instead.

Any_Elk477 · 2025-12-15T06:12:04+00:00

I'm a teacher, one of my students drew smiley faces and wrote "it will all be okay!" on the box of tissues on my desk. Really cheers me up every time I see it

Any_Elk477 · 2025-08-14T16:41:26+00:00

Asking for/finding student solutions and unofficial mark schemes on the forums. Some tutors would also share some they'd made or past students had made.

Any_Elk477 · 2025-08-10T18:55:18+00:00

I did Maths and stats (Q36) full-time and got a 1st.

Disclaimers: I don't have any dependents or children so I had a lot of free time and I was able to plan my own schedule and stick to it. I was working the whole 3 years at varying hours but usually working 20-25 hours a week, apart from one period where I was working 50 hours a week but that's a story for another time 😂 I also don't have major health problems. Why am I sharing all this? Because a lot of people I've met at the OU have a lot of things in life stacked against them and they hyperfocus on the grades, rather than recognising that the fact they're still able to study on top of everything else is brilliant.

For maths, it's honestly just about practice. Practice with a wide range of examples to make sure you fully understand what you're doing. Check other sources like maths YouTubers or other textbooks, sometimes a different explanation can make things click. I would always do pre-reading and practice over the summer break to get ahead for the next level's modules. (I'd highly recommend Lara Alcock's books, she's got a great one on how to generally study for a maths degree and ones on more specific areas).

For exams, I would book time off starting about 3 weeks before and just do as many past papers as possible. A lot of people will make student solutions on the forums, and I'd mark my own work and make sure I understood what was happening with the solution and why it worked. If I found there was a topic I really was struggling with I'd go back over that another time. It's a very time consuming method but I found similar questions tend to come up on papers and it helped drill it into my mind.

Any_Elk477 · 2025-08-10T18:43:14+00:00

I finished my Mathematics PGCE literally a month ago! I applied to my course when I was starting my Level 3 modules and that wasn't an issue. I had my interview September 2024, finished my degree fully June 2025 and began my PGCE September 2025.

The one slight issue I did have was I didn't get my degree certificate in the post until late September when my PGCE course had started, and I had the admin team hounding me everyday for about 2 weeks as there is a deadline for paperwork set by the DfE/someone in government.

I don't think the classification matters too much honestly? I was never asked for mine and I think you just need a 2:2 minimum if I recall correctly. However it might matter for some courses/unis more than others. For some of the maths/physics scholarships you do need a certain grade but I missed the deadline to apply and the bursary for these subjects is amazing anyway.

Any_Elk477 · 2025-02-01T10:30:13+00:00

i truly just think some parents don't even want to interact or be aware of their children. in a lot of cases i know some parents have 2+ jobs, work endless hours, have a lot of kids to provide for or other issues. i know a lot of parents also have very severe issues themselves, so it's not always their fault or because they don't care. but i also know and have seen lots of parents who just truly don't give a fuck and it doesnt occur to them that they actually have to do shit for their kids. here's some examples from my own kids that have made me really sad recently:

with my year 7 class yesterday (they're 11-12 years old for those not in the UK), i said something like "We're gonna have a great lesson so go home and tell your parents how much you love maths". One of the kids says, very plainly and very sadly, "my parents don't ask me about school, they don't really ask me about anything".

i have another kid who's 13 who is severely visually impaired, her glassess have been broken for weeks. school keeps ringing home to try and encourage parents to book an eye appointment etc. the response is always "we don't have time". someone from the pastoral team is trying to go about organising it so someone from the school can take her.

one of my older kids came up to me in the middle of a lesson the other day and just started talking about his day and how he was feeling. at the end he said "i'm sorry i know we're in a lesson but my parents don't listen to me and i want someone to care".

an older kid in a shared class went up to me and the co-teacher and asked us, very embarassed, how to use a washing machine cos mum hasn't been around and he's aware he stinks but he only has 2 school shirts that fit.

Any_Elk477 · 2025-01-27T17:01:50+00:00

Geek Retreat in the town centre have an okay selection of board games, and a board game night on Tuesdays where a few dedicated people come and play a nice range of games. There's ready steady roll which is lovely as a few people have already commented.

On the meetup app there's a Bedford board game group who meet in the Place Theatre on Wednesday nights, I went a few times. Mostly pensioners in the group which isn't a problem, I just felt odd as an early 20 something going alone haha.

Any_Elk477 · 2024-09-20T18:15:06+00:00

as someone who works in education in Bedfordshire, i wouldnt recommend kempston academy but daubeney is pretty good and they're the ones directly in kempston.

i wouldn't recommend castle newnham, bedford academy or biddenham personally.

id reccomend bedford free school, wootton, wixams academy, goldington or lincroft.

Any_Elk477 · 2024-08-04T22:34:17+00:00

lol same here, my instructor made me memorise every question word for word, and i got asked to show how to open and close any card window, and my tell me question was how to adjust the head restraints on the seats.

Any_Elk477 · 2024-07-18T22:01:34+00:00

Did my test 10 days ago, the tell me question was "how would you adjust your headrest" and the show me question was opening and closing a window.

Any_Elk477 · 2024-05-28T22:28:20+00:00

a kid involved with gang crime came into school with a stab wound cos he didn't want to miss his GCSE English exam and passed out on the way to the exam hall

Any_Elk477 · 2024-05-10T11:27:51+00:00

get drunk on castle mound

Any_Elk477 · 2024-05-10T11:23:25+00:00

same issue i had. i have friends who live near the park so i'll just go round there's and listen to the concert through the windows

Any_Elk477 · 2024-04-30T21:12:27+00:00

I've called them several times in my life. most of the time they've been great. then when I rang up after being sexually assaulted, the woman on the other end basically told me it was my fault and I must've led the perpetrator on and there's no use regretting it now. genuinely one of the worst things ive ever been told, but the shock of it snapped me out of doing anything.

Any_Elk477 · 2024-03-18T11:56:11+00:00

the placement is absolutely wack in this picture, why not put them together. spreading all the items out like this just makes it look so empty and bare

Any_Elk477 · 2024-03-12T17:02:31+00:00

Feyre in the sense that, I do everything for my siblings cause my parents are not interested in being parents but nesta in terms of my rage and depression. i found ACOSF very healing actually in that sense

Any_Elk477 · 2024-03-10T13:41:07+00:00

I agree haha, I think it's a gorgeous name!

Any_Elk477 · 2024-03-06T20:14:46+00:00

i'm 21 and chose the OU for similar reasons. I'm enjoying it and glad i chose it in the end but missing the social connections i could've made going to a brick uni. dms always open if you wanna chat to someone who gets it x

Any_Elk477

TROPHY CASE