Laundering clothes and showering students are just two of the actions a school is taking to address the cost-of-living pressures that can keep children out of class.
Participation is already down about 4% from pre-Covid levels – the equivalent of thousands of hours of missed learning.
Pressure on the cost of living has now “exacerbated” these problems.
The Henry Tudor School team and Pembrokeshire City Council staff are helping families get pupils back into school.
Family engagement worker Emily Morgan starts her day calling children’s homes to see if they’re coming to school.
“I get a message to let me know when a learner is having a shaky day, I have about 10 regulars that I’m in touch with,” she said.
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She works with families to gradually reintegrate children who, for various reasons, have not attended classes regularly.
The pandemic has had a major impact on some students, breaking habits and stoking fears, with higher living costs now creating additional obstacles.
Average attendance across Wales was around 94% in 2018-19, the last full year before the pandemic.
So far this school year it’s 90.3%, but last week it was only 85.3%.
Henry Tudor, a 1,250-student comprehensive school, has a used uniforms shop, but the items are free for those who cannot afford them.
It stocks shoes that are in high demand as the nearby supermarket has stopped selling them and the town’s shoe store has closed.
In an adjoining room there is a washing machine and dryer.
Ms Morgan said household appliance failures were a common reason why parents couldn’t send their children to school. Therefore, the school now offers to clean the uniform while the students come in their own clothes for a day.
Due to high energy prices, some families are concerned about the cost of showering for everyone. Therefore, there is a stock of shampoo, shower gel and deodorant so that students can shower at school.
Home visits are another way to keep in touch.
Ms Morgan is joined by Council Education Officer Susan Lees on a visit to an 8th grader who has missed school.
“We have developed a good relationship with the mother, she knows we are coming today,” she said.
The visit is to offer further support to a family with the promise of a Christmas basket from the school to ease worries about getting through the holidays.
Ms Lees explained that they occasionally visit families unannounced when they have difficulty making contact and want to check on a child’s well-being.
Another parent said being at home during the Covid lockdown has had a major impact on their daughter.
Nicola, who wished to remain anonymous, said when it came time to go back to school her daughter started making excuses and it only got worse as she moved on to secondary school.
She said her daughter does not want to mix with others and is afraid of bringing Covid home to a vulnerable family member, which is why she is extremely concerned.
“She became more and more withdrawn, and then it was a total refusal to leave.”
After a few “very hard” months, she now goes to the hospital for an hour a day.
“I crossed everything. She wants to get that education, she wants to socialize and she’s just struggling right now.”
At nearby Ysgol Greenhill in Tenby, Deputy Headmistress Kate Campbell said the school had stepped up its support for wellbeing and recently appointed a new family liaison officer to respond to pressures caused by the pandemic and cost of living crisis.
“School isn’t just about learning, it’s about learning how to socialize, it’s about overall well-being — keeping up with daily routines,” she said.
The Council’s It Starts at School campaign is part of its strategy to improve attendance.
James White, head of engagement and communities at the council’s education department, said in “a very small number of cases” parents would be fined or prosecuted if the family did not work with them to fix the poor attendance.
“When we bring cases to court, we are defending that child’s right to an education, and we would be failing in our duty if we did not.”
The council said it would likely be a “two to three year journey” to bring school attendance back to pre-pandemic levels.
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