School attendance among children with neurodevelopmental conditions a year after the COVID-19 pandemic

The educational landscape changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic: school closures in 2019/20, compulsory return in September 2020 with measures to control infection, new regulations on COVID-19-related absences, low levels of school attendance in 2020-21 and increasing school de-registrations. Before the pandemic, school absenteeism was at very high levels among children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC). The pandemic has had multiple disruptive effects. We need to investigate how these effects might relate to school attendance in this vulnerable group one year after the COVID-19 pandemic started. Our project will investigate: - School absenteeism and reasons for absenteeism among children with NDC - Child, family and school factors associated with school absenteeism - Barriers and facilitators of school attendance - Parents' experiences of home schooling An online survey will collect data from approximately 1,500 parents of 5 to 17 year-old children with NDC across all 4 UK countries. Our focus will be on children with autism and/or intellectual disability, the most vulnerable children at high risk of adverse outcomes. We will recruit parents of: (i) children registered with a school in May 2021; (ii) children not registered with a school in May 2021 but who were registered with a school at the start of the pandemic in March 2020; and (iii) children not registered with a school on either date. Study findings will provide unique evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on school attendance and absenteeism, highlighting areas for improvement in educational policy and practice related to COVID-19 adaptations.