It's Sam
on a Wednesday
and six-year-old Samir is being woken up for school.
Not by his mother, father or two older brothers,
but by Shelley, who is paid by Samir's state primary school
to ensure he is ready and on time for lessons today.
Samir's mother, Fatima, sits wearily on a battered armchair as Shelley goes through her checklist.
"Teeth and hair brushed?" Samir nods.
"Fresh pair of pants and socks on?" Nod.
"Yesterday's maths worksheet in your file?" Nod.
Before Samir and Shelley set off for school,
Shelley checks the fridge and kitchen cupboards
to make sure there's food for supper and for tomorrow's breakfast.
"Have you got enough medication for the rest of the week?"
Shelley asks Fatima.
She nods gratefully and waves them goodbye.
A kinder way to get Kids back into the classroom.
Fines are tough on troubled families,
so schools have a new idea for tackling truancy
- sunogate parents who make sure children do their homework -
eat properly go to bed and get up on time.
Jessica Shepherd watches and learns .... ..
Great stuff from the Guardian.
Until last spring, Samir had missed on average one day of school
a week for the past two years
- and sometimes whole weeks at a time.
Fatuna, who has tried to take her life on more than one occasion
and looks after her sons on her own,
often feels too depressed to get out of bed.
Samir used to stay at home,
in Forest Gate, east London,
sitting with his mother, watching TV
and buying food from the corner shop.
Then Samir's primary school, Woodgrange Infant's in Newham,
a new method of reducing truancy
one that had already taken off in more than 150 schools in England.
The school took on a School Home Support'worker,
Shelley Clarke, whose job it is to identify pupils with low attendance
records and play surrogate parent to them.
.