Have your say: Has your child refused to go to school?

More than half of primary school pupils and two-thirds of secondary students refused to go to school at least once last year for reasons including anxiety, difficulties engaging with lessons and problems with friendships, according to a new study.

The findings, published on Wednesday by the Barnardos children’s charity, show that 59 per cent of primary school parents said their children were worried about going back to school, with the number rising to 70 per cent at second level.

Concerns about friendships were the biggest issue for primary (30 per cent) and secondary (31 per cent) pupils, with classwork and bullying also cited as significant issues.

Are you a parent whose child has refused to go to school? How often does it happen, and what steps did you take to help? Did you feel supported by the school or other services? What are some of the reasons you believe more children are avoiding school?

Or, were you a student who refused to go to school at any stage? The Irish Times would like to hear about your experience.

You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. We will keep your contact details confidential. If you would prefer to remain anonymous in any published articles, please indicate this in your submission.

We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.