Shock reason thousands of kids miss primary school

Almost one in five parents say their child misses primary school every week over mental health concerns, sparking fears for the future of young Aussie kids.

Almost one in five parents say their child misses primary school every week over mental health concerns, prompting concern for our youngest student’s education and welfare.

A new survey of more than 500 Australian parents of primary school pupils has found high rates of distress in children and an alarming flow on effects to their education.

A third of all parents, surveyed by YouGov on behalf of not-for-profit health fund HCF, said their child was “stressed” or “unhappy” over school “because of mental health challenges” at least once a month.

A staggering 28 per cent said their kids missed a full day of school every month because of poor mental health, while 18 per cent missed at least a full day every week.

At that rate, almost a fifth of kids are missing 40 days of primary school every year because of mental health issues.

Almost one in five parents say their child misses primary school each week over mental health concerns.

Researchers found parents of children unable to attend school blamed a lack of sleep (34 per cent), anxiety (33 per cent) and changes in routine or environment (31 per cent) the most.

But other common factors cited included bullying and friendship difficulties (27 per cent), loneliness at school (23 per cent) and learning difficulties (22 per cent).

Australian clinical psychologist Rebecca Short said she believed school refusal had increased since lockdown, and emphasised it was not an example of “lazy” or “defiant” kids.

“They genuinely do feel overwhelmed,” she said.

She said struggling kids may be neurodivergent and have different learning, social and sensory needs or coping with a mental illness such as anxiety or depression.

“That might be secondary to social issues like bullying that are going on at school,” she said.

“The impact of bullying has widened since social media has become so much more accessible because it can be occurring when you’re not at school, it can be occurring over the phone when you’re at home.

Bullying and friendship problems can spark anxiety in young students. Picture: Getty Images

“Also family difficulties, anything that can lead to anxiety and depression can then result in them feeling overwhelmed and unable to face difficulties.”

She said unfortunately, when we avoid our fears, “the anxiety does tend to grow”, but this did not mean the solution was to just force kids to “go back to school and tough it out”.

“That just leaves kids feeling completely flooded and burnt out,” she said.

“We need to understand what’s driving them not wanting to go to school and put supports in place to help them feel like that’s being addressed.”

She encouraged parents to reach out to their school, or free online programs like Partners in Parenting, as a first step.

HCF health and wellbeing head Linda Opie said almost everyone “will face stress, anxiety or depression at some point” in their lives.

“By offering convenient access to a range of mental health services and family support, we can empower families to choose what’s right for them to effectively navigate these difficult situations,” she said.