Almost half of the calls about school absence made to a helpline for children with additional support needs (ASN) cited anxiety about school as a factor, a report from Children in Scotland says.
The report analyses calls to the Enquire helpline from 4,614 pupils with ASN and their families between April 2022 and March 2025. Attendance was recorded as the main issue in 1,468 calls (32 per cent).
Of all the enquiries about attendance, 59 per cent concerned students in secondary school, 33 per cent pupils in primary school and 2 per cent early years settings.
School-related anxiety
Among these 1,468 enquiries reporting attendance as a main issue, 45 per cent cited school-related anxiety as a reason for the absence.
The sheer number of calls linking school absence with anxiety suggests that support for affected pupils in many schools “is not yet being effectively implemented”, according to the Children in Scotland report,
The report states: “The fact that almost half of all attendance-related enquiries raised anxiety as an issue makes clear that pupils’ mental health concerns in relation to school present a significant barrier to accessing their education.
“It also indicates that appropriate support for school-related anxiety and other mental health issues is not being met for a significant proportion of pupils both in and out of school.”
The report adds that there is “fair reason to suspect that bullying behaviours and poor relationships between pupils are factors contributing to [ASN pupils’] school-related anxiety”.
One pupil quoted in the report said: “I didn’t feel safe. Like primary school, I was getting bullied. The teachers wouldn’t take this seriously, so I couldn’t do anything about it...I wasn’t getting any support. I always got the blame even if it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t focus on my learning, and the bullying took over.”
‘Lack of support’
The Enquire data also “suggests that a lack of appropriate support and positive relationships with trusted adults is, in a significant proportion of cases, actively contributing to [ASN pupils’] absence from school”.
Another pupil quoted in the report said: “Eventually you get tired of explaining yourself.”
The report makes five “calls to action” that include: better monitoring of attendance and the support required for pupils; public awareness campaigns about school attendance; updated guidance covering issues such as the use of part-time timetables and effective communication with families of absent pupils; and more investment in out-of-school education that provides “safe and supportive environments to learn”.
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