While it is widely acknowledged that school attendance was negatively impacted during the covid years the issue of school avoidance or school reluctance has been around much longer. Recognising this, a number of local CYPSC have been involved in the development of resources and toolkits to support teachers, parents, children and young people and communities to work together to prevent school reluctance and to provide guidance and advice for circumstances where students are experiencing school reluctance. In this section you will find links to all of the local CYPSC resources that have been collaboratively developed and that signpost to locally based supports and services. Some other helpful publications from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) are also provided. In some instances, local CYPSC have produced their localised school avoidance resources building on the work of another CYPSC. In these circumstances school avoidance resources were shared between a number of CYPSC areas and then a toolkit, customised for the particular CYPSC area, was developed.
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Cavan CYPSC
In response to a need highlighted through the Cavan CYPSC and Monaghan CYPSC, a number of agencies in Cavan and Monaghan joined together to produce the Cavan and Monaghan Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource Pack. The pack is designed to assist schools, students, and parents/guardians/carers in County Cavan and County Monaghan when seeking advice and support from outside agencies for persistent cases of school avoidance.
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Clare CYPSC
Clare CYPSC developed the Clare School Avoidance Toolkit in recognition of the wide variety of supports that young people engage with when there is school avoiding behaviour. The toolkit offers a wide range of practical resources to assist both the professionals in Clare who work with young people and/or their parents.
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Please refer to the online launch of the Clare Post-Primary School Avoidance Toolkit for more information on the pack and school avoidance behaviour.
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Donegal CYPSC
Donegal CYPSC Education & Learning Subcommittee developed Promoting Positive School Attendance in Donegal to help parents and teachers support positive school attendance. The pack highlights what to look out for when school avoidance concerns arise and includes a list of relevant local services in Donegal to go to for help.
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Please refer to this short video from the Donegal School Avoidance Working Group for more information on the pack and to learn more about school avoidance behaviour.
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Fingal CYPSC
Fingal CYPSC in collaboration with a number of agencies in Fingal worked together to produce BACK ON TRACK Fingal Schools Toolkit for Supporting Students Who Avoid School. The pack was developed for schools in Fingal to use when supporting students and their parents/guardians with school avoidance behaviour.
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Please refer to the online launch of ‘Back on Track: Fingal Schools Toolkit for Supporting Students Who Avoid School’ for more information on the pack and school avoidance behaviour.
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Galway CYPSC
Galway School Refusal Brochure is designed to increase parents/guardians understanding of school avoidance. It includes information on the causes of school avoidance, signs to look out for and a list of relevant local services in Galway to go to for help.
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Limerick CYPSC
Limerick CYPSC in partnership with the School Attendance Project steering group commissioned research on school attendance issues.
Navigating School Attendance Challenges: Towards a Collaborative, Equitable and Unified Community Response in Limerick involved consultation with young people, parents, and professionals in Limerick. This research informed the development of a suite of user-friendly resources for professionals, parents, and students.
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Working with School Attendance Problems A Guide for Educators and Practitioners in Limerick is designed specifically to support practitioners working with children and young people who experience school attendance problems.
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Working with your child to address school avoidance offers information and advice to parents and guardians who have a child or young person who has difficulties going to school.
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Please refer to www.limerickservices.ie to access a listing of services available to children, young people and families in Limerick.
Mayo CYPSC
Mayo CYPSC in partnership with the School Completion Programme and Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education Board designed Promoting Positive School Attendance in Mayo to help parents and teachers support positive school attendance. The booklet highlights what to look out for when concerns arise and where to go to seek help in Mayo.
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Meath CYPSC
The Meath Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource Pack is designed to support schools, students, parents/guardians/carers with school avoidance. When school avoidance persists or becomes complex, schools often seek the advice and support of outside agencies. This pack is a guide on the best way to manage school avoidance and the relevant services in Meath that may be of assistance. Please refer to Meath CYPSC Family Support Page for more information on services and support for families in Meath.
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Monaghan CYPSC
In response to a need highlighted through the Monaghan CYPSC and Cavan CYPSC committees, a number of agencies in Cavan and Monaghan joined together to produce the Cavan and Monaghan Emotionally Based School Avoidance Resource Pack. The pack is designed to assist schools, students, and parents/guardians/carers in County Monaghan and in County Cavan when seeking advice and support from outside agencies for persistent cases of school avoidance.
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Roscommon CYPSC
The Roscommon School Refusal Resource Pack offers guidance and support to students, parents, and teachers in Roscommon on early recognition and intervention in relation to school refusal alongside suggestions and strategies for addressing issues.
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Wexford CYPSC
Wexford CYPSC in partnership with members of an interagency steering group developed the Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) Resource Pack for Wexford. The pack was developed to provide information and practical tools on how to address EBSA. This pack is divided into sections specifically designed for young people, parents and professionals who can read the pack in its entirety or navigate to the section that is most appropriate to them. Please refer to the Wexford Parents Hub for additional resources on school avoidance.
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Wicklow CYPSC
Wicklow CYPSC in collaboration with a number of agencies developed the Wicklow School Refusal Pack a guide to managing school refusal for schools, parents and students which includes services in Wicklow that may be of assistance.
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A guide for parents’ explaining emotional based school avoidance and where to go for help was also developed. The Guide for Parents leaflet includes a QR code that will bring the reader directly to the Wicklow School Refusal Pack.
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NEPS Psychologists, involved in developing the pack and who provide support to schools on managing School Refusal, featured the Wicklow Pack in their webinar School Refusal the Wicklow Pathway.
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National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) Resources
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is the psychological service of the Department of Education and provides educational psychological support to primary, post-primary and special schools in Ireland. The following guidance documents developed by NEPS were designed to provide schools, teachers, parents/guardians information on how to support students who display reluctant attendance and school avoidance behaviour.
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Managing Reluctant Attendance and School Avoidance Behaviour: A Good Practice Guide for Primary Schools.
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Supporting your Child when they are Reluctant to Attend School. Guidance for parents and guardians of Primary School children
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Managing Reluctant Attendance and School Avoidance Behaviour: A Good Practice Guide for Post-Primary Schools
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Supporting your Child when they are Reluctant to Attend School. Guidance for parents and guardians of Post-Primary School children
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Find more resources developed by CYPSC to support children, young people and their families.