Court for non attendance

[Frequency]

Has anyone been through this?

DD's attendance has been an issue since year 8. She is now in her final year.

There's a lot going on. DD was bullied relentlessly throughout the last two years of primary school which left her with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and issues around self-harm.

School is the main (but not the only) trigger for her self-harm and panic attacks. She refuses all help. We have tried CAMHS, we have tried school counsellors, local mental health charities and online counselling. She refuses to engage with any of it so they sign her off. She is now prescribed Sertraline but refuses to take it.

I've co-operated with the school throughout and they aware of DDs mental health issues. They have seen her self-harm scars and witnessed her panic attacks. They are aware of what I have tried to do to help her.

When she refuses school it is not with my permission. She pulls the duvet over her head, cries and refuses to move and often tells me if I make her go to school she will self-harm.

Her attendance has recently nose-dived due to a serious issue with another student that happened outside of school that warranted Police involvement. The school are also aware of this. The Police attended the school to make them aware but because DDs mental health prevents her from making a statement or pressing charges the school claim there is little they can do to keep DD and this other student apart (although they have changed DDs classes so she's no longer in the same classes). Her mental health has deteriorated significantly since this incident.

There was a second incident in which I kept her away from school for two weeks while the Police dealt with the issue because I no longer had any confidence in the school to keep DD safe both physically and mentally.

DD point blank refuses to change schools. Her GP and the EWO believe it would be counter productive to force her to move because of the impact it would have on her fragile mental state and the likelihood of her refusing to attend the new school at all.

The school have now passed it over to the LEA who are threatening me with court action if DDs attendance does not improve. They've put DD on an attendance plan (basically where they monitor her attendance with a view to prosecute if it does not improve) and they've demanded Drs notes for any absence. DD has refused school since being put on this plan. I have a GP appointment for later today to try to get a sick note but I'm not confident I'll get one because there was nothing physically wrong with her. She had a panic attack about being in a class with friends of the student involved in the first incident and people involved with the second incident. Usually she can manage this class as she has her own friend but this particular day her friend was absent.

What I want to know is what happens next? Do I have any legal avenue to challenge this decision to criminalize me because of my daughter's mental health? What do I do next?

Take her off roll and home school her, poor child.

I'm a single parent working more than full time hours as I don't get any CM. I don't have the time or money to homeschool her.

She has been offered a place in a small education unit for children with anxiety and mental health problems but she refused it.

She's now at school part time as she completely dropped most of the subjects this other student was in. She's happy to go to school if she knows she can go and sit in the library if she feels a panic attack coming on or if there are lessons she doesn't feel strong enough for that day. On paper the school agreed to this, in practise it doesn't happen so DD has lost faith in them and will refuse to attend at all if she doesn't feel well enough.

I have raised this with the school who confirm she is able to go to the library when she is not feeling well and they're unsure why she refused this option in the past but will look into it.

As previous poster said. Off roll and home school. There’s plenty of on-line help she can get for lessons. Ask the school if they will still enter her for her exams.

Thing is OP, she’s at home anyway, presumably doing not a lot. At least by removing her from school you will take away the stress and anxiety and restore her confidence.

She’s old enough to be left to work through programmes by herself so time from you is minimal.

It’s got to be better than nothing surely? I really feel you have to do something.

Without me being there and supervising she won't do any school work and I'm not present most days. She'll just stay in bed and wallow. I can't afford to cut my hours or leave work. I have considered homeschooling and discussed it with both my own counsellor and DDs EWO.

The EWO said it would be frowned upon and viewed as a way to avoid prosecution and therefore would trigger extra checks and SS intervention, which, to be fair, I'm not bothered about but DD is. The idea of having strangers in the house or having to talk to people she doesn't know triggers her anxiety, though not as much as school does.

I have nothing to hide from SS and have contacted them myself for support in the past. Like all agencies I have to tried to turn to for help with DD they signed us off because she wouldn't engage with them.

Another concern, and my main concern, about homeschooling, is that it is letting DD avoid her problem rather than face it. What happens when it's time for college? Surely, after having avoided school and isolated herself from her peers (which she would do. She doesn't leave the house unless I make her due to her anxiety) then when college comes her anxiety over attending will be through the roof. Ditto sitting her exams and having to walk into the exam hall surrounded by large groups of of her peers. I just can't see it making things better, though I understand why posters are suggesting it.

MrsMump has great suggestions. Could you ask the school for some assistance in visiting her at home in the meantime? I would also look at hospital education.

Thank you, Mrs Mump. All of that has been massively helpful. As per usual when faced with something that might help her, DD did not visit the GP. We have another appointment for Wednesday, I'll mention an EHCP to him and ask if could push it through quicker than us, if not I'll refer her myself.

She ticks a lot of boxes for PDA but also a lot of it is not relevant to her but it is something that needs to be investigated.

I'm feeling a lot more confident about the future after having read through some of the Facebook group posts.

Last week was horrendous. The pressure she was under to attend school was severely detrimental to her mental health and her relationship with me. I will be having firm words with the lady from LEA on Thursday. They have a duty of care to DD which they are failing. Her GCSEs can be taken at any point during her life. If she's not well enough to take them at 16, then she's not well enough. Her health comes first.

If things don't improve I will take a closer look at homeschooling.

Hospital school is the small, education unit I mentioned. She was offered it in year nine and refused.

Make a freedom of information request to the school to see your child's file.
This should show interaction between you and the school re this and may well be useful, if it goes to court, to show you're engaging and trying