{"id":75692,"date":"2025-01-29T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=75692"},"modified":"2025-01-29T00:00:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T05:00:18","slug":"is-it-school-reluctance-or-refusal-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-help-your-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/is-it-school-reluctance-or-refusal-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-help-your-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it school reluctance or refusal? How to tell the difference and help your child"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s back-to-school season around Australia. While many students will be excited to reunite with friends, or\u00a0have some nerves<\/a>\u00a0about the first day, others may feel an overwhelming sense of dread about school.<\/p>\n

This can be confusing and worrying for parents.<\/p>\n

We are researching child and parent perspectives about what is making school too stressful to attend. We have found it is useful to think about school attendance as\u00a0a spectrum<\/a>\u00a0that may look like reluctance at one end and\u00a0emotional distress<\/a>\u00a0at the other.<\/p>\n

Understanding the difference can help you to know which supports to seek for your child.<\/p>\n

School attendance in Australia<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Last week,\u00a0new national figures<\/a>\u00a0showed school attendance continues to be an issue in Australian schools post-COVID.<\/p>\n

In 2024, school attendance rates (the number of days students attend) for Years 1\u201310 was 88.3%. This is down slightly from 88.6% in 2023. Student attendance levels (the percentage of students who go for more than 90% of the time) was 59.8% in 2024, down from 61.6% in 2023.<\/p>\n

In 2019, national attendance rates were 91.4% and attendance levels were 73.1%.<\/p>\n

While these reports don\u2019t tell us why the figures are dropping, we know school refusal is a common and growing issue. A 2023\u00a0Senate inquiry<\/a>\u00a0heard how family requests for support to groups such as School Can\u2019t Australia have almost\u00a0doubled every year since 2014<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A 2023\u00a0Greens-commissioned survey<\/a>\u00a0of 1,000 families found 39% said their child had been unable to attend school in the past year because of anxiety or stress.<\/p>\n

What is school reluctance?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Sometimes children and young people will not want to go to school but it is not school refusal.<\/p>\n

When this is temporary and tied to a specific stressor, such as a test, social conflict, sports lesson or event like a camp or swimming carnival, it can be described as \u201cschool reluctance<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Signs can include clinginess in younger children or teenagers, as well as complaints of seemingly\u00a0minor ailments<\/a>\u00a0such as a tummy ache, headache or \u201cfeeling sick\u201d.<\/p>\n

In these cases, it is important for parents to validate a child\u2019s feelings. Using phrases such as \u201cI can see you\u2019re nervous about starting a new class\u201d can make children feel\u00a0seen and heard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Families should also set up predictable morning routines to help children build\u00a0self-regulation skills<\/a>. If you celebrate small wins, such as completing the day, or getting to school on time, you can help boost\u00a0motivation and confidence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These\u00a0early interventions<\/a>\u00a0can help avoid escalation into more significant school-related distress.<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s more than reluctance<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But at other times, a child\u2019s issues with school are more serious and a child feels overwhelmed by stressors that make attending school feel threatening, unsafe and impossible. This is what is seen as \u201cschool refusal<\/a>\u201d, although some families and researchers are now using the term \u201cschool can\u2019t\u201d to reframe the issue and avoid blaming children in these situations.<\/p>\n

Some signs this could be happening to your child include:<\/p>\n