Challenges in supporting a young person with SEND, who is a school refuser.

Names have been changed to protect the identity of child and parent.

Parent of A first contacted our service early in XXX as she was becoming increasingly worried about her daughter’s attendance at school. Although her daughter had managed year 4 with no major issues, since returning in September, she had not settled well and was becoming more reluctant to go into school. Although at this point her daughter had no specific SEN diagnosed, mum strongly felt that she had underlying sensory issues and social communication difficulties which had not been identified.

The situation for this family was made more complex by the child attending a school within another borough which complicated and delayed matters with reference to referrals to other support services. The parent also disclosed to SENDIASS that she herself had some mental health issues, which meant that she found attending school meetings particularly challenging. She also had younger children at the school, who also had SEN.

 SENDIASS contacted the school and an initial meeting to look at the attendance issues was organised for mid- XX. By this point, due to the severity of the attendance issues, an Educational Psychologist had seen A although this assessment had to take place at home. A was now also under her local CAMHs service. A’s primary needs seemed to focus on her need to withdraw from the rest of her family, her inability to tolerate clothing and her complete focus on her laptop to the exclusion of any other activity.

 A had stopped engaging with any friends she had previously and would only occasionally visit family members. At this point, the parents were increasingly frustrated with the CAMH’s service as they felt they were focusing too much on their parenting and not on the intrinsic needs they felt A had.

There was a significant amount of pressure on the family and SENDIASS supported the parent through numerous emails and phone calls identifying various options for further action and identifying school responsibilities. SENDIASS also referred into the local Early Help team on behalf of the family.

The school were largely very supportive of the family, who they knew well. The Head Teacher regularly conducted home visits to support trying to get A back into school. SENDIASS liaised with the school and family to look at various strategies to encourage A’s return using reward systems and part timetables. Unfortunately, none of these were successful.

At the meeting in XXX, it was agreed that despite some gaps in evidence the school would submit a request for statutory assessment in the hope that further assessments would offer more information on how best to support A back into education. A’s parents felt very strongly that A had undiagnosed autism, and this was the main issue behind her non- attendance.

The situation at home was increasingly stressful for the family. The attendance officer was now also involved as it was explained to the family that even if A was diagnosed with ASC, it would not mean that she should not attend school. It was agreed at the TAC meeting in XXX that a child in need referral would go in from the school to children’s services. There was considerable concern about how A’s behaviour was impacting on her younger siblings. The situation with school at this point was quite strained so again IASM liaised with both parties to improve the relationship through emails and phone calls.

This case is not yet concluded as the assessment for A by the Local Authority has not yet been completed, due to the parent’s own difficulties. It is anticipated that they will require ongoing support and advice to support A’s return to education in the future.

This case has highlighted some of the challenges facing families, where their child has become a school refuser. This is an area that SENDIASS are seeing an increasing number of referrals. Where there are ongoing attendance issues there is often underlying SEN and this can be difficult to unpick as the relationship between the two parties can become strained. This is where SENDIASS can mediate, whilst stressing the importance of school attendance to the parent.

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Fact sheet 18 - Section 19 duty to provide education for Children of Compulsory School not in school

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