Almost 250 students not in class last term due to school phobia, depression, or anxiety

In 'exceptional cases the Department of Education grants tuition to students suffering from conditions that cause major disruption to their attendance at school.

Almost 250 students were unable to attend school last term due to school phobia, depression, or anxiety.

Figures provided to the Irish Examiner show that 247 students received home tuition so far this school year on mental health grounds.

The figure is higher amongst post-primary students, with 218 availing of the measure during the last term.

In “exceptional cases” the Department of Education grants tuition to students suffering from conditions that cause major disruption to their attendance at school.

‘School phobia’, or school refusal and school avoidance, refers to a student’s refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in classes for an entire day.

More than 100 students have availed of home tuition on medical grounds so far this school year, the figures from the Department of Education show.

A further 163 students received home tuition as they were transferring or required a special educational needs placement.

More than 520 younger autistic children received home tuition from the department as they could not access early intervention services.

This included 15 children requiring early intervention, and a further 506 pre-school children who meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria.

As of December, there were almost 80 children in receipt of home tuition due to having no school place, being in care or for taking a maternity related absence.

This includes 23 students who have no school place at post-primary level due to oversubscription across 11 counties, and 28 who have no school place due to expulsion across 16 counties.

There are a variety of reasons why a child may be without a school place, a spokesman for the Department of Education said.

This includes children moving school mid-year, family relocating, expulsion, children receiving a place further away than they can travel to.

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“The Home Tuition Grant Scheme is a short-term measure available to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school," a department spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.

“Home tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is not currently available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement.” 

The department aims to ensure every child is allocated a suitable school placement, he added.

“The preferred approach is that children are educated in school settings where children may have access to fully qualified teachers, individualised education programmes, special needs assistants, school curriculum with the option, where possible and appropriate, of full or partial integration and interaction with student peers.”