What is school refusal and how do I deal with it? Even though the situation may feel stressful, Ask the school to arrange a reduced timetable, with only a few lessons each week – with the aim of building back up when it feels manageable for your child, Discuss the possibility of changing forms, sets or tutors if your child thinks this would help, Request a home visit from the school, where a staff member can check-in, show your child the school cares about them and discuss strategies for moving forward, Think about small, achievable targets your child can work towards, Linking them with a member of staff, for example from the pastoral team, who they can chat to, Finding a way for them to feel more part of the school community, for example by joining a club, Thinking of ways they can structure break-times if they are finding them difficult, Offering them a new role or responsibility, such as library or book-corner monitor, or learning mentor, Offering a flexible start-time or timetable, Referring them for additional support such as counselling. If you think your child may have additional needs or learning difficulties, speak to their teacher or the school’s SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) about whether they need to be referred for an assessment. You can find more information here. Details of how to get temporary education put in place may be found here. School phobia, school avoidance and emotionally based school refusal are some of … Consider the school’s duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify and support any special educational needs or disabilities that the child may have. Therefore, LAs must not have policies that limit a child’s education to a specified number of hours per week due to cost or availability. Practical Recommendations and Interventions: School Refusal 1 SCHOOL REFUSAL: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS . Provides information, advice and guidance to help young people make decisions about learning, training and work. to make a series of fun videos to help them. Every local authority website should set out its Alternative Provision options. During these years, children are dealing with the changes of starting school or making the transition from elementary or middle school to high school. School refusal will have a negative affect on academic and social development and can lead to a student completely dropping out of school. If the GP (or any medical/mental health professional) feels that the child is not currently fit to attend school, ask for a letter to the local authority (LA) to be provided, explaining this. Opening times: 9am - 1pm, Monday - Friday. Free short-term counselling service available. School refusal is recognised by psychologists as a disorder in which a child will not attend school for fear of bringing on the physical and mental symptoms of extreme anxiety. You can also use their webchat service or contact them via an online form. School refusal IPSEA’s volunteers regularly advise and support parents and carers whose school-aged children are unable to access education because of anxiety or similar difficulties – very often associated with the child’s SEN. It’s okay for us to do stuff that isn’t school work – other interests are important. When a child refuses to leave the house go to school and parents or carers feel unable to persuade them otherwise, this behaviour is classically labelled as “School Phobia”. Depending on how difficult your child is finding things, you can discuss some of the following strategies with the school: If you are unhappy with the way a member of staff is responding to your concerns, escalate them to a more senior person – such as a more senior teacher, a deputy head, or the head teacher. Leave a message on the 24-hour answering service and someone will call you back, usually within 3-5 working days. This will have consequences for future employment and create a need for social security benefits. School refusal is, as the name suggests, the refusal by a child to go to school. 1 University of Sunderland, School of Education, UK. It affects girls and boys equally. You can also contact them by email using this form. School Refusal Defined. Fear or a specific phobia about something at school only accounts for a small percent of youth refusing school 3. School refusal is a child-motivated refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in class for the full day. Provides information, support and advice for people with dyslexia, and for those who support them. Opening times: 1pm - 4.30pm, Monday - Friday. If you have a younger child who's feeling worried about starting at a new school, making friends or fitting in, we teamed up with our friends over at Beano studios to make a series of fun videos to help them. "Truancy" refers to young people who avoid attending school without their carer’s knowledge, whereas "school refusal" is when a child or young person starts to miss school frequently because of vague illnesses or symptoms. Their Education Rights Service can help with information about educational rights and entitlements, as well as with specific issues such as school problems, assessments and education plans. You can book an appointment with their Advice Line or Tribunal Helpline. EHC plans identify their needs and set out the support that will be provided. Email support available via their online contact form. 4. Our Parents Helpline team discuss school refusal. What if I am being threatened with an Attendance Order? School-refusal. Provides free legal advice about education issues to parents, carers and young people. If you are experiencing school refusal by your child, know that you’re not alone. If this doesn’t work, you can contact the school governors (their contact details should be on the school’s website), and lastly the Local Education Authority or the Academy Trust. If the LA continue with the threat of serving an Attendance Order, or actually serve it, you will need to speak to a solicitor who is familiar with education law. The transition back to school each fall is challenging for many families. They may then be able to access additional support through the school. School refusal is a more serious condition than separation anxiety. Let them know how your child is feeling and raise any issues that are making school particularly difficult. This training day is suitable for those currently going through the following appeals processes: appeals against the contents of an EHC plan and appeals against the school named in the plan. For more tips on how to support your child with their mental health and wellbeing, and where to get help take a look at our parents support guide. When a child has been refusing to attend school and their behaviour and/or anxiety appears to be worsening, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. Be sure that a complete physical examination has been conducted to eliminate any organic cause for somatic complaints (stomachache, nausea, etc. Evidence of this type would provide a documented explanation for the child’s non-attendance. It is unlawful to withhold or reduce the provision, or type of provision, for a child because of how much it will cost. School refusal is most likely to start between the ages of 10 and 13, although can be present in children as young as 5. You can also find details for other services, including an educational tribunal helpline, a school exclusion helpline and a parent-to-parent support line on their website. Some will get as far as the school gate and then be unable to go in; others can’t even leave the house. If your child is struggling with worrying or anxiety, here are some ways you can support them and places you can get help. School refusal is a condition characterised by reluctance and often outright refusal to go to school in a child who: (1) seeks the comfort and security of home, preferring to remain close to parental figures, especially during school hours; (2) displays evidence of emotional upset when faced with the prospect of having to attend school, although this may only take the form of unexplained physical symptoms; (3) manifests no severe antisocial tendencies, apart from possible aggressiveness when attempts are mad… I am also a parent of two children with special needs and disabilities. School Refusal Support Services or SRSS is an Unincorporated Organisation We are run by a Committee of people who have an understanding of School Refusal children. Ask the class teacher, SENCO and or senior management team for a meeting to discuss what might be behind the school refusal. Within our home, we have the following conditions which have educated me Your local authority’s ‘Local Offer’ also outlines how parents of children with SEND can access information and local services. Set clear routines on days off school. Your child does not need to be struggling academically in order to access SEN support. Opening times: 8am - 10pm, 7 days a week. Child-motivated absenteeism occurs autonomously, by the volition of the child. If your child has an EHC plan but is still struggling to attend school, it is likely that the plan needs to be re-examined. Provides legally based advice to help families get the right education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). If you are a parent needing help, please contact our helpline by phone, webchat or email. School Refusal, School Anxiety and Anxiety Based School Avoidance are all terms that essentially boil down to the same thing, young people missing school as a result of anxiety, fear or other emotional difficulties. If the child is allowed to stay home, the symptoms quickly disappear, only to reappear the next morning. Many children will experience transitory difficulties attending school. This type of behaviour usually indicates a high likelihood that the child, and sometimes also the carer, may be suffering from an Emotional or Anxiety Disorder. We list some of the best inpatient treatment programs, partial and outpatient programs for school refusal, as well as therapeutic boarding schools.. We provide understandable explanations about your child's right to a free and appropriate public education ( … The LA’s education welfare service can be helpful in providing strategies and support for children who are beginning to school-refuse. The LA must continue to secure the special educational provision in the EHC plan while your child is out of school (section 42, Children and Families Act 2014). Provides information and advice for people with dyspraxia, and for their parents, carers and families. Organise a meeting with your child’s teacher or form tutor as soon as you can. Opening times: 8am - 6pm, Monday - Friday. If you are being threatened with an Attendance Order because of your child’s absences from school, you should write to the relevant person or department (which is likely to be the Educational Welfare Service) to explain that your child has special educational needs and is experiencing mental health difficulties. You can ask your GP to refer your child to the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (known as CAMHS), although thresholds for accessing this service are often high. How can I help my child with school anxiety? The student’s support team should work together to create a suitable … We’re under high pressure and stress over our grades. Tips for working with your child's school, webchat service or contact them via an online form, Parents Guide To Support - School anxiety and refusal. 2. If you’re worried about your child’s mental health or wellbeing, you can speak to your GP (with or without your child) about next steps and finding support. You, your GP and your child’s school can ask your local authority to carry out an assessment for this. Under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, schools, Academies and PRUs “must make arrangements for supporting pupils at the school with medical conditions”. If your child is refusing to go to school, or is feeling anxious, here's our information and advice to help you support your child and work with the school. School refusal is a behaviour that can be associated with a range of family and school factors accompanied by anxiety, sadness or depression, physical symptoms and social isolation. Current DfE school attendance codes, the obvious route for data collection, do not identify school refusers. Too many absences in elementary school can delay necessary skills for friendships and academic success. Opening times: 10am - 1pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 1pm - 3pm on Thursdays. You’ll see from the guidance (page 8, paragraphs 12-13) that supporting medical evidence will be required. School refusal can be defined as the ‘child motivated refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in school for an entire day’ (Lyon & Colter, 2007). It also states (paragraphs 14-15) that LAs should provide such education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for 15 days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative, and should do so at the latest by the sixth day of the absence. Refusal to go to school may happen at any age but most typically occurs in children 5-7 years of age and in those 11-14 years of age. If things are difficult and have already been going on for a while, you can also: Our Parents Helpline team discuss school refusal. School refusal is a serious emotional problem that is stressful for both children and parents. The school may need to seek support from outside agencies. PMID: 10576531 Abstract Developments in the assessment and treatment of school refusal have often been hampered by a failure to recognise its essentially heterogeneous nature. More than ¼ of all youth will engage in some degree of school refusal during their schooling years, ranging from complaints and threats to avoid school, to missing school for months or even years at a time. © 2021 YoungMinds. When children refuse to go to school, it can often be because of extreme fear and anxious feelings. They should liaise with appropriate medical professionals to ensure minimal delay in arranging appropriate provision for the child. For some, school can become challenging or distressing over a longer period of time. If your child’s school does not offer counselling, or your child would not feel comfortable seeing a counsellor at school, you can use our guide below to help you access it elsewhere. The UK Prime Minister’s plan to roll out a Covid-19 testing programme in schools has been put on pause as the country’s regulator has not approved the daily use of 30-minute tests. 1 Some of the criteria commonly found in school refusal matters involves a student with severe emotional distresses about attending school. If you think a different school placement is necessary, you can find information on your rights to request a particular school here. School refusal is the contemporary term used to describe a condition where a child has difficulties attending school on account of severe emotional distress during their time in school. You can search for this on your local authority’s website. Any donation you make is hugely appreciated, and helps to keep our vital advice and support services running. Well-meaning parents will often find that efforts to encourage … The process can take a long time, so it’s often a good idea to try to get support through the school fist. If your child is struggling at school, the important thing is to recognise that there’s a problem to be solved, and to work with your child and the school to find the right support as soon as you can. At IPSEA, we rely on your donations and fundraising efforts to help keep our vital services running. Be part of YoungMinds' life changing work by giving us permission to keep in touch. Registered charity numbers 1016968 & SC039700, For more tips on how to support your child with their mental health and wellbeing, and where to get help take a look at our parents support. School can be a source of support, belonging, learning and community for young people. Children and young people who can’t attend mainstream school are entitled to alternative provision of education in a different setting. Tips for working with your child's school. 1. Suggest to them that serving an Attendance Order in these circumstances would be premature and inappropriate, and what is needed is co-ordinated action by support agencies to identify and make provision for all of your child’s needs. School refusal is different from truancy When kids begin refusing to go to school, some parents worry that their children will drop out, or that they’ll get a visit from a truant officer. Elective home education is a serious step, and no parent should feel under pressure to de-register and home educate their child because of difficulties at school or threats of prosecution. Kai, from Chesterfield, has a condition known as school refusal and has only attended about 15 days since January. Your child’s school can also refer your child to CAMHS. But some children and teens feel so much emotional distress that they may repeatedly balk at attending school or staying there — a problem known as school refusal, or school avoidance if it occurs consistently. You’ll probably be all too aware that school refusal can be extremely distressing not only for the child, but for parents as well, and can often feel like an uphill battle. Hopefully, once everyone involved realises that your child’s non-attendance is to do with their anxiety and SEN rather than deliberate truancy, the threat will be withdrawn. Or contact them using their online form. 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