At-Risk

There are a range of factors that may contribute to a child or young person becoming disengaged, or at risk of disengaging from school. These include:

Family and community factors such as poverty, parental unemployment and/or low educational attainment, homelessness, transience or living in out-of-home care, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status, refugee background, family breakdown/relationship issues and domestic violence. 

Personal factors such as physical or mental health issues, disability, behavioural issues, offending behaviour and/or contact with police or justice system, substance misuse or dependency, pregnancy or parenting, caring responsibilities, and learning difficulties.

School-related factors such as negative relationships with teachers or peers, unsupportive school culture, limited subject options and lack of student participation in decision making.

Young people may often experience multiple risk factors, which may be interdependent. For example, family breakdown may be a factor in substance misuse, which may itself contribute to other problems such as offending behaviour. 

The impact of risk factors on engagement, health and wellbeing will vary between individuals, depending on their levels of resilience and protective factors such as support from a trusted adult. While the presence or one or more risk factor does not inevitably mean a child or young person will become disengaged, it is important that schools have an awareness of these factors to be able to identify and address issues as early as possible.

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