Stop treating school 'refusal' as truancy

School ‘refusal’ (sometimes known as school phobia or Emotionally Based School Avoidance) is usually characterised by clinically diagnosable anxiety. It can result from any number of underlying issues including bullying, an undiagnosed or unsupported Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) or a mental health problem. Living in poverty, insecure housing, being a young carer, fleeing domestic violence, having a chronic illness, suffering a bereavement are just some of the reasons a child or young person will struggle to attend school.

Whilst the underlying issue can present significant challenges in itself, the resulting attendance difficulties leaves families in crisis. A new 'mental ill health' code would start to measure the scale of this growing problem. We know there currently is not parity of esteem towards mental health challenges in children & young people who often find school does not believe them or their parents.

By introducing a mental ill health code, the numbers struggling due to a social, emotional or mental health need (be it emerging or chronic) would be captured. Schools would have agency to authorise these absences equitably just as with any other illness or physical injury. It would serve as a pastoral flag for schools and would ensure a consistent approach across all settings, drawing in support for children until the mental health challenges can be addressed. Crucially it would alleviate families from the threat of prosecution for 'unauthorised' absence.

The decision to authorise absence lies with individual schools who are governed by legal statutory duties, guidance from the Department for Education, attendance targets and OFSTED inspections, as well as duty of care for pupils' wellbeing. None of the current 23 attendance codes allow for the cause of school refusal to be explored and appropriate support provided. Without medical proof that a child is unfit for school, absence is therefore often unauthorised and classed as truancy, a prosecutable offence.

Budget cuts, increased testing, delays in SEND assessments, higher thresholds for mental health support and difficulties securing and implementing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs – which replaced the previous Statements of Educational Need), are all compounding the problem.

Whilst there is no official data on school refusal at present, the rise in non-elective home education, prosecutions, suspensions and permanent exclusions are all indicators of a significant problem. A national Facebook group, Not Fine in School (NFIS) which launched in November 2017 now has over 62k members (Sept 2024) and is growing at a rate of 1000++ new members every month.

The results of a NFIS survey which ran in March 2018 and was completed by 1,661 families showed that:

• 92% of parents thought that their child’s school attendance difficulties were related to undiagnosed/unsupported SEND

• Despite this, 20% had been told not to bother applying for an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and a further 20% did not know what an EHCP was

• 55% of parents were blamed for their child’s attendance issues

• 25% parents were reported to Social Services because of their child’s poor attendance

• 18.4% of parents had been accused of fabricating or influencing their child’s illness (also known as FII or Munchausen’s Syndrome By Proxy)

• 67% had been put under pressure to force their child into school, yet 59% said this had made the situation worse

We conducted another survey across 10 days in February (2022) for our submission to the DfE Attendance Consultation. 1,960 families took part. Only 10% of respondents felt schools' responses to their child's persistent absence improved attendance, with 94% of families stating school had adversely impacted their child's mental health and wellbeing.

Latest research clearly links mental ill health and SEND with attendance difficulties, persistent absence and exclusion:

Proposals in the shelved Schools Bill 2022 focussed on punitive measures for families with more at risk of being successfully prosecuted and fined.

"The Bill strengthens the potential outcomes of a successful prosecution and extends the reach of the court to not only fine but to impose a custodial sentence."

We successfully lobbied for a ‘Support First’ approach to school non-attendance which has been laid out in new statutory guidance published in August 2024. And while this is welcome, schools still feel unable to authorise absence, particularly where a child is struggling with their wellbeing or is on a waiting list to be assessed by CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).

We hear from families every day facing the threat of fines and / or are being prosecuted.

We are delighted to have the support of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, the Centre for Mental Health, Mind, Place2Be, and Adoption UK, who have all echoed our call for a mental health authorisation code for absence from school.  

Let’s bring children’s mental health out of the shadows and empower schools to recognise the children who are struggling early.  Let’s ensure we know and understand the numbers of children and young people unable to attend, access or remain in education as a result of declining wellbeing, poor mental health and mental illness.

Please sign our petition today.