Yesterday, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai addressed the United Nations as part of her campaign to ensure free compulsory education for every child. Last October, the Taliban shot Malala as she sat on her school bus. She had been campaigning for girls’ rights to an education, obviously something the Taliban is strongly against as women are discriminated againist regularly in Pakistan. As she spoke to the United Nations yesterday, Malala stated; “I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child.”

It is kind of ironic that here in the UK, where education is free for every child, young people missed 3.7m school days in the autumn term 2011 (Department for Education report for state primary and secondary schools in England 2011/12). On a typical day in autumn 2011 around 55,600 youngsters missed school, and around 48,000 children missed a month or more of lessons, therefore making them “persistent absentees”. Although truancy rates have fallen slightly from 2010/11 to 2011/12, it is still a significant problem in UK schools. Malala fought to obtain something that some young people in the UK regularly go out of their way to avoid!

The reasons for truancy are complex. Research shows socioeconomic factors play a large role in determining student attendance. The lower the family income is, the higher the truancy rate. Some children are afraid of being reprimanded by their teachers for previous absences, and so they stay off for long periods. In some cases, children are shy and find school daunting – they suffer from school phobia. Bullying is also responsible for a large number of school absences and young people may stay away out of fear. Some children simply do not like going to school and are more interested in playing with their friends. They may find their school uninspiring and feel it does not benefit them. Sometimes, education is seen as ‘uncool’ and playing truant is a way of rebelling against society. Whatever the reasons, we need a committed and determined effort to examine the reasons why young people play truant so that we can take positive action to tackle this serious issue.

It must be difficult for Malala to understand why anyone would play truant. She risked her life and almost died for the sake of an education for herself and others. Perhaps it is because education is so freely available in the UK that we take it for granted and don’t appreciate its value. Maybe we need to get Malala to talk to schools around the country. I am sure her story would carry much weight and would help to highlight what a precious gift a free education is.

I grew up in the 1970s when life was a lot simpler. Don’t get me wrong – we still had pressures to deal with, but nothing like the pressures heaped on youngsters of today. Much of the stress attached to modern life comes from pressures at school, bullying, exam stress, family break-up etc. But I also believe that some of the responsibility lies with the colossal amount of new technological gadgets that we surround ourselves with and the way in which we use social media.

When I was young, I’d see my friends at school. If I wanted to see them after school or at weekends I could always go to their house or they could come to mine. If I didn’t want to see them, I didn’t – pretty simple really. But today, with the internet, our friends are ‘in our face’ 24/7. With smart phones and tablets, there’s no escape from anyone, and for young people it’s as if they have to be on show every minute of every day. How many friends do they have on Facebook today? Has anyone ‘unfriended’ them? How many followers do they have on Twitter? How many parties are they going to this month? Who is popular and who isn’t?

Young people feel the need to create an online persona – they want to be seen to be popular people with busy lives. They are being forced to brand and sell themselves online which is putting tremendous pressure on them. And the fact that young people now communicate online rather than meeting up and talking they way we used to can lead to isolation and loneliness. And this constant pressure to update their statuses, as well as constantly checking other people’s, is not healthy.

There is also the problem of bullying. In our technology-driven world, cyberbullying is fast becoming the bullying method of choice – and there is no escape from it. This type of bullying can be carried out 24/7, and because of the anonymous nature of cyberbullying, it can be difficult to trace the people responsible.

Mindfull is calling for all schools to give students lessons on mental health. This is a good start, but we need something more. We need to equip our young people with the skills to deal with the insidious (for want of a better word) effects of social media. And we need to equip teachers with effective resource packs which enable them to provide young people with the tools to deal with the pressures of modern life.

Once again a young person has taken his own life due to bullying — Click here for story.

Sidney Boyimbo Nzamale was discovered by his sister hanging from a bunk bed in his Tottenham bedroom in October 2011. The inquest heard that he had been slapped by a fellow pupil, and on another occasion a boy demanded money from him.

This is a tragedy!  We are all responsible and we need to find ways of stopping bullying once and for all. According to his school, the claims had not been substantiated after a thorough investigation. They stated that their anti-bullying measures were “rigorous” and Sidney was a popular pupil who was settling in well. However, his parents insist he was being bullied.

It is vital that bullying is tackled earlier — we need early intervention from ages 4 or 5 upwards. It isn’t good enough to tackle bullying when it has already become a problem. Many schools have bullying programmes for students from ages 8 upwards — this is often shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Anti-bullying programmes should be part and parcel of every curriculum as soon as children start school. Schools must send out strong messages that bullying has serious consequences and repeat offending will be punished. Victims need to be given the tools to deal with bullying, such as help in developing confidence and self-esteem. They need to know that their school is taking the matter seriously, and parents need to feel confident that their child is safe at school.

We can’t let the death of young Sidney be in vain.

I am a writer, editor and programme developer for All Resources, a company that produces resource packs covering PSHE (personal, social and health education). My main interests are bullying and suicide – not enough is being done to tackle these issues or the negative impact they have on society.

The resource packs we produce focus on different aspects of PSHE and are mainly concerned with building confidence, awareness, motivation and self-esteem. Many important skills and attributes can be nurtured in young people through their involvement with personal development programmes which help them understand themselves and those around them.

I hope to make a valuable contribution here, and I am looking forward to reading other blogs.

Theresa