Schools in the West Midlands town of Telford are facing unprecedented challenges as they struggle to address a range of social issues unrelated to teaching. The town is facing particular challenges across its courts, schools, and health services. A BBC News analysis identifies Telford as a town that reflects similar problems that are widespread across the country.
Lantern Academy, a Telford primary school, illustrates the problems. For a growing number of pupils, simply getting to school is an achievement in itself. The children whose parents speak English at home and have no learning disabilities are coming to school unable to communicate. The staff has to teach them Makaton, a basic form of sign language that uses symbols and signs to allow them to express themselves. Some of the children are not toilet-trained either.
Michelle Skidmore, the headteacher, is the 14th headteacher at the school since 2016. The high staff turnover reflects the challenges the school has faced in recent years. Forty-eight per cent of pupils receive free school meals – about double the England average. The new ethos that Ms Skidmore has worked hard to create is being severely tested by challenges resulting from the Covid pandemic. Similar problems are being faced by schools across the trust.
Students at Charlton School, a Learning Community Trust secondary school with more than 1,200 pupils in the north-east of Telford, are facing similar challenges. The number of pupils classed as persistently absent – who attend less than 90% of the time – is 22%, double the pre-pandemic England average. In order to encourage students into classes, the school is having to take a range of unusual steps.
Andrew McNaughton, the headteacher, says that for many students, they have to do a big piece of work to enable them to be able to access that, adding more to the school’s challenges. The Charlton School has access to Nikki Morrison’s team of welfare officers but also has seven of its own. The school is facing challenges of an increasing number of students who are presenting with ADHD or autism, or other neurodivergent conditions. According to McNaughton, those children can wait more than two years for a formal diagnosis
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