Mental Health Network: September 2024 | Anxiety | School Avoidance

For a child on the edge of school avoidance, getting through the door may have taken since the night before. What happens next matters. A telling-off about a hoodie or late homework tells their brain that school is a place to fear, and tomorrow gets harder.

The aim is a day that's neutral or better. You'll plan how staff greet the child, including the office team, who are often the first face they see. You'll build a routine they can repeat each morning, with a familiar person and place, and work out with the child what helps them calm down, whether that's breathing together, blowing bubbles or burning off energy. There's an "if… then" plan to download for talking through their worries.

The ideas come from a child mental health expert whose own daughters have both struggled to attend school.