To think the term School 'REFUSAL' should be banned?

[taratill]

I think it is a terrible term to use for a child who is unable to attend school and is an excuse for schools, LEA's the government to blame mental health problems / anxiety problems in school on the child.

I have first hand experience of this and had a child who was classed a school 'refuser' as a result of the fact that he had massive anxiety/ undiagnosed ASD and was unable to attend for a period of 6 months last year. Rather than give him support, in the first instance, when he started to get anxious and not want to go he was branded as naughty and defiant and quite ridiculously threatened with exclusion because he was scared to go into the class room. His anxiety wasn't addressed and he started to threaten to self harm and was eventually deemed until to go to school by mental health workers.

Happily now we have got to the root of the anxieties and have a good new school he has gone back but needs a number of interventions in the classroom/ school environment to cope. If he had had these and school had listened in the first place he may never have had to have time off, sigh!

I've read on a post today some quite judgemental comments about 'school refusal' and think the term itself is so damaging as the implication is that it is the child or the parents fault.

Just really winds me up, that's all.

I think the problem with 'school refusal' is that it places the entire problem at the feet of the child. That's not appropriate in almost all cases, certainly when they're young. I mean, when a workplace becomes so awful someone can't keep working there, we have the concept of constructive dismissal. Not employee refusal.

taratill
If they are engaged with school and other agencies when required then no. I don't think tbry should be fined.

If they are claiming school refusal whilst blocking school's attempt to support, not engaging with support then yes.

Like I say, i think the system is flawed in places. But that's separate to whether schools should use an umbrella term to categorise absence.

But the umbrella term is unhelpful which is the point of my OP because it implies blame!

YANBU

Honestly, Maisy, I'm glad she did that. It meant I knew it wasn't me - when you tell anyone who knows anything that detail it's sort of game over. She didn't understand.

Worst part? She's a really good head. That was why she tried so hard to force awful things. She has a passion for kids to achieve, and experience, and live to the full. I admire her when it comes to that and the average kid. And she only ever employed lovely, lovely staff - one who was not was swiftly managed out. Road to my son's hell was paved with her absolutely best, most honest intentions. She's a good person and a good teacher.

Training is the problem. It needs to be more detailed at the PGCE stage IMO because autism is so common, and so missed, and some basic adjustments could help so many kids.

It doesn't.
It says that someone (for whatever reason) is refusing to attend school.

I could refuse to do any number of activities (e.g. something that triggers my anxiety or something I'm scared of or something I just don't want to do). The fact is i am refusing to do something. Sure, some things I would refuse to do because it's been linked to anxiety in the past.

But i'm still refusing.

That isn't blaming me for my anxiety.
It is a statement of fact that I have refused to do something

And what if school is not giving support because school refusal = defiance , even when parents are crying for support?

maisy it might not to you but it does! Several parents on here have described there experiences!

perfectstorm
I agree. It's about training.
Simple adjustments make a big difference.

I always think it's a fine line. You want children to thrive and i always find myself frustrated when I hear comments about SEND/weaker children about how 'thry can't...' because I worry about them being plagued with low expectations. But, with wanting high expectations and giving tjem all the opportunities sometimes you try them out like swimming with armbands and it turns out they really can't cope in ghe water. In that situation it would be wrong to send them into a swimming lesson unaided when what they need is someone helping them feel confident to get in the shallow end again. Does that make sense?

I know what you mean OP, Refusal makes it sound like it's just a choice because they don't want to rather than it being panic attacks or whatever the issue is.

I was repeatedly told my son was lying about why he couldn't face school on assembly days, totally dismissed the fact he couldn't handle the noise. I had SEEN him cowering in fear with his ears covered, terrified by all by the echoes etc, but no apparently he was refusing because he didn't want to sit still he's home educated now and diagnosed with autism. I wanted to go back to the head teacher and wave that diagnosis in her face TBH. He was scared not just 'not wanting to go'

And what if school is not giving support because school refusal = defiance , even when parents are crying for support?
Then in my opinion that is a failing on thr school's part.

Right so if so many schools are failing to understand (look at how many are having similar experiences) maybe a more appropriate umbrella term might help ?

YANBU
School refusal definitely implies choice of some sort, when my son (ASD/PDA) started refusing just over a year ago, it was assumed that dh and I were allowing him to skip school and have lovely days watching tv and drinking hot chocolate (which we would have bloody done if he wasn't so distressed that even when at home, the pressure of knowing he had to return at some point meant he was constantly in meltdown). There was no choice about it whatsoever, he was unable to go.

We asked to meet the EWO early on, because we suspected it might be a long lasting issue, we took her ds's diagnosis reports and his profile detailing the problems, she didn't even look at them, she folded them up and shoved them in her bag as she snarkily said "just get him in", because that obviously hadn't crossed our minds at all

They eventually referred him for outside support, but by that time it was too late. After a horrific Christmas we deregistered him. It's not working out, but his anxiety has lessened and he has far fewer meltdowns.

One of the most difficult things in all this is the lack of understanding from most people, they don't see how horrific things can be, so assume that when we say how bad things can be that we're making it up, or being dramatic, or they said silly things like "just put him in the car and drive him there" (about the boy we couldn't get near to as he was so violent in his distress), or "I wouldn't let my child skip school" or that gem "he needs more resilience, force him in so he learns".

The one good thing about school refusal is that it shows you the people you can rely on.

As I've said, i refuse to do things vecause they trigger my anxiety. I am still refusing to do it. It's a factual statement.
So someone refusing to attend school is a factual statement.

I had a child in my class once with such horrifyingly upsetting mental health issues that over a year I met them 3 times. They were refusing to come to school. They were also refusing other services. It was heartbreaking to talk to their parents. The fact remains, as their parents said, the child was refusing. Refusing for a mutlitude of reasons that we couldn't even begin to imagine being in that's child shoes, but it was school refusing.

Schools not supporting a parent crying out for support is the issue.
No change of term will stop an organisation being shitty if they have a poor attitude to pastoral care.

As boogle has said extended school non-attendance works well abd i have already said i can run with that as well.

@Cagliostro it’s so frustrating, sensory issues which are not balance related seem to be so misunderstood in school.

cloudperson I’d love to see the statistics on the links between school refusal and ASD in fact I might put in a Freedom of Information Act request in this tomorrow . You can’t drive a child to school if they don’t want to go , it’s dangerous, my child tried to get out at 40 mph and threw his shoes at my head

taratill
I agree. It seems very much luck of the draw.
We have parents of children with additoonal needs trying to get into our school and y6s putting us 1st because we have a good way of dealing with things and different situations (not perfect and we're always trying to improve but then that aim for continual improvement is probably a good thing).

Some schools in our region are awful and when parents say what they've been through it upsets me sometimes.

Maisy I’m glad you agree and work at a good school where you look at what is behind ‘refusal’ but surely the fact that so many children try to get to your school illustrates my point and anything that would help recognition (such as a different term to describe these absences) would be for the greater good. I’m not sure why you are so invested in the fact that this is a useful term, I can’t deny it’s factually correct but even the EP on here saw its open to misinterpretation

School refusal is just that a student who refuses to go to school.

It's a simple and accurate term to describe any child that won't go to school for whatever reason

Would you describe it as school refusal if the child was unable to access the school due to a physical disability or health issue?

Refusal is a choice.Won't is a choice. It is a completely inappropriate word to describe the majority of children who it is applied to.

It doesn't need to have a snappy term. There isn't a snappy term for other disabled students without a suitable placement or support. The child is unable to attend school at the moment due to.......

taratill
I couldn't care less what the umbrella term is as long as it is a broad, factually accurate term.

What I would have an issue with is moving to a system where it's lots of codes/terms with different reasons etc. It makes it very difficult to track and monitor and as with anytging in schools, if it can't be monitored it gets pushed to one side.

The way i would do it is work in tiers (big to small)
Tier 1. Persistent absentees - all childreb who are missing a substantial amount of education
Tier 2 - broader breakdowns
E.g.
A. Unauthorised absences not explained
B. Illness
C. Suitably broad and accurate umbrella term (used for big picture monitoring)
And so on

This would be used across a school/LA to look at % of persistent absentees and reasons.

Then subcategories e.g. within 'school refusers'

1. Social and emotional
2. Mental health
3. Safeguarding and child protection concerns
4. SEND needs and those undergoing assessment
5. Parental failure to ensure child attends (this does exist believe it or not. It makes me cross)

Etc.

And these sub categories would be used by schools and across the schools to see wjat the need is in order to look at providing services e.g. CAMHS may be at breaking point but if 2 schools have a high number of children school refusing flagged under mental health then could they both chip in to get a counsellor through a local charity rtc (we've sent kids with a particular need out on day release 2-3 days a week to a local charity with a specialist facility for that need)

Does that help you see where I'm coming from?

We would totally be in this situation except we opted to HE from the start.

Refusal is a poor term because it implies choice that doesn't exist.

'Child denied access to school by medieval level understanding of mental health conditions' might be a better phrase...though far less snappy.

maisie sorry it doesn’t really help because it still lumps persistent absence together which gives schools ability to ignore the cause.
morphene lol

'Child denied access to school by medieval level understanding of mental health conditions' might be a better phrase... though far less snappy
But as many of us have said, there are many reasons behind school refusal suggesting that school refusal = mental health issues is simply not accurate.

A child may refuse to attens school due to underlying mental health issues.

But there are many situations which are not like that.

taratill
Persistent absence is the overall heading. It has to be because schools are asked to account for persistent absenteeism.
You can't not have that.

That's why I'm trying to show how it all fits in.

E.g. i taught a chils one year who was having cancer treatment. They had to be classed as absent. They weren't here. But it was medical so was files under 'medical' and we found ways to ensure they were educated.

You can't say 'we'll count this long term absence as persistent but not this one'. They are BOTH persistent.
But decent schools will go through the tiers e.g.
Child A, B and C are all peristent absentees.
Ah but child A has an ongoing medical need and all in in hand, good. Child C is working with thr council's local anxious students team and we are looking at stragies to get them in and support them, good. Child B has been off uet again with a random bug, always on fridays and mondays. That's worth following up to attendanve panel because home haven't been terribly helpful when we've contacted them.

But I bet you’d never refer to the child with cancer or their parent as having persistent absenteeism directly? I do understand your point particularly if you are talking about coding . If you look at my op you will see that it is partly in response to absence policies taking priority over tacking the cause of absence