School attendance and student wellbeing much worse since covid lockdowns, study finds

One staff member told researchers school refusal has increased since the pandemic. 'So we’re dealing with more young people who are completely refusing to go to school, whether it’s due to anxiety or mental illness or whatever the reason.' File picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

School attendance, engagement, and student wellbeing are all worse in the wake of the pandemic, according to educators working with young people at risk of leaving school early.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) consulted with a wide range of coordinators running the School Completion Programme which supports students at risk of disengaging from school.

According to coordinators, the pandemic has dramatically worsened student attendance, wellbeing, and engagement, and high levels of poverty, mental health issues and addiction are prevalent among many communities it works with. 

School avoidance and refusal, as well as greater anxiety, are also seen as more prevalent now than previously. 

Staff also pointed to “increased difficulties in motivation and engagement levels among children and young people, along with a lack of resilience to deal with challenges".

The study from the ESRI, published on Tuesday, includes several “vivid accounts” given by interviewees. 

One told researchers: “The social, economical problems that are rife within the area are very evident in the school … through the literacy and numeracy deficiencies that children are experiencing, but also in the behavioural issues that some of the children may be experiencing due to trauma caused by drug, drink, violence, gang warfare.” 

One staff member told researchers school refusal has increased since the pandemic. "So we’re dealing with more young people who are completely refusing to go to school, whether it’s due to anxiety or mental illness or whatever the reason. But we are also… dealing with more children who’ve been expelled or who are in long term suspensions." 

The study also recorded that limited access to services or counselling supports means the School Completion Programme is often left supporting children with complex mental health difficulties. 

Mental health problems

Many project workers reported feeling ill-equipped at times to deal with the serious range of emotional and mental health problems among students such as self-harm, suicidal ideation, low mood and chronic anxiety.

A number of School Completion Programme staff taking part in the study highlighted the emergence of non-attendance from junior and senior infants onwards, resulting in longer-term absenteeism. 

The fact that four and five-year-olds are not covered by the Education Welfare Act was also raised as a challenge in targeting school absence among younger children.

Almost half of the coordinators taking part were not satisfied with the level of funding to their project and just under a third felt there were sufficient resources to run the  School Completion Programme within their project. 

The School Completion Programme and school staff often highlighted a disparity between the level of need in their project and the funding allocated to them, with their available budget usually largely devoted to staff costs, leaving less for the funding of interventions and activities.

The study noted many School Completion Programme coordinators would prefer a greater emphasis on out-of-school supports, "reflecting the growing incidence of school avoidance".

"However, this strand is seen as the most challenging, requiring a good deal of time to get the young person to engage with them in the first instance and then to provide them with ongoing support to re-engage with school or embark on another educational pathway."