“Parents often find themselves without a safety net”: the worrying increase in cases of school phobias in children

Laure Peytavin is the pedagogical coordinator of the teaching unit of the Pediatric Hospitals of Nice. A structure that involves twelve specialized teachers and seven of the second degree, intervening on several sites and services between Lenval and l’Archet, and which operates thanks to a partnership agreement between National Education, Lenval Foundation and university hospital center. Encounter.

How many children follow this teaching?

In total, we provide lessons to some 1,800 students – residing in the Alpes-Maritimes, Est Var and Corsica – and presenting special educational needs for various reasons. Most go back and forth between hospital and home, and the lessons are intended to prevent them from “dropping out” and/or finding themselves out of step with other students when they return to school.

What types of disorders do these children have?

Some are affected by somatic disorders, such as nephrotic syndrome, diabetes, cancer… which require long periods of hospitalization.

The others, a large proportion, are hospitalized as part of treatment for psychiatric disorders, phobias, significant malaise, or even followed after a suicide attempt.

How is the teaching organized?

Children can be followed in day hospitalization, or stay a week, fifteen days or even several months in the hospital. We therefore offer them tailor-made, with adapted schedules, schedules arranged with the caregivers. You can teach in a room, in a protected unit, in classes arranged for very small groups of three or four patients.

What observation do you make at the end of the health crisis?

The mental health of young people is extremely worrying, after the difficult period that we have just gone through; the number of children attending school in the hospital is exploding. To give you the measure of the phenomenon, I will give you two figures: 5 years ago, we counted among our students 15 young people who passed the patent or the baccalaureate. In 2022, they were 98!

In addition to this increase in the number of children hospitalized, is the nature of the disorders also changing?

I cannot answer you in terms of medical diagnosis. What is visible on the pedagogical level is the progression of cases of very severe school phobias; some are accompanied by major somatic disorders: anxiety attacks, stomach aches, vomiting… I even saw a child arrive in a wheelchair!

The vast majority of children affected by this type of phobia are completely out of school and require full-time education. The situation is really difficult.

How do you explain this situation?

The baccalaureate reform in 2019 (since this reform, students are assessed partly in continuous assessment, editor’s note), far from easing the mental load of students and ending cramming, results in more stress for students. In some schools, students are under great pressure. Harassment situations are also numerous.

But two other factors seemed to play a decisive role in the progression of this type of phobia: successive confinements and also the rise of telework.

How?

Children, at a time in life when separation from parents is important, found themselves spending much more time with them. When the crisis subsided, many parents continued to work partially or completely remotely. When a young person says he no longer wants to go to college or high school, this context will “favor” staying at home, often with the establishment of full-time CNED-type distance education.

To avoid?

Absolutely. It is essential to maintain a link with the establishment where the child was educated. For example, we can initially offer him to follow at least his favorite subject at school, with the establishment of a teaching aid at home, until the return to school.

How do these children envision school in the hospital?

Most are very willing to take the courses. The school embodies for them the “outside inside”: normality.

On the teachers’ side, what are the difficulties specific to this type of teaching?

The fact of working with small groups (4 to 5 maximum per class) leads to the development of real links. When a child dies, or simply leaves the system, it’s very hard for teachers to live with. It is essential to be very stable, very balanced to support these situations.

A message as a conclusion?

We need human resources to meet these growing needs. I am looking for additional positions.

Laure Peytavin is the pedagogical coordinator of the teaching unit of the Pediatric Hospitals of Nice. Photo N. C..

“We are increasingly called upon for cases of complete school drop-out”

Specialized in the schooling of children with special needs, the private lesson George Sand in Nice (1), recognized by the National Education, establishes an observation in all respects similar to that of the educational manager of the teaching unit of Lenval, Laure Peytavin.

“We are increasingly called upon for cases of complete school drop-out”, indicates Sophie Cambourian, co-director, with Marie-Hélène Tramier, of the establishment. She also believes that teleworking has reinforced or even exploded the phenomenon.

“As soon as the child says he no longer wants to go to school, the parent, who is teleworking, will tend to keep him with him, whereas he did not have the possibility when teleworking was less developed. We even see parents change jobs to practice in another field of activity which allows them to stay at home with their child. By working at home, the parent, without realizing it, “favors “the confinement of the child.”

“A Bunch of Evils”

When the George Sand course is sent by Lenval – with which it collaborates – to middle and high school students suffering from major school phobias, its objective will be to try to reconcile them with school, via a more personalized teaching, and progressive face-to-face participation in classes.

“These children often suffer from a lot of ailments, in the stomach, in the head… which prevent them from going to school every day. As soon as they return to class, the pains wake up… Also, at the start, we offer them to come at least an hour, every day, and we are progressing step by step.” According to the director of the specialized school, these school phobias “are the tree that hides the forest” psychological weaknesses.

“Parents often find themselves without a safety net; for some, who manage to manage their child, it does not pose a major concern; but others are in a situation of great difficulty and wonder: “What is my child will become?” School phobia calls for better diagnosis, appropriate treatments and well-supervised and helpful follow-up for families, which is lacking today…”concludes Sophie Cambourian.

1. Secondary private institution outside the contract. More info on: www.coursprivegeorgesand.fr/