School Refusal

[Sally44]

A friend of mine has just told me that her son has not been attending school for some months now. He is in year 10 (I think), and he is not being seen by anyone. His mother has seen the GP who has said that 'school refusal' is a legitimate 'condition' - whatever that means. He has no diagnosis (but from knowing him Aspergers is a possibility).

 

I was going to give her the advice lines for IPSEA or ACE. But I wondered what the school or LEA should be doing. He isn't having any home tuition. It appears that they are just leaving the parents to keep him at home, which is not what they want. But their son is quite adamant at this stage that he isn't going to go back.

 

Is there anything in the SEN Code of Practice about this?

[justine1]

Hi

I dont know much about this but if he is soon to be 16 (which he should be if he is going to be entering yr 11)there will be very little they can do about it,as by law he wont have to go to school.I suppose this may be the very reason why the school refuse to help,if he was younger I am certain they would.

 

Is there anyway he can go to a different school instead of no school at all???

[Sally44]

I'm not sure what the parents are going to try to do. At the moment he is refusing everything. He isn't even going out the house at all. No diagnosis of anything. I probably need to go round for tea and a chat, as she has not said anything to anyone about this before.

I thought that the closer a child was to their final exams that they would get a minimum amount of home tuition??

I think i'll just give her some telephone help lines that might give her some advice.

I think it is even harder to get any support when there is no recognition or understanding of the cause of the refusal.

[justine1]

I'm not sure what the parents are going to try to do. At the moment he is refusing everything. He isn't even going out the house at all. No diagnosis of anything. I probably need to go round for tea and a chat, as she has not said anything to anyone about this before.

I thought that the closer a child was to their final exams that they would get a minimum amount of home tuition??

I think i'll just give her some telephone help lines that might give her some advice.

I think it is even harder to get any support when there is no recognition or understanding of the cause of the refusal.

My brother refused school for a number of years,from around age 14.He changed secondary schools three times and the last one was one of the best private schools in the country(abroad) my father had to work two jobs in order to pay his fees.He was very good academically,all A's and top of the class,but he hated authority and liked to basically "play" going out all day doing nothing,thinking he can live off my parents for the rest of his life.He stopped completely a year before his final school year.

 

Since then everything went downhill.He has no job and has mental problems due to drugs.But there was nothing my parents could do.I always thought he was just getting away with it and why did me and my eldest brother have to work so hard and he didnt!!! But now looking back on it they did try everything,psycologists,different schools,letting him choose exactly what he wanted to study,buying him things as an incentive,EVERYTHING!! My dad was on his own with him and my mum (remarried) myself and other brother lived 7 hour drive/1 hour flight away!!!

 

So I so sympathise.I guess all they can do is try and see what alternatives they have and speak to him about why exactly he wont go to school.If he has no diagnosis I would go into the situation as if he is NT (even if it later turns out he is not) that way they are more likely to put pressure on him to do something with his time.

[Kathryn]

One would expect the Education welfare service to be involved - have the parents been pursued for non attendance? How is his absence being recorded?

 

He wouldn't automatically be entitled to home tuition unless he was signed off sick due to something like depression or anxiety. If the parent can get medical evidence to say that this is the reason he is off school, as a child with medical needs, the LA home and hospital tuition service would then be obliged to provide something for him. The school should also cooperate in providing something that is accessible and the Connexions service can help to look at other flexible options - eg college attendance or work experience which might suit him better.

 

The D of E document "Access to education for children with medical needs" sets out the responsibilities of the school and LEA and gives examples of good practice. It's worth a look. Also look at the school's and LEA's own policies on pupils with medical needs to see what they themselves say they should be doing. A child should not just be "dumped", but it happens and your friend will have to get very assertive - nobody will do anything if she does not shout.

 

A lot, of course, depends on what her son is willing to do - you can lead a horse to water... etc.

 

K x

[Sally44]

One would expect the Education welfare service to be involved - have the parents been pursued for non attendance? How is his absence being recorded?

 

He wouldn't automatically be entitled to home tuition unless he was signed off sick due to something like depression or anxiety. If the parent can get medical evidence to say that this is the reason he is off school, as a child with medical needs, the LA home and hospital tuition service would then be obliged to provide something for him. The school should also cooperate in providing something that is accessible and the Connexions service can help to look at other flexible options - eg college attendance or work experience which might suit him better.

 

The D of E document "Access to education for children with medical needs" sets out the responsibilities of the school and LEA and gives examples of good practice. It's worth a look. Also look at the school's and LEA's own policies on pupils with medical needs to see what they themselves say they should be doing. A child should not just be "dumped", but it happens and your friend will have to get very assertive - nobody will do anything if she does not shout.

 

A lot, of course, depends on what her son is willing to do - you can lead a horse to water... etc.

 

K x

 

I think that is the catch 22 they are in now. He may well be Aspergers, but never picked up. And this maybe something I have to mention to his mum for her to consider or rule out. But he has always had problems. He isn't naughty, just cannot 'cope' in school environment or social environment. Now in secondary he has refused to attend. Parents have gone to the GP and have been told that school refusal in itself is a 'condition', but as you say, I don't think that would fit a 'medical' criteria to enable them to access any home tuition or support.

No-one is pursuing the parents. He has been at home for some time and no-one seems bothered by it.

[bensmum2]

She needs to get some help before they take her to court for non attendance, if he is in year 10 he has another year to go and could end up totally failing and this will make the situation worse. I have had to home school my son through year 9, our GP didnt really reognise his problems as school refusal just kept saying send him in till he gets used to it, but he never did, if her gp does acknowledge it as a condition ,he could give him a sick note to say he is unable to attend school, the the lea should get him some home tuition, in our case they refused and even threatened our gp with court!!! but in theory, a sick note to say he is too ill to go to school ,is what he needs . then they should provide home or pru or something until they can sort something out for him. my son was only diagnosed with aspegers last year at 13, but it's typical Aspergers school refusal , usually starts at secondary school. She also has to try to get him out of te house as much as possible , it's hard i know believe me, but he will retreat more and more into himself if she doesnt. believe me i have been there and still fighing to get my son in a special school, she needs to do soemthing asap, private message me if u want i've been through it x

[bensmum2]

forgot to say, somewhere in the code of practice i think, it says the lea should provide some alternative education if a child is unable to attend school , after 15 days i think, not 100% sure, but she will need a doctors note , in our case they never provided anything despite 3 doctors notes and a consultants letter, i even complained to the lgo but lost !!! Things might get left now being summer holidays , but she needs to prepare for next septemberx

[Karen A]

Hi Sally.

http://www.youngminds.org.uk/parents/im-co...school-problems

This might be useful information to pass on.Young Minds also operate a helpline that might be useful.

Although school refusal is not a diagnosis in itself it could be one aspect of a mental health condition.It can be the result of extreme social anxiety or seperation anxiety.J my elder son exhibited school refusal for several months when in year 6 at primary school.He developed difficulties following a period of bullying at school.He was supported by a CAMHS clinical psychologist who provided a few sessions of CBT.A few years on he is fine now.We were fortunate in that CAMHS already knew the family.It is more difficult to obtain an appointment otherwise.

However in order to obtain help on medical grounds I would think a CAMHS assessment might be needed.The GP should be able to do a referal.

This is because there can be any one of a number of reasons for children not attending school that are not related to anxiety.

In J's case he did need some CAMHS support.We found the longer he was out of school the harder it became to help him to get back.He became more withdrawn and used to being at home.So it may be worth your friend pushing for some support.

To be honest I think that if school refusal is related to mental health needs then it may well be worth pushing for some support to enable the child to return to school even if very slowly.Access to home tuition for example may not deal with the issues and may inadverently continue the problem.

Karen.

 

[Karen A]

forgot to say, somewhere in the code of practice i think, it says the lea should provide some alternative education if a child is unable to attend school , after 15 days i think, not 100% sure, but she will need a doctors note , in our case they never provided anything despite 3 doctors notes and a consultants letter, i even complained to the lgo but lost !!! Things might get left now being summer holidays , but she needs to prepare for next septemberx

 

 

Hi.

The information re 15 days is right.However it is from the dfes document regarding children with medical needs mentioned by Kathryn previously.

http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrde...S-0025-2002.pdf

The summary is available here.However it only applies to children who are unable to attend school due to medical needs.If a child is off school with no recognised and documented medical needs the onus is very much on the parent to secure school attendance.The lea does not have to provide anything and may just threaten the parents with a fine unfortunately.The current policy is very much to ensure school attendance.Ben is having one day unauthorised abscence today to attend a music festival and see the band he loves who happen to be playing half a mile up the road.The school would condone the unauthorised abcence and we expect no fine but they could not authorise it despite it being days before the end of term.

Karen.

 

 

[bensmum2]

Hi again . i just realised it ddoesn't actually say he is ill, but if he is, and the Gp recognises it as a legitimate problem, he could give a sick note and then they would have to do something, either way ,just doing nothing is no good, they need to sort soemthing out, or they will be talking much more serious than fines!! They have a few weeks breathing space now but need to make some decisions, even if he isn't actually ill, the lEA could help by providing some kind of "alternative " education , in year 10 they can do college, my son found college much easier, even though he was opnly 13 when he first started, he has come out with city and guilds in english and maths and some preparation for work and functional skills courses under his belt at 14.There are alternatives and with the right support from the Gp or maybe CAMHS, the lea should help. There was a recent case about school refusal in the daily mail, have a look at my link, hope it helps, http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?p...p;id=1189335299, at the very least they can use this to prove he is not the only one suffering with this,x

[lindy2017]

She needs to get some help before they take her to court for non attendance, if he is in year 10 he has another year to go and could end up totally failing and this will make the situation worse. I have had to home school my son through year 9, our GP didnt really reognise his problems as school refusal just kept saying send him in till he gets used to it, but he never did, if her gp does acknowledge it as a condition ,he could give him a sick note to say he is unable to attend school, the the lea should get him some home tuition, in our case they refused and even threatened our gp with court!!! but in theory, a sick note to say he is too ill to go to school ,is what he needs . then they should provide home or pru or something until they can sort something out for him. my son was only diagnosed with aspegers last year at 13, but it's typical Aspergers school refusal , usually starts at secondary school. She also has to try to get him out of te house as much as possible , it's hard i know believe me, but he will retreat more and more into himself if she doesnt. believe me i have been there and still fighing to get my son in a special school, she needs to do soemthing asap, private message me if u want i've been through it x

Hi, I had to take my 11 year old out of school in april due to him not being able to cope and axiety........i am waiting for appoitment CAMHS.....to get dx so i can get help when he doesnt want to go to secondary school in september.....he ttried taster day but was very anxious and resistant.....my 3 older children has asperger traits....... lindy

[Karen A]

Hi, I had to take my 11 year old out of school in april due to him not being able to cope and axiety........i am waiting for appoitment CAMHS.....to get dx so i can get help when he doesnt want to go to secondary school in september.....he ttried taster day but was very anxious and resistant.....my 3 older children has asperger traits....... lindy

 

Hi.

I just wondered if secondary school are offering any support in September ?

It might be worth pushing for some early intervention.

J our elder son does not have AS.However he had a period of anxiety and panic attacks.He was out of school for much of his last term at primary school.He experienced difficulties again very soom into year 7.He was offered support at about 15 minutes notice by a wonderful SENCO when we could not get him into school one day.He had a few days support from a TA and a few sessions with a CAMHS clinical psychologist hand has never looked back.

J is about to go into year 10 and plans to go to America skiing with the school next year.He has been climbing as part of the D of E award too.

So things can get better with a bit of support.

 

We were very worried about transition for Ben.For news on his progress you could read the thread on the topic.It has notbeen easy but he has done better than we could ever have hoped.

Karen.

 

[Sally44]

Thanks for all the info.

I've sent my friend all the info and links for her to read through.

I think that's all I can do for the time being.

[Mandapanda]

"I think that is the catch 22 they are in now. He may well be Aspergers, but never picked up. And this maybe something I have to mention to his mum for her to consider or rule out. But he has always had problems. He isn't naughty, just cannot 'cope' in school environment or social environment. Now in secondary he has refused to attend. Parents have gone to the GP and have been told that school refusal in itself is a 'condition', but as you say, I don't think that would fit a 'medical' criteria to enable them to access any home tuition or support.

No-one is pursuing the parents. He has been at home for some time and no-one seems bothered by it."

 

 

Hi

 

I believe some people use the term School Refusal instead of School Phobia - school phobia really explains it better and seems more understandable as a medical based problem. However my son was angry at the term school phobia as to him a phobia is something you're 'frightened' of and in his mind he wasn't frightened of school, even though he would fight for his life when it was time to go.

[Sally44]

As far as I can tell things just seem to be continuing as before ie. he stays at home and isn't seeing anyone. The LEA are not taking things further with the parents because the parents are co-operating. However their son just does not want to return to school or see anyone.

No idea how this will turn out. And as this is the child of someone I would call a 'childhood friend' and not a close friend now, it is all rather difficult. We don't socialise, although we do see eachother often and chat about life in general.

She does now have all the info to hand. But whether she realises that she will need to be quite pro-active is another question. From our last conversation she said she felt that no plan was being put in place to try to get her son to return to school and that everyone feared placing any pressure on him. But I don't think she can see any end to the current situation.

I know that sometimes 'time' is needed before a child is able to move on. But he's falling further and further behind with school work and I think he should take his GCSEs next year.

[Mandapanda]

As far as I can tell things just seem to be continuing as before ie. he stays at home and isn't seeing anyone. The LEA are not taking things further with the parents because the parents are co-operating. However their son just does not want to return to school or see anyone.

No idea how this will turn out. And as this is the child of someone I would call a 'childhood friend' and not a close friend now, it is all rather difficult. We don't socialise, although we do see eachother often and chat about life in general.

She does now have all the info to hand. But whether she realises that she will need to be quite pro-active is another question. From our last conversation she said she felt that no plan was being put in place to try to get her son to return to school and that everyone feared placing any pressure on him. But I don't think she can see any end to the current situation.

I know that sometimes 'time' is needed before a child is able to move on. But he's falling further and further behind with school work and I think he should take his GCSEs next year.

 

Hi Sally

 

In our case the school teacher was 'kind' and was signing my son off sick. This delayed Education Welfare getting involved which in hindsight was a mistake. She has a choice. If she feels it may be possible for him to go to school again then she needs to keep in contact with Education Welfare. They can refer for Home Tutors/online learning. We were perhaps 'lucky' that Ed Welf were very understanding and supportive of my son's difficulties, I know they are not always so. If she knows in her heart of hearts that he cannot cope with school at all (this may be a slow revelation kind of thing), then she can deregister and home ed - this is nowhere near as daunting as it sounds, and if you already have your child at home and unhappy it can mean you then have your child at home and happier.

[Sally44]

Educational Welfare are already involved as far as I understand. But no tutors are being sent in because he is refusing to see anyone.

IMO I think they could involve someone from outside the family, eg. a favourite teacher etc, to initially talk with him at home and get something planned for a gradual meeting with a tutor etc. But nothing like that is happening and everyone involved does not want to put pressure on him. So no talk of bringing in tutors etc at this stage.

[Mandapanda]

Educational Welfare are already involved as far as I understand. But no tutors are being sent in because he is refusing to see anyone.

IMO I think they could involve someone from outside the family, eg. a favourite teacher etc, to initially talk with him at home and get something planned for a gradual meeting with a tutor etc. But nothing like that is happening and everyone involved does not want to put pressure on him. So no talk of bringing in tutors etc at this stage.

 

I tried to get the teacher to come to the house to see my son, but the school seemed to think it was the EWO's problem once they were involved. I felt our school were no proactive enough early enough and waited until I could hardly get him to school at all to come up with a plan.