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The implications of Australia’s long Covid lockdowns during the pandemic are now threatening the lives of school students left too anxious and afraid to go to school.
Melbourne had the longest pandemic lockdowns in the world and the city has become the epicentre of what is known as ‘school refusal’ and its treatment.
Mental health social worker John Chellew’s clinic treating children with a dread fear of going to school, and their families, has never been busier.
‘I’m dealing with children who have pretty much shut down and gone on strike and who are locked in their bedrooms and there’s massive conflict in the home,’ he told 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
The situation can sometimes lead to horrifying, desperate thoughts. ‘Children have lost the will to live and are really threatening to end their lives,’ Mr Chellew said.
It’s not that the children have lost the desire to be educated, it’s that the overwhelming anxiety they feel has led to them refusing to go to school.
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Year 10 student Sarah Turner, 16, is one of those deeply affected by the Covid lockdowns in Melbourne.
‘I used to love school,’ she said. ‘I was very outgoing and did a lot of things before the lockdowns.
‘It wasn’t until the lockdowns where we were at home a lot that I started not wanting to go out and find, getting really anxious about going out.’
The implications of Australia’s long Covid lockdowns during the pandemic hav left some school students left too anxious and afraid to go to school. Sarah Turner, 16, is pictured
Sarah has missed more than 50 per cent of school in the past two years.
‘It felt like it was kind of impossible to go to school. It wasn’t like a choice kind of thing. It was like, I just felt like I physically couldn’t go for this fear,’ she said.
More to come…
