Blunkett and others recognise that school attendance does not necessarily equate with a commitment to learning. Pupils who are ‘there but not there’ do not actively participate in classroom activities and consequently run the risk of becoming socially excluded. Those pupils who rebel openly create obvious problems for staff in the school and wider community. Consequently, the needs of children who act out are assessed, if not entirely met. By comparison, other pupils internalise their unwillingness or inability to participate in the social and academic activities of the classroom. Quiet, non-participatory behaviour is much more difficult to identify. For these children, a lack of engagement becomes a hidden problem. More recently, a small study demonstrated how poorly these children fared when dealing with school as a large organisation, and how they disappeared in poor learning environments (Oakley 1999).