Hi @Chocolate, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s mental health issues and struggles with school. You sound like a really loving parent who has tried many avenues for help for your daughter. It can be so worrying when our kids stop attending school, but I was really relieved to find out my daughter isn’t the only one!
My daughter’s now 16 and did the end of Year 9 then Year 10 via distance education due to mental illness and school refusal. The support from teachers was fabulous, and although my girl wouldn’t attendthem, the school held study groups, had social days etc where students could meet and socialise.
Teachers kept in contact via phone and email with my daughter, and her head teacher rang me every now and then to give me an update or if any assessments were late. If my daughter wasn’t managing because of her mental health issues they worked with us really compassionately and I found all the teachers to be so understanding with teens like mine.
My daughter lost all but one of her friends from high school, however she did keep up with tennis once a week and enjoys her friends and social time there. She also worked at McDonalds for a while and made new friends there as they employ so many young people.
It’s great that your daughter would still attend drama classes, and if she can still catch up with friends after school or on weekends, hopefully that will maintain her friendships.
It does feel like a big decision, but remember that if you choose to go the distance ed route, if it’s not working for your daughter for whatever reason, she can always go back to school. My daughter had a dual enrolment for many months with her local high school and the distance ed school, so you could look at doing the same while you trial distance ed.
All the best!
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