Tim Linehan

My latest blog for the LSE blog site about how talking up truancy is just another way of punishing neurodivergent children. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpol… @AFNCCF @sweale

Fantastic to see #barrierstoeducation launched. I was lucky enough to be involved in its early stages and was blown over by the expertise, skills and insights of those involved. Please share with anyone interested in inclusive education. barrierstoeducation.co.uk @SpectrumGaming

A child risks losing an education every time a relationship between school and parent breaks down. I've not posted in a long while, but here's my piece in @SchoolsWeek about govt double standards on absenteeism. tinyurl.com/3zn9bvy5

@Freedland I'm sure you are aware of Diary of a Man in despair by Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen - his was a very different kind of rebellion to Nazism. A member of of the conservative Prussian nobility he railed against their desecration before dying in dachau. And what a writer.

@RealGeoffBarton @IPPR @CarrieGrant1 Geoff, can you follow me so that I can DM you about ed inclusion? I've done a lit review, research in Hackney, am launching a project for parents of children who struggle at school, I've worked at Anna Freud, former PCF vice chair and am an expert by experience. Wd love to mssg.

Our @IPPR conversation about educational inclusion continues: this time the importance of young people feeling a sense of ‘belonging’ in their school. A parental perspective from @CarrieGrant1:

I've had enough of billionaire owners using their platforms to promote their far-right, anti-democratic, hate conspiracies. I've learned a lot from good people. But I've had enough. Leaving is overdue. Thank you for your company. I'm at @timlinehan.bsky.social. Do keep in touch.

@JohnBaldLangLit @AFNCCF @sweale I don't think anyone should behave as they choose, diagnosed or not, if their choice is dangerous or harmful but I think that the ed system sets up arbitrary rules with punishments that don't work for some children who are learning to moderate or need help with their behaviour

@timlinehan @AFNCCF @sweale Agree on the last point, but only if they are accurate. They are not an excuse for a child to behave as they choose and make no progress, or for a school not to adapt work to their learning needs. Dyslexia, in particular, is outrageously abused.

My latest blog for the LSE blog site about how talking up truancy is just another way of punishing neurodivergent children. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpol… @AFNCCF @sweale

@JohnBaldLangLit @AFNCCF @sweale They may be a convenient get out if they result in bad schools off rolling children or finding alternatives, but they should be a help by identifying clearly defined needs under NHS or DSM-5 definitions. Diagnoses have their values.

@timlinehan @AFNCCF @sweale As I say, I don't trust these diagnoses, which are a convenient get-out if schools don't want to teach some children. There is an even greater correlation between SEND and weak literacy skills, and that is the area I can, and do, help with.

@sarah277283 I think there are a lot of people with a similar experience - they don't choose home education, but they once they embark on it, they don't regret it. Well done you!

Home education is up 20% from 92k to 111k in the last 12 months according to govt data published today. More children leaving education. More exclusions. More severely absent children. We need to rethink education. …e-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistic…

@sarah277283 yes, the number is much higher. These are just LA figures. There's no legal requirement to register at school in England, just a responsibility for parents to educate. @EduPolicyInst estimate another 300,000 missing from eduacation .

@CarahNorth @Ames20024 sadly it happens a lot

@Ames20024 @timlinehan What?! 🤯 that’s blatant discrimination. How are schools allowed to get away with continually breaching EA2010?

@JohnBaldLangLit Except that absenteeism is getting significantly worse. More children are being 'excluded' from mainstream education. There's a narrowing of educational opportunity.

@timlinehan It is clearly not meeting the needs of large numbers of children, and never has. What to do about it is the issue, and there is no agreement. Hence the schism over Michaela.

@JohnBaldLangLit What you mean by 'assertions' and 'assumptions'. ADHD & autism are the most reported conditions associated with school-based anxiety. Others contribute. Plenty of evidence. Are you questioning the idea of neurodivergence, or the existence of ADHD, autism and other conditions?

am not going to accept assertions of "neurodivergence" without neurological evidence. If you choose to make an assumption and base your argument on an assumption, you are free to do so. The issue is more complex.

@katief1978 @kimturner70 Do let me know if you find anything!

@timlinehan @kimturner70 There is something odd going on with the SEND reports as amongst parents it is reported as a reason far far more often - I need to dig into that.

@JohnBaldLangLit @AFNCCF @sweale We know a lot of children missing school are diagnosed neurodivergent. We know those with autism and ADHD are more likely to have anxiety, so it's not an assumption, I'm gathering together data which helps us understand the why. I can share refs.

@timlinehan @AFNCCF @sweale I think you need to consider how much of this anxiety and refusal is caused by making demands on children that they cannot meet, rather than some unproven neurological assumption.

@martinimarie Yes, but also this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's just those who are registered as home educated (nothing wrong with home education - just for many it's not a choice)

I’m sure a few of us have added to these statistics, for various reasons, mostly unlawful? 👇💔

@katief1978 @kimturner70 Yes, I was looking at this data this evening myself. I agree that there are a lot more unknowns and they can often be wrapped up into an education approach to fails to recognise individual needs.

@kimturner70 @timlinehan We already have this information (although many of the reasons are 'unknown') - LAs are required to be notified of all deregistrations, and they track home educated children in their area, and record the reasons (as perceived by the LA) for home education.

@norwich_ch53723 Thank you. I think the beewell work is fantastic. I'll look out for that.

@timlinehan The results from this 'educated at home' survey should be available in Spring 2025 beewellprogramme.org/educated-at-ho…

@JohnBaldLangLit Not necessarily, but the overlap of, for example, SEND and poverty strongly point to our education system not meeting needs. Most HE is not out of choice. We know about exclusion, we know that severe absence is connected to SEND and unmet need.

@timlinehan These three are not necessarily linked.

@Ames20024 I'm so sorry to hear about your son's struggles. I hope he's doing OK now.❤️

@timlinehan He saw a teacher today when we went for a walk and he froze in fear saying oh no not him. His ex teacher who treated him badly which resulted in my son trying to take his life twice had the cheek to say hi to us.