Assessing School Avoidance
The second step in assessing school avoidance is to gather information on the attendance of the child or young person, their home situation, and information on any inter-agency involvement. There needs to be a systematic gathering of information about the child or young person and what is happening to them. It is important to collect information from a range of sources, as the child or young person may experience varying levels of anxiety or avoidance. Educators should link with the people who know the child or young person the best and have a positive relationship with them.
School avoidance is not a clinical term. Due to the complex nature of school avoidance, there is no fixed assessment process. Many of the tools to measure school avoidance are designed to be delivered in a clinical or medical setting. In assessing for school avoidance, we recommend that the views of the young person, the family, and key school staff are gathered to paint a broad picture of the situation. At every stage of school avoidance, we suggest that a problem-solving process be used. It might be tempting to identify one reason and a corresponding solution for the behaviour. However, reducing school avoidance to a simple, one-dimensional problem often encourages blaming, and the child or young person may become more anxious and defensive. It may also miss important other factors which influence school avoidance.
Nova uses two standardised surveys to assess school wellbeing: the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) and the Emotional Problems subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-E). Some of the areas on these measures are correlated with school avoidance, such as School Connectedness, Academic Efficacy, Joy of Learning, and Emotional Problems. More information on these measures is available in the Additional Resources Section below.
Good Practice Tip: Many of the measures used to assess school avoidance are clinical, often focusing on diagnosing mental health difficulties. We recommend that schools assess feelings of wellbeing towards schools or while in the school environment, as this can be a more meaningful indicator of school avoidance. By taking this approach, schools can identify and address underlying issues early, creating a more supportive and preventative response.
You might consider the following areas for consideration:
- How does the child or young person get to school? What might be the barriers?
- What does the child or young person think and feel about their attainment and progress across the curriculum? Do they believe they can reach their goals?
- Is the young person worried about Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) and worried about how much they have missed out on in CBAs?
- Does the child or young person worry about their family or environment outside of school?
- What does the child or young person think about their friendships in school? Do they feel a sense of belonging? Are they comfortable working with peers in every class?
- How do they cope with non-classroom time e.g. breaks?
My World Triangle is a tool Tusla uses to gather information about the many influences on a child or young person. It allows staff to measure strengths and challenges in all parts of their life. Using the My World Triangle can be an effective way to gather information from a child or young person about how they see their world.
Capturing the Voice of the Child or Young Person
Involving the child or young person in all decisions that impact them is crucial (“nothing about me, without me”) and should inform all stages of working with school avoidance. This engagement helps them feel part of the school and the wider community, establishes a sense of control over their lives, and fosters a sense of belonging and mastery over their circumstances. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children and young people have the right to be involved in decisions that affect them.
The voice of the child or young person can be captured through various creative methods, as outlined in the resources below. Use child-friendly resources that provide the best opportunity to ask open-ended questions. It may be helpful to use the Lundy model (2007) as a framework when determining how to incorporate the perspective of the child or young person into interventions for school avoidance. Additionally, the Tusla Child Participation Toolkit offers activities and guidance for schools on capturing the voice of the child or young person where age appropriate. One example is examining the ‘push and pull factors’ listed below with the child or young person. It is useful to identify and analyse these factors, because it is likely that they will influence all aspects of the life of the child or young person.
Attendance Monitoring
Examine the child or young person’s pattern of attendance and punctuality, looking out for indicators such as:
- Are they avoiding certain subjects?
- Are they missing specific days of the week? Is there a pattern with lateness?
- Are there living arrangements that could be negatively impacting their attendance?
There are many attendance tracking systems already in use in schools. Guidance on how to use these systems more effectively is provided again here:
Awareness of Learning Needs
All students need to feel a sense of achievement in school. School Leadership should establish ways in which to continuously review how this is done in their school. The assessment and intervention model for each student should be based on recognising that educational needs occur along a continuum, from mild to severe and from transient to long-term. Examining patterns of educational attainment, prior assessments, and reports on ‘Students of Concern’ can help understand where the child or young person’s needs fall on this continuum. Review Support Plans for children and young people at the top of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) Continuum of Support.
A Student Support Plan is devised for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Schools must regularly review Support Plans for children and young people at the top of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) Continuum of Support. It is important to take the following into account during this step:
- Does the child or young person have additional learning needs?
- Is there a Student Support Plan for this child or young person? Is it up-to-date?
- Does this child or young person need an assessment? Who will lead the referral process?
- What support is the child or young person currently receiving?
- Is the child or young person struggling academically?
- Is the child or young person avoiding specific tasks/projects/assignments?
Awareness of Physical, Emotional and Environmental Wellbeing
An active and positive relationship between the school and parents/guardians or carers is essential for ensuring a quick and collaborative response when difficulties arise. Ensure there is agreement about who will engage with parents or guardians throughout any process to address school avoidance. Maintain open channels of communication to share relevant information about the social, emotional, and educational development of the child or young person. Parents/guardians may sometimes struggle to understand how their child is performing in school. In such cases, it may be beneficial to consult with the Home School Liaison Officer (HSCL) to gather more information about the family. Key questions to explore are listed below and we have modelled these questions on the presentations of school avoidance listed in Section 2.
| Investigating a Child or Young Person’s Feelings Towards School: | Investigating Home Environment Factors: | Investigating Physical Symptoms: |
|---|---|---|
| Is the child or young person struggling during unstructured times, such as lunchtime? | Have there been recent changes in family relationships or situations? | Does the child or young person appear tired, worried, or anxious? |
| Has the child or young person fallen out with friends or peer groups? | Does the child or young person have a consistent routine at home, and how is their sleep and diet? | Is there a prior medical condition or advice from a medical professional? |
| How does the child or young person typically feel about school? | Are there any ongoing stress at home, such as financial pressures or parental health concerns, that could be a pull factor towards the home? | Does the child or young person complain of sickness or aches? |
| Have parents/guardians noticed any specific situations or times that make them more likely to avoid school? | Has the child or young person lost weight? |
In cases of more severe school avoidance, where all in-house steps have been exhausted and G.P. and mental health services have been suggested to the parent, a referral to Tusla’s Educational Welfare Service could be considered. More information on how to make this referral is available in Section 3.
Good Practice Tip: Using analogies can be very effective when explaining anxiety to a child or young person without associating blame or guilt. Anxiety/stress is a normal response experienced by all and helps to alert us to danger. Using the analogy of a faulty car alarm or smoke alarm that goes off at the slightest signal is often helpful in having the child or young person realise when anxiety/stress is no longer a useful tool.
Adapted from Clare SAT (2023)
Additional Resources
Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ)
The Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) taps into five aspects of student subjective wellbeing that focus on positive emotions, positive relationships, positive values or meaning, and positive performance. It can also be used to assess general student well-being.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief emotional and behavioural screening questionnaire for children and young people. The tool can capture the perspective of children and young people, their parents and teachers.
Tusla Child Participation Toolkit
Tusla’s Child and Youth Participation Toolkit’s purpose is to support staff to facilitate child and youth participatory practice at every level and in every engagement with a child or young person. Tusla’s Toolkit outlines the context and rationale for child and youth participation, guidance in applying the Lundy model of participation, and examples of activities that can support participatory practice.
My Ideal School
The Drawing the Ideal School technique has been adapted from an approach developed by Moran (2001). The technique enables children and young people to become actively involved in understanding themselves and expressing their views.
Lundy Model
Since 2007, the Lundy model of child participation, based on four key concepts (Space, Voice, Audience and Influence), has been used and adopted by national and international organisations, agencies and governments to inform their understanding of children’s participation.