I've name changed for this, but am a regular.
I've got a year 11 daughter aged 15, who has had severe anxiety for the past four months of year 11. She has panic attacks which get so bad, she feels that she has to run out of the room. The school told her to go to another (pastoral support/study skills) room if/when she leaves the classroom. She spends over half the school day in a separate room (pastoral support area) where she is mostly alone.
Occasionally a teacher will come in, ask her if she's 'really tried' to attend the lesson, then asks her to return to the classroom to collect work which she can do outside the classroom. This upsets her because she leaves due to panic attack, so returning to the classroom isn't an option. She hides her panic quite well and I suspect the teachers think she's making this up. I absolutely believe my daughter. I know she's not ok. She loved school; so much so that she was sad in the holidays and wanted to go back. She's embarrassed and mortified that she can't remain in classroom due to anxiety. I was called into a meeting to discuss her attendance, where I was informed that one of her subject teachers said that she'd left the lesson because she 'couldn't be bothered' to stay. This is not true. I think they believe it's a conscious choice of hers to leave the lessons. She's getting counselling at the school. I think the school are mostly worried about her attendance and not about helping her.
We've also been referred to counselling via the GP, who also prescribed beta blockers for the panic. Her attendance is around the 80% mark and falling. She's on course to get top grades. She's already got a 9 and an A from year 10.
Every day is a fight to get her into school because of the panic. I phone the school regularly. They're reassuring, but also keep repeating that " I must bring her in" but how can I force a fully grown 15 year old to get in the car if she's in bits? I have a younger child who I have to get ready for school in the morning too. The school meeting was all about the importance of attendance and I suspect a box ticking exercise for the benefit of Ofsted. It wasn't about my daughter or what they can do to help her. In my heart of hearts, I think a reduced timetable or studying from home and going back into the school for her exams would be better. Or even de-registering and home schooling the rest of year 11 and then doing the exams (if I did this, would we have to pay for the exams though?) She managed her mock exams mostly fine and I think this is because she was alone in a separate room and it was a break from the usual routine of 90 min lessons with 30 other children.
In situations like this, are the school likely to allow her to study remotely and come in for the GCSE's in the summer, or not? She's already talking about an apprenticeship or something next year because, despite being predicted top grades and having the ability to do A levels etc, she doesn't want a repeat of the same experience (although in college she would be in a less formal environment which would help reduce her panic attacks I'm sure)
To avoid drip feeding, there's a bit of a history with her mental health. In year 8 she lost a huge amount of weight due to a fear of being sick, which was tackled by CAMHS (the doctor wouldn't refer her again when we asked recently) and was very very poorly. Her eating has started to deteriorate again and I'm worried that her just going into school every day and sitting alone in a room to keep the schools attendance figures looking ok, is going to send her on another downward spiral.
Any advice would be much appreciated, especially if you work in a school and know the system or if you home school a year 11 child and know what the deal is there.
Also, if she continues to stay home, will I get a fine or worse? What will the school do?