Is your child too anxious to go to school?
As Mental Health Awareness Week (May 15-21) begins, experts offer tips on what to do if anxiety negatively impacts school attendance. By Abi Jackson.

Like adults, itās normal for kids to have wobbles and worries. But what happens when anxiety becomes an ongoing problem, causing a lot of distress and impacting school attendance?
āIt is natural for children to not want to go to school from time to time. For example, they might be worried about a test, or a problem with a friend,ā says Dr Julia Clements, principal educational psychologist for childrenās mental health charity, Place2Be.
āWith a bit of support, most children will be able to attend school regularly and to not avoid it when things get a bit tricky. However, other children may become so anxious that they start to avoid school all together.ā
Spotting the signs
Remember, children often arenāt able to tell adults when theyāre struggling with anxiety. Parents and carers can look out for signs, though.
āAnxiety can show up differently in different children. Your child may become tearful or quiet at bedtime, for example, or report feeling so ill they cannot attend school. Alternatively, your child may appear quite angry, argumentative and refuse to get ready for school,ā says Clements.
Dr Marianne Trent, clinical psychologist and author of The Grief Collective, who previously worked in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), adds: āA child may complain about not wanting to go to school, or that it is boring or that they have tummy ache. They may drag their heels more about leaving the house or walking to school.ā
Responding with care
Showing that you are interested and care about how theyāre feeling can be really helpful. Having your support could help alleviate their worries, and hopefully youāll be able to work through some strategies together.
āIt is important that parents and carers acknowledge the distress their child is experiencing, and that they are finding going to school a real challenge,ā says Clements. āFor example, you might say something like, āI can see that you are really worried about going to school and that going in will be really hard for youā.
āHowever, it is also important to help your child to āface their fearsā and to attend school, despite it being the last thing they feel like doing! Acknowledge that this might be tough, but that you believe in them and will support them to do this difficult thing. Praise and encourage your child for any small steps of progress they are able to make towards attending school regularly.ā
Trent suggests talking to them about what might have caused their sudden reluctance to attend school: āAsking how theyāre feeling and if anything happened the day before which made them feel worried, sad or confused can be a useful first step.ā
It might be easy for parents and carers to get frustrated and possibly angry if children refuse to go to school. However, this could lead to more distress, so itās helpful to try and communicate calmly. Trent says: āItās worth knowing that anger is a secondary emotion, and that this might mask a feeling of not having control, sadness, or even parental anxiety too.
āTrying to enter into conversations when both parties are feeling well rested can give the best chance of staying calm. Itās also important that repairing any ruptured relationships is modelled ideally as soon as possible after any harsh or loud words have been spoken,ā she adds.
Talk to the school
If the pattern continues, Trent says: āArranging a meeting to discuss with the school can be an important step forward. If school attendance drops below a certain percentage, then it may trigger a referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS) and/or social care.
āIf there is a pastoral department in school, then arranging for the child to spend time there doing some 1:1 or group work can be useful. Similarly, liaising with mental health and support services for therapy or support can be transformational too.āĀ
Your GP can help advise on mental health support, and some schools may also have counselling services in place. However, Clements says there may be various ways school staff can potentially help ā simple adjustments that could make a big difference: āFor example, your child may like to be met at the gate, or being given a special job to do in the morning.ā
Is there anything else going on?Ā
Itās important to consider whether other factors could be coming into play, which may require additional attention and support.
Clements says: āDo make sure that your child is safe from harm at school ā for example, their avoidance of school is not due to them being bullied. If your child is avoiding school because of their neurodivergence or additional needs, then liaise with the SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator) to make sure that reasonable adjustments are being made.ā