School refusal support for parents and carers

The session will be led by SCA director Tiffany Westphal, who will provide resources for parents to better cope with school refusal in children.

RIAC carers support co-ordinator Carolyn Maltese said after the program received a great response in Bendigo, organisers wanted to bring it to other communities.

“We are going to run one in Bendigo, and it booked out within a week, so we realised this is something we need to offer more widely,” she said.

“Eighty per cent of children that struggle to go to school are autistic. So it’s a lot of parents of children with disability who find they experience it.

“(Ms Westphal) will be talking to parents about what that experience is like and helping them find some tools and strategies to be able to cope with that situation.”

SCA was established in 2014, after a group of parents realised there was a lack of dedicated support services for children experiencing school refusal.

SCA emphasises that children refusing to go to school is a nervous system response to stress and isn’t the fault of the parent or child.

The group conducted a survey in 2022 as part of its submission to the 2022 Senate Inquiry into School Refusal.

The survey found that school refusal was experienced by students across all year levels, with an increase at the ages of six and seven and then at 13 and 14.

Parents and carers who completed the survey said their children had experienced severe school refusal and a quarter of the children had been absent for more than 80 per cent of school in the previous 12 months.

Since SCA was formed, it has amassed more than 16,000 members in its Facebook support group and has over 10 years of co-created, lived experience knowledge and peer support.

The Echuca event will be held on Saturday, August 30 from 11am to noon at Echuca Neighbourhood House at 39 Landsborough St.

It is free to attend; however, bookings are necessary.

To register your attendance, visit tinyurl.com/yeew469s