Grief can affect children and young people in different ways. Some may welcome the continuity, and structure school provides while others may find it hard to attend school at all. Children experiencing a bereavement are likely to need listening time and flexible pastoral support in the immediate and longer term.

Informing the school about your child’s loss will help the school to have conversations with you and your child about how they would like to be supported.

Schools should give your child choices about their support following a bereavement including how regularly they want to review their support. This might include flexibility around attendance or supporting a return to school, help to continue learning while unable to attend, or naming a trusted key contact at school.

The Childhood Bereavement Network has helpful resources for parents and carers to use for talking to your child about grief and informing school about your child’s bereavement.

Your child should feel safe at school, so it is understandable that they might want to avoid school if they are being bullied or experiencing prejudice-based behaviours. It is important to talk to your child about what steps they want to take. Sometimes, a child will feel better just by telling someone, and they may not want to do anything more. However, if your child is not going to school, you will need to take further action.

You should contact your child’s school to let them know that this appears to be the reason that your child is not attending. The school should have an anti-bullying and an equality and inclusion policy, which you can ask to see. Together with you and your child, the school should take steps to tackle the bullying, or any relationship issues your child is experiencing at school and find a way to help your child return to school.

You might also find the information on our pages on Bullying, Equality rights, and Missing school due to anxiety or other mental health needs useful too.

Many children with care experience will enjoy attending school. Yet educational outcomes are disproportionately lower for children with care experience, linked to lower rates of attendance and higher rates of exclusion.

It is essential that local authorities, schools and their partners work together to ensure they can provide every child with a positive and inclusive learning experience. Some children with care experience will have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This can affect their emotional wellbeing and sense of safety, that could display as anxious or dysregulated behaviour in the classroom. Changes in care arrangements can also have an impact. For example, children may attend children’s hearings and other meetings, or may move between homes, placements or schools, which can disrupt routines and relationships.

If your child has care experience and is not attending school, there should be regular communication between you and the school about strategies to support their learning. Some local authorities have a Virtual Headteacher, who can help make sure care experienced children get the right support with their education, including attendance. You can find out more about the role of a Virtual Headteacher on our page Who’s who: Support Planning and Advocacy Staff.

You can find out if your local authority has a Virtual Headteacher by contacting them directly. You can find contact details for them on our Local authorities page.

You may also find it helpful to read more about the barriers care experienced children can face in attending school on Enquire’s Navigate page Why care experienced children miss school?

Schools should respect that families from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities traditionally travel for work, cultural or family reasons.

It is useful for the school to know the reason for your child’s absence so they can support your culture and understand why your child may be absent at certain times in the school year. Agreeing how you will stay in contact with the school when your child is not attending (and how they will be educated during this time) is a key responsibility.

Your child has the right to an education, even if they cannot attend school every day. Schools and local authorities should support your child to stay engaged with learning as much as possible. If your child will be off for a longer period, the school should help by offering support such as sending work home, providing access to online learning, or arranging learning in a different setting (sometimes called ‘alternative provision’).

Your child’s school might discuss an adapted or flexible timetable; you can find out more about this on our page Part-time timetables and flexible arrangements.

Schools should also make sure that your child is treated fairly and not excluded or discriminated against because of their background. They should respect your culture and work with you to help your child achieve their potential.

You can find helpful information on the Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP) website. It has advice for families and schools, and ideas to help your child keep learning if they can’t be in school.

Sometimes, a child’s anxiety about attending school may be expressed in ways that adults experience as distress, dysregulation, or ‘unsafe’ behaviours.

When this happens regularly, attending school can become difficult. Some children may spend less time in school, attend on a reduced timetable, or experience periods out of school, including exclusion.

Understanding what may be contributing to a child’s school experience can help identify what support or changes might make attendance manageable.

Informing the school of any concerns, needs, or changes you have noticed can help them build a fuller understanding of your child’s experiences and work with you to plan appropriate support.

Schools should consider how best to support your child’s wellbeing, attendance, and access to learning. This might include understanding barriers to attendance, making adjustments to the school environment or routines, putting support in place, or considering how learning can continue if your child is unable to attend school.

You can read more on adjustments that could be considered on our page Part-time timetables and other flexible arrangements. If your child has been told that they cannot attend school, our page Exclusion from school has advice on this.

Children’s wellbeing is a central consideration in school support planning. Children and young people respond to difficult experiences at school in different ways. Some may become anxious about attending immediately, while others may find attending increasingly difficult over time.

Feeling unsafe may relate to experiences involving other children’s behaviour, feeling unsettled in parts of the school environment, repeated disruption, or feeling that their needs for safety or support are not being met.

Letting the school know about your child’s experiences can help them to understand your child’s needs and work with you to plan appropriate support.

Schools should consider how best to support your child to feel safe, included, and able to access learning. This might include adjustments to routines, additional support in school, changes to the learning environment, or other approaches to help your child continue their education.

Our pages Keeping your child safe at school and Missing school due to anxiety or other mental health needs have information on steps you can take to discuss your child’s concerns with their school.

Reach, our website for children and young people has a page on Anxiety which explains where some of these feelings might come from and steps young people can take themselves.

Childline have a Toolbox with games and videos for children and young people to access which can help to ease feelings of anxiety.

When children and young people are finding school difficult, it can affect how they think, feel and behave. Children may be finding their learning challenging, feel overwhelmed by the pace or expectations of school, have support needs that are affecting their experience, or find aspects of the school day difficult to manage; including friendships or relationships with their peers.

These experiences can affect children and young people in different ways. Some may become worried about attending school, while others may become tired, overwhelmed, or find it increasingly difficult to take part in the school day.

Letting the school know about any changes you have noticed can help them to understand what your child is experiencing and work with you to plan appropriate support.

Schools should consider whether there are barriers affecting your child’s access to learning, make an assessment where appropriate, and identify what support or adjustments may help. This might include reviewing support in school and consider whether the learning approaches and environments are suitable for your child, and giving them opportunities to express their views and feelings.

You can find out more about additional support for learning and adjustments on our pages Understanding additional support needs and Identifying and assessing your child’s needs.

Children and young people can experience exclusion in different ways. For some, returning to school may be difficult, particularly if the experiences or circumstances that contributed to the exclusion have not yet been fully understood or addressed.

Exclusion can happen alongside additional support needs, challenges affecting wellbeing, difficulties feeling included in school, or other experiences which are affecting attendance and engagement.

Working with the school to understand your child’s experiences and plan support can help make returning to school feel more manageable. It is important that your child’s views are listened to and that support focuses on helping them feel safe, included, and able to access learning.

Schools should consider what support, or adjustments may help your child re-engage with education. This might include planning for return, reviewing supports already in place, identifying any barriers to attendance, or considering whether additional support is needed.

You can find out more about support for children and young people who have been excluded on our page Exclusion from school.

All children require the essentials to thrive in their education. In a cost-of-living crisis, many families experiencing financial pressures may require school assistance for affording food, school uniform, school trips and equipment.  Schools and local authorities should take these factors into account and work with you to reduce any barriers to attendance and support your child’s learning.

It may be useful to share information about what assistance the school can provide. This might include practical things like free school meals or loans of digital devices.  It also means creating a happy and safe school culture where your child feels welcomed, included and respected.

You can find out more about support with education related costs on the Scottish Government’s Education Cost of Living Support page.

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has the page Financial help in the school years which has a list of all benefits, grants and other financial support available for families of school age children in Scotland.

Their ‘Cost of the School Day Toolkit’ offers positive solutions to ensure that all children are included and supported to participate in school activities.

Every young person should be supported to succeed at school. If your child is using drugs or alcohol, or if they are affected by, or caring for, a loved one who is using, they will require support with understanding the impact of this on their education at the earliest possible stage.

Children and young people may be affected in different ways. The school should consider their health and wellbeing needs as a priority and respond in a supportive and non-judgmental way, in line with national guidance. Letting the school know what is happening can help them understand your child’s needs and work with you to plan appropriate support.

Schools and local authorities should take these factors into account and consider what support will help your child feel safe, included, and able to take part in learning. They may also be able to help you access other services for additional support.

The Scottish Government has guidance for schools on Responding to substance use which details the things your child’s school should consider in these situations.

Here are some services which could support you and your child:

School support is essential to supporting children who are caring for a family member as well as attending school. Young carers are likely to have additional responsibilities at home, such as helping with personal care, managing routines, or providing emotional support. This can affect their time, energy, and wellbeing.

If your child is worried about the person they care for, this can affect their concentration and how they engage with learning. It may be a sign that they would benefit from additional support.

Sharing information with the school, can help them understand your child’s situation and work with you to provide the right support.

Schools and local authorities should consider how to support young carers to feel included. This might include flexibility around attendance, support in and out of school, or help to manage learning and workload, including homework tasks.

If you would like to find some carers’ services in your area, you can ask your child’s school, or you might be able to find them via our Useful organisations page.

Reach, our website for children and young people, has the page Young Carers which they themselves can go to and find out what support they can ask for in school and what help can be offered.

Scottish Government. Included, engaged and involved part 1: improving attendance in Scotland’s schools (2026) – The experiences and circumstances affecting attendance referenced on this page reflect those highlighted in the national guidance for schools on promoting and managing attendance in Scottish schools.