What support does your mentally ill 6th former receive from school?

[BridgesofMadisonfan]

As the total says, trying to avoid my child leaving school due to very poor mental health (suicide attempts).

What support should we expect from school?

I meant help to access her education. NOT help with her mental health.

Different but similar. DD is y12 at college doing a Level 1 course due to missing all y11 with anxiety & depression.

1. We applied for an EHCP which came through in March.
2. They don't complain about attendance even though it is at 80%
3. The have discounted her from resitting maths GCSE this year even though rules say she should.
4. She has access to 'well being' department

However in terms of accessing education, she needs to be there, so if she isn't she misses out. This is OK as she can catch up due to the level of the course. For her, if she isn't up to attending college then she isn't up to doing the work at home either.

If your DC is having trouble accessing education due to MH, I'd strongly suggest you look at applying for an EHC needs assessment as that seems to open doors to flexibility.

I also have a dc in y12 with poor mental health, anxiety and depression, although perhaps not suffering as badly as your dc. The school are understanding about the occasional day off and fortunately dc has been able to continue attending school. They also overlook getting into school a bit late and they give flexibility in handing in work. My dc sometimes feels overwhelmed with the work load but can work at home to get an essay done, for example.

In your dc's case things to consider might be reducing the number of subjects, going to school only part days or some days only. Talk to your dc about what they feel they can manage.

Also the school could provide a quiet space for them to go to during the school day if they need to and access to a school counsellor.

Hopefully you will get some other suggestions on here. I am sorry you and your dc are going through this. At the end of the day their mental health is more important than education and they may need to fully take time out to focus on getting well. I wish you both all the best

I work with this age group and would expect to provide:

Quiet space when needed

Regular "check in" chats with a member of staff

Concessions on attending anything that isn't essential ( so if doing an A level course, timetabled things other than A level lessons like study time, registration time etc)

Flexibility on deadlines

I'd caution that the less a student takes part in, the harder what's left becomes. So if they're excused registration and only have to attend lessons and it's 2 hours 11-1 for example, they can end up finding it hard to go in for just the two hours and they can feel a bit separate from everyone else when they are in.

At the sixth form I work at if attendance is such that the student is unlikely to pass, or if they are requirements such as passing year 12 to move into year 13, these are not flexible.

My dd is currently in year 12. She should have sat A-levels last year with her yr13 cohort but missed the entire year due to severe anorexia and related mental health issues. She has restarted year 12 and has had great support from school - regular check ins, complete flexibility on uniform, not required in at registration etc (but to check in remotely) teachers adapted homework requirements and have spoken with us about additional flex over exams.

That said, she's still not coping and I think we're going to withdraw her - school has become too difficult - she finds it incredibly hard to concentrate, incredibly hard to eat at school etc, school itself (despite the awesome support) is becoming toxic for her.

I posted on one of OP’s other threads on this, but wanted to reply to you myrtleWilson. Don’t deregister DD yet, even if she doesn’t attend. Instead apply for an EHCNA whilst still on the school’s roll. Parents often find it easier to get support when on a school’s roll as, crudely, you are someone’s problem. By deregistering it is easier for others to brush DD’s needs under the carpet.

@myrtleWilson Could you or her dad go to school at lunch time and have her eat lunch in the car with you? I know a lot of parents have done this as it's impossible for schools to provide reliable meal support and monitoring.

Sorry @Innocenta - I didn't phrase that well - she has been coming home from school to eat (we live close by) however it is more that it is in school that her anorexic thoughts are strongest (not just about not eating but the self destructive thoughts in wider sense)

I think for us it is a balancing act - what would need to happen to her MH to enable the next year and term to be good rather than destructive and how long do you give it for the 'good' to kick in? Alternatively and where we're leaning (and this is not because of the school - I do give huge credit to school for doing all they have been) is what would an environment look like that enabled DD to work more confidently on her MH and keep on with her recovery - possibly a year or two so she can then take stock.

@BridgesofMadisonfan how are you doing?

@myrtleWilson oh, poor girl, that's so hard. Is it triggered by pressure / perfectionism?

(I don't mean you are pressuring her! The internal aspect.)

@AReallyUsefulEngine - thank you - I'll have a look in to that!

@myrtleWilson IPSEA have a model letter you can use to apply for an EHCNA. IPSEA and SOSSEN have lots of helpful information on their websites and both have advice lines, too.