If your child is anxious about school, or they are unable to go to school, Young Minds have excellent advice on supporting them and working with the school and other services.
If your child is being affected by bullying, please have a look at the information and advice for parents on the Young Minds website.
Young people can feel anxious about school for lots of different reasons. They might be worried about making friends or fitting in, find schoolwork or lessons confusing, feel pressured to learn in a certain way or find their relationships with teachers difficult.
Sometimes, going through difficult experiences outside of school – such as bereavement, an illness in the family or being a young carer – can also make it harder for a child to feel settled at school
Young people might show they’re feeling anxious about school by:
- not wanting to get up and get ready
- saying they can’t go
- worrying a lot about small issues, such as having the right equipment for a lesson
- feeling sick, or having stomach aches or headaches
- not sleeping well
- not doing schoolwork, or their grades dropping
- being angry or upset, or acting out – at school or at home
- withdrawing – seeming low, quiet or depressed
I have a lot of experience of working with children and young people, through my previous teaching career and my counselling.
Do get I touch if you feel that your child needs some extra support to manage their feelings about school.
What to expect