It saddens me to see so many new SR parents on the site - don't get me wrong you are all more than welcome but it shows a total lack of understanding of the problem by the professionals.

Our children do not want to be like this - they are not truants but children suffering.

With this in mind I have listed below some basic information which i hope helps, and those of us who are old hands at this please feel free to add your thoughts.

I am not a professional but a mother with 4 years SR expereince. My son hasn't gone back to school, but is now showing signs of recovering in many areas:

Always keep a diary of everything no matter how small, you may need to refer to it at a later date.
Contact your local Parent Partnership for help.
Find out if your school has a Parent Support Worker they are very good but not all schools have one.
See your GP
Contact CAMHS - this is something schools expect parents to do and ask about CBT ( our life saver )
I read a great book called "Can't go won't go" by Mike Fortune Woods and that helped me to come to terms with it all and gave me a better understanding of my son's condition.

Hope this helps.

Sarah T xx

Thanks for the tips Sarah. Yes there are quite a few new parents on here lately (me included). Do you think the cold weather and long dark days has a bearing on they way our children feel. Is School refusal more prevalent in the winter months? I think my daughter suffers with SAD. Her behaviour and attitude is more positive in the summer months.

Tracey

HiTracey - It's a fact that the new term after Christmas is the most difficult for SR just don't know why - in particular in year 7 after the xmas break. I hope you find the forum useful - everyone here is lovely and we all support each other.

Sar xx

Thank you, Sarah.

I have put the list into my blog.

hi Simon - hope you're ok - good to hear from you.

Sarah xx