Looking back, Shanon Mitchell says that when her son Finn stopped going to secondary school other parents started to avoid her.
“They don’t want their own children to think that it’s okay not to go to school. School refusal is a very lonely journey as a parent,” says Mitchell.
An intelligent boy with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Finn coped well in primary school with additional supports. But when he started secondary school, he couldn’t manage at all.
“I felt really bad that I couldn’t do something as simple as going to school – what everyone else could do every day. My confidence was very, very low and I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere,” explains Finn.
His mother remembers well that first week of his secondary school.
“It was awful. He got into trouble for not putting on his trainers and for losing a book. He stopped eating properly and he was very anxious. He just wouldn’t get out of the car,” explains Mitchell.
Her experience echoes that of many parents who – after getting their son or daughter up and out the door and into the school grounds – are then left to deal with a student who absolutely refuses to go into the school building.
After a number of months trying to homeschool her son, Mitchell found a suitable alternative education provider with help from her local Tusla education welfare officer.
In Finn’s case, this provider was iScoil, which offers both home-based and centre-based educational programmes for students aged between 13 and 16.
All schools are obliged to contact Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, if a child under 16 has unexplained absence for more than 20 days in a year. Parents must also get approval from Tusla’s educational support service to homeschool their children.
Alternative education providers in Ireland such as Youthreach, iScoil and the National Learning Network offer young people tailored continuous assessment programmes and project work/training.
“There is a massive increase in students not going to school and many of them eventually come to us,” says Jane Watson, occupational psychologist with the National Learning Network.
She says the Covid pandemic brought to the surface problems that already existed.
“The reasons for school avoidance include post-pandemic anxiety, family stress and trauma, peer bullying. And yes, the pandemic left many young people without social skills but Covid accelerated difficulties that were already there and magnified them,” says Watson.
Brian Fitzsimons, chief executive officer of iScoil, says young people accessing their educational programmes have a range of complex needs.
“These include ADHD, autism/sensory issues, selective mutism, behavioural issues, bereavement, eating disorders, trauma, social and emotional difficulties and chronic illnesses,” says Fitzsimons.
He says iScoil programmes work very well for the majority of students who take them.
“There is a cohort of students who can’t attend mainstream schools. Our approach is highly individualised. They learn in a safe, supported place. We understand their strengths and interests and we take them at where they are at. Our teachers have a deep experience in disadvantage and special education and ultimately, it’s about relationships,” he explains.
Four out of five young people in iScoil complete QQI level three (Junior Cycle equivalent) programmes and move on to further education and training after their time there.
Shanon Mitchell’s son, Finn, completed three years on iScoil’s home-based programme and went on to get a QQI level five qualification (Leaving Cert level) at Gorey Youth Needs, another alternative education provider. He now hopes to join the Irish Defence Forces.
“iScoil was a life saver for Finn. He had gone into a deep state of withdrawal. I also think that he would have done incredibly well in school if the environment had been right for him,” says Mitchell.
Watson believes that while many schools are doing their best to accommodate young people with different needs, they don’t always have the time to follow up with students and their families.
“There is a cohort of students who, if they are sufficiently encouraged, supported and their anxiety is better managed, will be able to fit into school and find their feet again,” she says.
Good communications is key.
“Name it, nip it in the bud if you see your child refusing to go to school. Find out why – get a form teacher to help if possible and don’t make being at home fabulous for them – set boundaries that they can’t be on their phone or playing computer games all day long,” says Watson.
She says parents can often feel helpless and that they are failing their child who refuses to attend school but sometimes they just can’t cope with the rigours of mainstream education.
For these students, specialist training providers can provide person-centred educational pathways. She mentions a group of neurodiverse students attending the National Learning Network who spoke about how it was the first place that they felt heard and didn’t feel invisible.
“Many of them felt overwhelmed. School was too loud and too busy for them,” says Watson.
There is, however, very high demand for alternative education and limited capacity.
For example, iScoil currently can’t meet the demand from new students for its home-based services starting in September.
“We received 119 eligible new referrals for our home-based programmes but only have places for 60 and many of these students have nowhere else to go,” said Fitzsimmons, iScoil chief executive.
Meanwhile, in the last 2½ years, over, 4,000 students have joined the National Learning Network-supported training courses. Of these over 40 per cent of students are early school-leavers, many of whom have not attained any formal qualifications while in secondary level school. The NLN expects to be able to offer places to all students seeking them this September.
Fitzsimons says all young people want to learn but some need different learning environments than others.
“We see students arrive with low confidence, a low sense of self and then watch how they start to believe in themselves again, get their life back on track and see a future for themselves,” he says.
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‘I just couldn’t cope’: One student’s story
Daisy Hogan (18) left school halfway through third year in secondary school.
“We were just back in school at the start of that year after Covid. It was very stressful and wearing masks didn’t help. I had friends but I just couldn’t cope with classes,” she explains.
After a few months out of school, Daisy signed up for an iScoil home-based programme.
“I had a really nice mentor and worked well on the home-based programme,” she says.
She returned to school at the start of transition year.
“I left again after Christmas in fourth year, went back at the start of fifth year and left again in October/November 2022.”
She then joined Youthreach in Killinarden and plans to start a Post-Leaving Certificate course in January as a step to going to college.
“The school environment just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t learn in class in a big group sitting down all the time,” she explains, adding that being able to take breaks when on the iScoil and Youth Reach programmes suited her.
“I feel a lot more confident now. I go out a lot more and do a lot more things.”
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