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My son won't go to school.. im in shit for it

427 replies

Notoschool · 25/01/2022 10:31

My son is 14. He's been refusing school since around September. He's probably been 5 or 6 times since. He gives lots of different reasons such as he does not like the teacher . Or he feels anxious in the class. He hates the lesson. His reasons seem to change.

He has been self harming by cutting himself. He's been offered counselling at school.but as hes not going to school that's not happening. We have asked for help from camhs that was refused. So we have appealed. We found another counselling/support service for young people they are giving him 3 sessions. And that ends. As they are reducing their services. At the moment we have some support from early help but apparently that comes to a close in around 3 weeks.

My son has been very aggressive to the point he scares me. He's done things like smash up the doors in the house put holes in a partition wall. He's also verbally aggressive.

Recently the school offered him part time time table. To start at 11.15 . He agreed with this . Apart from the Monday where he wanted to start at lunchtime. The school refused this . But I really stood up for ds . As I thought this was better than not going at all. I agree its not right but surely a step in the right direction. His body language had changed and his tone. I really thought he was going to do it . So he went to school on the Friday. Come Monday He's refusing again I actually agued his point with the school so now it's made me look really bad and now he's made it impossible for me to have any valued say in a meeting that's going to happen in a few days.

Hes always asking for money to top his phone up. For food when he's out. Or just general things that teens often want . He wanted money Friday. I said once I know your at school I will transfer you money. Then on Tuesday as long as you have been to school on the Monday and Tuesday. I will top up your phone. But he did not stick to this agreement. So I have not topped up his phone. He told me how selfish I am . And said to me things like: "you only have to do a simple thing. It's like you want me to cut." He has said several similar things.

I'm actually frightened that because I'm refusing to give him money or top up his phone he's going to become very aggressive later on.

The school have told me there is going to be a meeting the local authorities will be there. I have been told I can get a large fine. Could get a tag or even go to prison . My son has told me he does not care. I'm told the law says its my responsibility to get him to school but no one can actually tell me how I can get him in school. He's 14 and 6ft tall I can't physically get him there.

I'm really scared of this whole situation. But I feel totally trapped in the situation and don't know what to do. My son just won't engage.

OP posts:
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Whatwhywhenwhere · 25/01/2022 13:13

Op he sounds as a f he is being bullied or suffering tremendously. In my experience the more hurt a child is, the more they misbehave. Then they get punished for running away from their abusers, lose their education, the love and support of their family and it can ge devastating.

If I were in that situation I would tell that child that I live and support them and will move heaven and earth to help them. I understand homeschooling might not be an option but I would certainly consider counselling, CAHMS, changing schools using tutors etc. Happy kids don’t behave this way.

Lunificent · 25/01/2022 13:16

@Embracelife

Go o the Facebook group " Not Fine In School - " Public Page - School Attendance Difficulties is on Facebook. To connect with Not Fine In School - Public Page - School Attendance Difficulties
I second this. I also like the Facebook group ‘Harry Thompson PDA Extraordinaire’. He has very definite views on the negative effects of school on some children/why they don’t want to go. It sounds like your son needs another setting, maybe a therapeutic school with four fewer pupils. You could ask about this if you are meeting to discuss his education.
MondayYogurt · 25/01/2022 13:17

I'm more concerned about why he is cutting himself. That's self destructive behaviour and an obvious cry for help.
When did he change? Who is he talking to on his phone? What has happened to make him hate himself so much?

SunflowerTed · 25/01/2022 13:18

Can his dad help?

Whatwhywhenwhere · 25/01/2022 13:18

I had a child a little like this; there were huge problems. I stood up to the LA, refused to argue, reinforced love, respect and understanding, got them counselling. I remember the phrase that made a difference:- parents are well-meaning idiots. It made her laugh but also understand that although we have no idea how it feels to be going through hell; we want to help. She is now working, studying has friends and a boyfriend. We also have a good relationship. Love your child today as much as the day they were born. (I am sure you do). Let them know that. In five years, this will be a memory.

OneWildNightWithJBJ · 25/01/2022 13:18

OP, I don't have anything else to add other than what's already been said, but wanted to post that I know how you feel, as we're going through the same thing with my 14-year-old right now.

He is autistic and has huge anxiety around school. I never imagined in a million years I would have a child who didn't go to school. Silly me thought that being a teacher, making sure our kids could read before they started school, taking them to museums, having a house full of books, playing educational games, discussing world issues at dinnertime... I thought that they'd grow up loving school!! How wrong could I be. I didn't count on autism and anxiety. I'm not saying your son is autistic, but he clearly has anxiety.

The trauma of what we as a family go through every morning is unimaginable. Anyone who says to just shove them out of the front door, really has no idea.

This is part of the reason I left teaching recently. I am so disillusioned with the education system. It is failing so many children. My son wants to learn, he just can't cope with the way school is set up. To be threatened with a criminal record, the same as parents who take their kids out of school on holiday, is utterly ridiculous. Things need to change.

As mentioned above, join that FB group, as you'll get lots of support and advice.

TankFlyBoss · 25/01/2022 13:20

@NatashaBedwouldbenice I did do one not so long ago. If you search it should come up

FurbleSocks · 25/01/2022 13:21

notfineinschool.co.uk/

Panemetcircenses1 · 25/01/2022 13:27

@Ellie56 is spot on.
Self harm and anxiety is a mental health condition which can lead to school refusal. Pandemic/lockdown induced anxiety is a real thing.
OP this is not just your responsibility - school and LA and mental health provision are failing your son! He needs help and they all have a duty to provide it too, rather than just threatening you with fines.

Tippytaps · 25/01/2022 13:30

@StepAwayFromGoogling

You do sound like you've been enabling his behaviour. Surely you shove him out the door with his achool clothes and tell him to get to school? You don't let him loaf about in the house all day. And you've still been giving him money to go out and top up his phone? So what have the consequences for him not going to school been up to now?
?what nonsense is this?!

What, realistically, can OP do?

Good luck trying to forcibly dress a 6ft 14yo of a morning.

“shove him out the door” (in his pyjamas?)
Physically manhandle an aggressive 6ft teenager down the stairs and out the door. Unlikely to be successful in doing anything but getting OP beaten up!!

@Notoschool I am so sorry you are going through this. If you feel in danger you can call the police. Ask for a referral to childrens services, they can help provide extra support, push CAMH and helps show that you are trying to get him to school.

Nocutenamesleft · 25/01/2022 13:30

I’ve had this. Though at a younger age

The stress on our family was unreal. The school were good. But not amazing.

I did the only thing I had left. Which was tk take them out of school. I tried to get them into private school. But that was even worse!

It been the best thing I’ve ever done. I wish I’d done it years sooner.

LumosSolem · 25/01/2022 13:30

@OneWildNightWithJBJ I agree with everything in your post- and I am so so worried about when my DC will go to secondary school as I think they are absolutely awful environments now- I still feel young in my early 30s and schools were not the same when I went. Of course it wasn't perfect but they didn't want to criminalise us and our parents- they seem like prisons today. It's honestly a wonder that any of them wanted to go back after lockdowns- if I struggled with anxiety 20 years ago no idea how I'd cope now.

If my school hadn't had the sense to deal with whatever I was going through in the compassionate, pragmatic way that they did, I would have ended up with no GCSE's, a really difficult start to my adult life. Schools should be looking seriously at whatever they can do just to get children through the door when they are struggling.

I'll never forget the lovely teacher who helped me so much, let me sit in her office, was kind and patient and understanding- when she handed me my GCSE results she said 'I am so proud of you and so will your parents be!'

LumosSolem · 25/01/2022 13:31

[quote Panemetcircenses1]@Ellie56 is spot on.
Self harm and anxiety is a mental health condition which can lead to school refusal. Pandemic/lockdown induced anxiety is a real thing.
OP this is not just your responsibility - school and LA and mental health provision are failing your son! He needs help and they all have a duty to provide it too, rather than just threatening you with fines.[/quote]
Such a good point- shows how awful things have become when so many schools seem to fail to understand mental health- even after the pandemic gave them a massive smack in the face of a clue of how it can affect teenagers.

OneWildNightWithJBJ · 25/01/2022 13:39

@LumosSolem I'm so pleased things turned out OK for you, despite all the struggles you went through. Yes, secondary schools are often when school 'refusal' starts. At least you're aware of things so you can perhaps prepare for your DC going to secondary.

itsgettingweird · 25/01/2022 13:42

[quote SoTiredNeedHoliday]**@itsgettingweird* I'm so glad to hear that you went through the process and got what you needed to start to fix your situation. That is what needs to keep happening for the government to make mental health a priority and to help our youth. As you say OPs DS is clearly struggling and desperately needs help. It is not OPs fault and it is up to the community to make sure she and her DS get the help they need. #ittakesavillage.*
I was so saddened to hear that the OP was being threatened with fines etc, as if that was going to make the situation better.[/quote]
Thankyou.

It's horrible. I had loads of services turn me away but I knew what ds needed and made sure I had everything in writing.

Including a transcript of a recorded telephone message where I was told they weren't authorising my ds absence from school to attend a Gp appointment after attempting to take his own life because "they didn't think he had any reason to be anxious around school".

It's shocking all the cuts to child mental health currently. These are the generation of the future. Our future workforce and future parents. We need to be ensuring they are going out into this world happy and healthy adults. Even more so after this pandemic.

My best advice I can give any latent facing this is find out the law. Find out policy. Quote it to everyone and ask how they plan to meet their duty.

If alongside this you can afford private treatment then do exercise this right. But do not stop expecting the services from the nhs we pay for. If people aren't using it and fighting for it the statistics will show it's not needed and services will reduce further.

OP does your have any hobbies? Would joining a club or something or a sports team help increase his self esteem?

LumosSolem · 25/01/2022 13:45

@OneWildNightWithJBJ I really really hope you get a good resolution with your son. My poor parents must have despaired at times (it's only recently that I've stopped feeling so guilty and realised I was only a child and I didn't mean to put them through it!) but we did all get through it.

I just get really cross when I read on here how badly some schools deal with these issues where in some, not all but definitely some situations, their actions alone could make a huge difference in helping teenagers who are struggling. For me it was probably severe anxiety- it was actually a new school after being bullied at a previous one. Not surprising things didn't go smoothly to start with really. The way the new school tried to help and adapted to help me probably averted disaster really- some schools seem to have no common sense or empathy any more.

LumosSolem · 25/01/2022 13:47

@itsgettingweird that's shocking- honestly things are so so much worse, it seems to me. Schools, mental health services- never mind the monster that is social media. I feel so much for our children and teenagers. What an awful time to be growing up.

Trilley · 25/01/2022 13:53

Was it your GP who referred him to CAMHS? Might s/he be prepared to support you by providing a letter saying he has mental health difficulties and is too unwell to be in school? The Department for Education guidance says that schools and local authorities should be prepared to accept this from GPs given the massive delays in getting referrals to consultants and organisations like CAMHS.

It might also be worth considering an application for an EHC needs assessment, not least because an Educational Psychologist may be able to give some views on the basis for your son's difficulties. All you have to prove for those purposes is that your son may have SEN and may need more support than a standard mainstream school can provide - and if he can't access school he seems to fill those criteria.

Notoschool · 25/01/2022 13:53

People have mentioned applying for Echp? My younger primary school child was being seen since he was around 2 years old . By peadatrition etc due to his development /communication bring delayed. Before he was diagnosed he had started school. And was/is struggling. I mentioned to them about an Echp. They said that we need as much evidence as possible. So that meant a diagnosis/speech and language/ school psychologist. Other wise they would likely reject it. My youngest son now has a diagnosis and the school applied for the Echp.

I understand I can do this for my 14 year old but . I'm thinking they will just reject it. I have no proof what so ever. Nothing professional to back anything up. Not a single bit of paper nothing at all.

OP posts:
Trilley · 25/01/2022 13:54

Another plus of getting some sort of medical evidence is that you an use it to push for EOTAS - education otherwise than at school - i.e. something like home tuition provided by the local authority. It's wonderful how they start to back off from attendance threats when you point out that they are the ones depriving your child of an education.

itsgettingweird · 25/01/2022 14:00

@Notoschool

People have mentioned applying for Echp? My younger primary school child was being seen since he was around 2 years old . By peadatrition etc due to his development /communication bring delayed. Before he was diagnosed he had started school. And was/is struggling. I mentioned to them about an Echp. They said that we need as much evidence as possible. So that meant a diagnosis/speech and language/ school psychologist. Other wise they would likely reject it. My youngest son now has a diagnosis and the school applied for the Echp.

I understand I can do this for my 14 year old but . I'm thinking they will just reject it. I have no proof what so ever. Nothing professional to back anything up. Not a single bit of paper nothing at all.

Read sendcop carefully.

This is often what is stated. But in actual fact the echp process does the assessments.

The thread hold for assessment is not able to access education normally available in mainstream school. Your ds clearly meets this. He cannot attend. All the things tried have failed to help him feel safe enough to attend. They have run out of ideas beyond threatening you.

So now they need to assess him. If after assessment they don't feel he needs more than available they can refuse to issue. (This opens a whole new right to appeal etc).

My ds was refused an assessment although not attending school. They tried the blaming me. Tried blaming the relationship I had with ds school (which they made due to being very like the woman your dealing with).

That was 2015. (After junior school applied in 2013 and were turned down) He final year of college now and still has an ehcp. You know - the one he didn't need?

It's sooooooooo wrong you have to fight. But ime it was fully worth it in the end.

lifeturnsonadime · 25/01/2022 14:00

@Trilley

Another plus of getting some sort of medical evidence is that you an use it to push for EOTAS - education otherwise than at school - i.e. something like home tuition provided by the local authority. It's wonderful how they start to back off from attendance threats when you point out that they are the ones depriving your child of an education.
Yes that is what my once 'refuser' has. It has enabled him to get an education he can access and has been so successful he is now hoping to attend mainstream college for A-Levels.

When I was in OP's position I never thought we'd get to where we are today.

OP I was where you are, my son was a bit younger than yours is though.

Ellie's post about the process is spot on. I wish someone had told me that from the outset.

shanavine · 25/01/2022 14:04

Hi I'm a grandad of a nearly five year old girl.
Her mum 26 , a student nurse lives with me
I don't stay there all the time, I work full-time and have a partner a hours drive away
That is all for context.
The five year old gets aggressive with her mum if asked to do anything.
Physically hits her even in front of people, which is new.
We are awaiting psychologist appointment.
But it appears to be all behavioral.
She is very good in school and for her nanny most of the time.
She does not care about the bold step, having her things removed.
Equally rewards are not helping either.
HELP

GreenWhiteViolet · 25/01/2022 14:05

OP, I was like your son about twenty years ago. Self-harming and too anxious to go to school. Punishments didn't work - doing housework all day and not being allowed out in the evening was infinitely preferable to going to school. If forced to leave the house in the morning, I'd spend the day at the local library, learning about things I was interested in. I did this a lot once I realised nobody would know if I'd been at school or not so long as I was out of the house for the right amount of time.

What my family did wrong was not considering any alternative other than 'you must go to school, and it must be that school'. Missing a lot of school didn't damage me. Being told that I was worthless and would never get/keep a job if I couldn't even go to school did, because I believed it. My early adulthood was tough as a result. No self-confidence.

I'm now in my thirties, I have multiple degrees, and I've never had an issue with absence at work. It turns out that when I have some choice over where I go and what I do, life is much better. The secondary school years remain the worst of my life because of the constant state of fear and stress I was in.

School is not more important than your son's mental health. Education can be caught up on later. Mental health is much more difficult to fix. In your place I'd deregister him to take the pressure off you both, then think about alternative options.

itsgettingweird · 25/01/2022 14:05

Also email everyone involved with ds. Early help etc and ask for a report about what they e observed so far.

Make sure any conversation you have with anyone is backed up by an email.

Dear xxxxxx

Thankyou for your call on x date at x time.

Can you confirm my understanding is correct.

We discussed xxxxxxxxxx

We agreed that this action will be taken by x date.

I have asked for xxxxxxx. You haven't given any firm indication if you will comply with this request or a timescale. Please provide a response in 5 working days.

Hold everyone accountable. Schools and las avoid emails etc as a paper trial shows they are following the law and therefore they have nothing to show they aren't being accountable as they should.

This isn't pushy. It's doing what you can and should as a parent. You aren't asking for more than he is entitled to. You are simply asking for help. They've got no qualms in threading you with possible prison so have no qualms with politely asking for confirmation of a date they will comply with their legal duty of care.

Don't allow anyone make you feel fighting for your ds makes you a bad parent or a nuisance. Ignore any attempts to deflect when you ask for support through things like "your making this working relationship difficult". It's sacred speak for "your holding us account to our duty which we don't like".

Your ds will always have later opportunities at an education. Eid caution isnt simply GCSEs at school and then move on.

But he won't get another chance at his childhood and he needs his MH right for him to experience the one every child should.