Mental health - school 'refusal' - suggestions needed

[TeenPlusTwenties]

This probably should go elsewhere, but it is school related and I feel comfortable on this board.

My y10 DD has been tipped over the edge by CV (this is not a thread about CV), into being too anxious on some days to attend school. Things were already building but CV has pushed her over.

We have started seeing a counsellor, but it will likely be a long process.

Is there a better term than school 'refusal' for this I can use?

Obviously I don't want her missing out on education whilst simultaneously wanting to protect her mental state. Some subjects I can cover at home (Maths, Science, RE), some I can't so much (Drama, English, Food).

School have been really good so far but I don't know how long that will last.

Any suggestions on how to handle it at home? She's been managing to go in some days but then feeling too anxious to be in some lessons. If she were at home I'd be getting her to do some work. Do I focus on getting her in for the subjects I can't cover? Or keep trying for whole days?

Any thoughts or suggestions much appreciated as I am out of my depth here.

It is really tough when they are extremely anxious. My daughter is off school at the moment as she is considered not safe to be in school, so you can discuss her safety when you talk to the school. What can they put in place to keep her safe.

How does her anxiety show itself and if she was pushed into school what might the consequences be. It might be worth speaking to your gp as well as a councillor as a gp letter can carry more weight.

Mental health is just as important as physical health, and if she is not well enough to attend school she is not well enough.

She was getting 'germaphobic' since about November.
She has been finding the crowds and the loudness too much.
Too much work (for her, though actually it is relatively light for y10), too much pressure ('these are your GCSEs etc etc').

I worry if I push her too much she will just hide in her room.
I worry if I don't push her to go in she will just hide in her room anyway.
I want the perfect balance whereby she is at least continuing to go in most days and attend most lessons.

My DD is only Y7 but we came up with a plan with the school - they said that it is better to have consistency than for DD to do a couple of full days, then need days off to recover etc.

So at the moment DD does half days, and they send work home for her in the afternoon (this is a bit hit and miss, but generally she has work to do).

We never force DD to go in if she is refusing (based on online advice) but have found that since being part time she generally goes in every day.

Reduced timetable?
Work in different area temporarily (we have a hub for EAL students and some school- refusal students work in there too occasionally)
Is it open ended counselling or 6 weeks?
Pass to leave lessons
Moving between classes earlier/later than others.

MsGee part time but going in every day sounds good.
Caulk Thank you that's a great list.

Have just come back from GP with diagnosis of low iron, so hopefully we have a partial physical reason for how she's feeling too.

Why can’t you do Food’ at home? Strikes me this would be an easy subject to cover at home

Lara re Food. You'd think it would be easy wouldn't you? But actually there is a lot of theory in food that I don't know, and the revision guides are much weaker on what you 'need to know' than other more mainstream subjects. Plus, my actual cooking, though passable doesn't cover things like making my own bread or pasta etc.

My son stopped attending in year 10 due to mental health problems, he eventually got a home tutor provided by the LEA, hopefully it won't come to that for you. My son never returned to school, I highly recommend 2 Facebook pages, not fine in school and parenting mental health.