Unauthorised Absence film spotlights SEND and school attendance struggles

A new short film, Unauthorised Absence, has put the experiences of families struggling with school attendance and access to special educational needs support in the spotlight. The film follows Thea and her mum Anna and was shown at a cast and crew screening in London. Anna Maxwell Martin is an executive producer. It arrives as the number of children not going to school remains stubbornly high, often affecting those with special educational needs, and as the government reviews how to handle a sharp rise in cases.

The film focuses on the daily pressure on families. In one scene, Thea has not made it to school. Her mother is called repeatedly by the school. Beatrice, who plays Thea, said the role was easy because she knows many people who struggle to get into school. She said the issue is real life and that people need help. She also said the school needs help to access everything it can, and that her friends have struggled.

Natalie, the producer, said the team wanted to put the human story back into a debate dominated by data and bureaucracy. She said the voices of people struggling on the ground are not heard enough. The filmmaking team made a conscious choice to involve cast and crew with a connection to neurodiversity so that the people telling the story represented the community, a community she said has too often not had its voice heard.

In the film, the school is portrayed as unsympathetic, but Natalie said real life is not black and white. She said the tension the film wanted to show is that none of these are bad people, and that their hands are tied by the system they are forced to operate within and the measures they have to deliver. Beatrice said fines do not help parents or children get into school, and called the pressure on parents a humongous weight.

The Department for Education said it inherited a system under strain. It says it will transform special educational needs and is investing four billion pounds. Fixed penalty notices will continue to be used, but the department wants schools to take a support first approach.

Beatrice said she hopes the film will be heard and taken seriously. She said an Oscar nomination would be fun. The film aims to give a platform to families facing attendance and SEND support difficulties.