School refusal and isolation: The perspectives of five adolescent school refusers in London, UK

Abstract

Research has identified a subset of young people who feel unable to engage in mainstream education. Given the hard-to-reach nature of this group, their views on what has caused their isolation from others have received little focus in previous literature. The present study aimed to explore the experiences and views of a subset of young people seen within an inner London Pupil Referral Unit who were extremely socially withdrawn and unable to attend mainstream education. They were asked what they believe led them to their current situation, the impact of isolation, how their life is going and what they value. Key themes identified were the role of anxiety in withdrawal from education and the protective capacity of social contact, even via social media, in preventing negative outcomes of withdrawal. Sleep, health, education, family and social contact were identified as risk and protective factors and were also things participants identified as values. This research provides insight into potential ways to support young people in returning to mainstream education as well as ideas for preventative measures that may protect future generations from such extreme isolation. This research was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, but lessons learned bear relevance in current times.

A meta‐ethnographic understanding of children and young people's experiences of extended school non‐attendance

“…In some areas, this may mean that further training and support would also be of use to practitioners to ensure effective identification and intervention policies and practices are developed and implemented. Kljakovic et al (2021) suggest that the lack of literature around the experiences of non-attending children and young people may be due to the 'hard-to-reach' nature of group. It is noted, therefore, that the participant groups in each of the included studies may not be representative of the broader population of young people experiencing attendance difficulties.…”

School Distress in UK school children: A story dominated by neurodivergence and unmet needs

“…Findings demonstrated several school-related factors which contribute to SR, including noisy and disorganised classrooms, fear of teacher behaviour, bullying, social exclusion, unpredictability, and fear of failure. Further exploring the factors underlying SR, Baker and Bishop (23) and Kljakovic et al (24) interviewed several secondary school-aged children with extended SAPs about the causes of their difficulties. Key factors highlighted included anxiety, boredom, isolation, bullying, fear of teachers, and fatigue; several of which align with those identified by Havik et al (22).…”

Interview-Based Qualitative Descriptive Study on Risk Factors of School Withdrawal among Elementary School Children

“…People with characteristics of communication disorders (such as autism spectrum disorders) also have difficulty acquiring interpersonal skills and are prone to situations where they cannot fully express themselves [ 19 ]. We were unable to determine if these possible underlying causes of undeveloped interpersonal skills, such as maladjustment to complex interpersonal relationships , were present in children who refused to go to school; however, some findings demonstrate the reliability of the interpretation that children with autism spectrum disorder are more likely to be absentees [ 15 ].…”

“…For example, smartphone addiction has been related to academic performance failure and connected to chronic school absence [ 14 ]. Another study reported a relationship between school nonattendance and autism spectrum disorder; it identified a range of underlying reasons, including truancy, school exclusion, family decisions not to attend school, and non-problematic absenteeism [ 15 ]. However, little research has provided an interpretation of the relationship between these factors and school refusal.…”