'My children are too anxious for school - please help me get them educated'

A woman whose children have been off school for a long period due to acute anxiety has pleaded for help to get them back into full-time education.

Beverly Craig said her son Casey, 14, and 12-year-old daughter Autumn "go into meltdown" anytime they go near their school.

One mental health consultant said "school-based anxiety" had become an epidemic which is "off the Richter scale" in Northern Ireland.

The Department of Education (DE) confirmed that 85,000 children in Northern Ireland had missed more than a tenth of school days in the current academic year for multiple reasons.

The Children's Commissioner, Chris Quinn, is so concerned about the high levels of "emotionally-based school avoidance" that he has instructed his officials to investigate it.

Some of the main causes cited are anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and bullying, either physical or online.

More than 4,000 pupils with the very highest rates of absenteeism are currently referred to specialists for help but it is unclear how many of these are linked to "emotionally based school avoidance".

Both of Ms Craig's children are enrolled at Laurel Hill Community College in Lisburn but she said they find the secondary school environment "overwhelming".

Ms Craig said Casey has not been at school since Easter of last year and Autumn has been off since September.

"It ranges from not being able to eat, not being able to sleep, having just a complete meltdown trying to get through the doors, crying," she said.

"Didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to get dressed, didn't want to get in the car - you had these four or five challenges even before you've got to the school doors, and then teachers are expecting them just to walk in and continue with their day as normal."

She said offers of reduced timetables or "time-out" passes, whilst well-intentioned, actually made her children feel worse.

"I just feel like the secondary school setting is not suitable for every child and, unfortunately, the alternative to the secondary school doesn't exist," Ms Craig said.

She said education authorities need to offer more help to people like her and her children.

Ms Craig is now paying to get them schooled in English and mathematics in a private setting.

"Both of them are very intelligent and they're willing to learn, but they're willing to learn in the right settings, just not a big school."

Omagh-based mental health consultant Bronagh Starrs believes Northern Ireland is facing an "epidemic" of school-based anxiety.

She said many of these children are academically capable and want to go to school, but cannot because they have "catastrophic levels of fear".

She added: "The difference between truancy and this phenomenon is that parents are usually aware, or very aware, of the issue and are actively trying to help the young person."

She said schoolchildren had become "entrenched" during the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, when they had to stay at home, and then struggled when schools opened up again.

Ms Starrs said the extent of the issue in schools is now "off the Richter scale".

The Education and Welfare Service (EWS) currently receives an average of 300 referrals every month from schools about children who are not attending class, although the causes can range from emotional-based school avoidance to physical health, domestic abuse and drug and alcohol issues.

From 2019 to May 2025, nearly 500 parents or guardians were prosecuted by the Education Authority for keeping their children from school without a valid excuse.

Of the 4,120 children referred to the EWS, more than a third are currently on a waiting list, the Education Authority (EA) confirmed.

Children's Commissioner Chris Quinn said his office was "exploring issues related to anxiety-based school avoidance, impact of poverty, ill health, long-term impact of Covid-19 and bullying".

"We need to understand why these children and young people are not returning to school and explore whether their support needs are being met," he added.

SDLP assembly member Cara Hunter said she is in touch with 200 families across Northern Ireland whose children will not attend school.

Describing it as the biggest issue she has dealt with since being elected, she said many don't know where to go for guidance.

"I've spoken with a number of parents who've actually had to leave their job because their child is not attending school."

Hunter also accused education authorities of not recognising the severity of the problem and "failing quite a large number of children".

Previous figures from the Department of Education (DE) show there was a significant rise in school absences after the Coronavirus pandemic.

The DE said it recognised that pupil attendance was an "ongoing challenge" but it was not unique to Northern Ireland.

Officials said regular attendance had actually improved in the last three years and help was available through emotional health and wellbeing programmes.

The EA said it is currently recruiting 16 specialist posts, five of which will be focussed on supporting pupils experiencing emotionally-based school avoidance and their families.

It said schools provided extensive pastoral care and work closely with families to support pupils experiencing emotionally-based school avoidance.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, information about help and support is available via BBC Action Line.