Why I decided to go it alone and why this conversation matters

This is a departure from my usual business posts and rather more personal.

I thought I would write a blog about why I decided to leave a company I loved working for to go it alone. The main driving force was that my child has been out of school since September 2025. For reasons we can't quite work out, they were increasingly reluctant to go in, and working a (albeit very flexible) 9 to 5 was no longer viable when we were frequently late for school, made it all the way there only to be unable to go into the building, or on the days when we didn’t make it to the school gates at all.

Why am I talking about this? Because what’s happening to us is no longer rare or unusual. It’s part of a much bigger pattern, with an increasing number of children across England that can’t attend mainstream school consistently, and as a result, an increasing number of parents (largely mothers) are having to walk away from careers, financial stability, and professional identities in order to care for children who can’t fit into today’s education system.

And the scale of this shift is staggering.

In Spring 2025 alone, 1,437,243 pupils were persistently absent, meaning they missed at least 10% of school sessions, a 56% increase compared to pre‑pandemic levels. Even more alarming, 160,497 pupils were severely absent, missing more than they attended, representing a 167% rise since 2019. Sadly my son fits into the latter. [centrefors…ice.org.uk]

The problem isn’t improving. According to the Department for Education, the overall absence rate for the autumn 2025 term was 6.62%, higher than the previous year’s 6.38%. Special schools face even greater pressure with an absence rate of 12.87%, more than double the national average. [tes.com]. Additionally, the early data for the 2025/26 academic year shows attendance hovering at 93.36%, meaning pupils are missing 6.64% of all possible sessions, still far above the pre‑pandemic absence rate of 4.7%. [theeducati…people.org]

These aren’t just numbers. Each figure represents families like mine, trying to function inside a system that wasn’t designed for this level of need, demand, or distress.

Psychologists are still debating the reasons for this shift, but a perfect storm keeps being referenced: increased academic pressure, the psychological legacy of lockdowns, societal changes around autonomy and emotional wellbeing, and questions about what learning should look like in an AI‑driven world. Whatever the combination, the outcome is clear, far more children now struggle to cope in environments that used to be predictable, tolerable, or even enjoyable.

My new daily routine means that I work funny hours. I can attend client meetings throughout the day, but my detailed thinking work largely takes place early in the mornings, in the evenings, and at weekends. I'm back in lockdown homeschooling, except this time there’s no national blueprint, no shared experience, no coordinated support (and worse weather).

Why should anyone care?

Because whether employers realise it or not, they already have employees in the same situation as me. When more than one in five pupils are persistently absent, that means many families are navigating unpredictable school attendance, emotional crises, and logistical chaos that directly affects their ability to work. [centrefors…ice.org.uk]

Because schools are battling an attendance crisis that cannot be solved with punitive fines or stricter attendance codes.

Because local authorities simply do not have the funding or specialist provision to meet the needs of so many children who no longer fit inside the standard model.

Because a system that once supported the majority is now struggling to support even the baseline.

The real question for government shouldn’t be how to reduce spending, but instead:

What has gone so fundamentally wrong that so many children now require levels of support the existing system was never built to provide?

And alongside that:

How do we ensure that employers, policymakers, and communities adapt, rather than expecting families to quietly absorb the impact?

This isn’t just my story. It’s becoming a country‑wide story and crucially one that will increasingly shape our workforce, our economy, and the wellbeing of the next generation. Unless we address it openly, compassionately, and urgently, the cost will be paid by parents, by employers, and by the children themselves.

If you're in a similar situation and want to reach out then please get in touch.