The Priory, one of the UK's best-known rehab clinics, is offering a new five-week programme for children as young as 12 who are avoiding school because of anxiety. The course, available only for 12 to 18-year-olds, costs £3,375 and is being run privately, although the Priory will accept referrals from the NHS.
The programme, described as the first of its kind, is being offered at the clinic's south-west London site. It includes "exposure therapy" at the hospital's in-house school, gradually confronting children's fears and triggers to rebuild their confidence and develop coping strategies.
Expert insight on school avoidance
Dr Maria Zioga, a chartered principal clinical psychologist at The Priory who helped to create the programme, said: "Many parents struggle when their child or young person develops anxious behaviour about going to school, despite it being a pupil's natural environment to thrive academically and socio-emotionally."
"It's important to remember that children and young people who experience emotionally based school avoidance aren't just being 'difficult', 'lazy' or lacking care about their education. In many cases, they want to attend school, they want to belong to a shared community, they want to learn and make friends, but they feel overwhelmed by negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, they are preoccupied by worrying thoughts, or other underlying factors."
Truancy crisis in England
The launch comes as schools in England face a truancy crisis. According to data from the Department for Education, almost one in five (19.05 per cent) children are now persistently absent in England, missing at least a tenth of all classes. This compares with 10.9 per cent in 2018-19, before the pandemic.
One of the driving forces behind the trend is thought to be emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), a term used to describe young people who have difficulty attending school because of emotional distress and anxiety, rather than choosing not to go.
Recognising anxiety in children
Symptoms of anxiety in children and young people can include finding it hard to concentrate, not sleeping or waking in the night with bad dreams, eating more or less than usual, quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts. Other signs are constantly worrying or having negative thoughts, feeling tense and fidgety, or using the toilet often, always crying, being clingy (especially in young children), and complaining of tummy aches and feeling unwell.
More information about anxiety disorders in children can be found on the NHS website.
