Toilet training and high anxiety - how schools are changing
Full Video>> Michelle Skidmore is the 14th head teacher at Lantern Academy since 2016 Schools across the UK are under unprecedented pressure as they struggle to address a range of social issues unrelated to teaching. A group of schools in the West Midlands town of Telford illustrate the problems. Here, for a growing number of pupils, simply getting to school is an achievement in itself. It is lunchtime and a handful of pupils at Lantern Academy, a Telford primary school, are playing indoors even though the sun is out. As head teacher Michelle Skidmore approaches, they begin to gather their coats. “Are you heading out?” she asks. A five-year-old boy responds. It is not clear what he is saying, and Ms Skidmore tries to help. He repeats himself, four times in total, before she figures out that a family member of his has gone to hospital. He runs outside. “We have a number of children who struggle with basic communication,” says Ms Skidmore. “'Can I go to the toilet? Can I have...