I am writing to see if there is anyone who can give me advice.

My daughter has suffered from severe anxiety for about 3 years now. She struggled to go to school in year 6 Primary thanks partly to an incompetent, inexperienced and unsympathetic teacher. She then managed a term in high school with support from the school, but then refused to go back after Christmas. She regrets this as she now finds it impossible to get into a school at all. We were referred to CAMHS back in year 6 and she had cognitive behaviour therapy for a while. She hates talking about her problems and so this was unsuccessful.
Our education authority were sympathetic for a while and offered her a range of options, including home tuition, small group tuition and a place in a pupil referral unit. She only lasted a day in the pupil referral unit because an older child (with learning difficulties) completely swamped her and wanted to look after her. The home tuition (which she enjoyed) was removed after a year as they stated it was a short term solution and the end result should have been her inclusion in a school setting. She was then offered the small group, which she really struggled to go into as the children were not children that she felt she would make friends with (that is how I had sold the group to her).
Recently the education authority visited with the educational welfare officer to inform us that if she did not attend either school or the small group then we would be prosecuted. However the education officer did promise that her name would be put forward for the pupil referral unit in June when applications are looked at. This is what my daughter desperately wants to try again as it is a unit which teaches 16 children at a time and has good facilities. We were informed that we could remove her from the school roll and this would not make any difference to the application.
I wrote to the education officer last week to remind her that we were still very interested in the referral unit as my daughter really felt it was a place she would be able to access, only to be told that as she is no longer on a school roll she cannot be considered for a place. I now have a child who will be going into year 10 and should be starting GCSEs (which she is bright enough to take), but I cannot access the one place she felt she would be comfortable in.
I have asked my GP to refer my daughter back to CAMHS as she is now displaying signs of depression (which her older sister and father suffer from)
I also notice that ours in the education authority who lost a court case 3 years ago when they prosecuted parents for not insisting their child with mental health issues attended a school.
Sorry for the long explanation. I am a trained primary school teacher and so have been teaching her at home when I am not working, but she would much rather have support from someone outside the family (I cannot afford to pay a tutor)
Any advice will be gratefully received.
Annabel

Hi Annabel

I'm sorry to hear of your struggle. We too are having similar experiences. My daughter is in Yr 8 and after a 3 yr struggle with school refusal we are considering home schooling. I'm not sure if she will co-operate or be motivated to work at home, but we have come to the end of the line and there appears to be no other option. Persevering with mainstream school (when we can get her in) appears to be resulting in a downward trend in her mental health.

I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has any advice on how to go about home schooling.

Annabel, the only information I have to offer (which you may not be aware of) is organisations such as Oxford Open Learning. See www.ool.co.uk. Yes there is a fee, but as its distance learning, probably not as expensive as employing a one to one tutor?

Jacqui

Hi Jacqui and Annabel

Sorry to hear about your struggles. Its tough, isn't it. And you have obviously tried everything you can and sometimes some children thrive better away from the school environment.
There are earlier posts on here about homeschooling - I will see if I can locate and post into a newer posting for you. Have you checked the resources site?

There are also local homeschooling groups in the UK - so if you check out the following websites you might find they lead you in the right direction.

http://www.home-education.org.uk/support.htm

http://home-ed.info/local_groups.html

http://www.educationotherwise.net/

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/UK.htm#.UUZCCI7TW4g

Good luck and perhaps you can post back on here if you find a way forward - to help others who are at the point that you are. Feel free to post back too about how you are feeling - there is always someone who understands on here.
All the best,
Linda

Thank you Linda for your support and to Jacqui for posting. It is good to know I am not alone in coping with this. My daughter would rather be in some sort of group for education as she does struggle with motivation at home and she is very lonely, as she only really has one friend. However, she finds going into a school impossible. I have also contacted our local home ed group, but it appears to have primary school children and not children in secondary school.
I am meeting with the home education lady from the County Council on Friday and so will let you know if she has any further information or support. I am also going to write to my MP about the way the education authority has treated us.
Many thanks for your support.
Annabel

Annabelle

I'm absolutley so annoyed after reading your post but don't have time at the moment to write a full reply but i do have advise for you ( we have been exactly where you are ) but will write more later.

Don't write to your GP get a meeting set up and contact your local Parent Partnership they again are great - i'm not sure the school can take your daughter off the roll without informing you and non attendance isn't i'm sure a reason to do this.

Will write more later, but if you want to call me i will e mail you my number.

Chin up

Sarah xx