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Health and Wellbeing

OCD & Intrusive Thoughts: How to Help Your Child

Spot the signs of OCD in a pupil, well beyond the clean-and-tidy stereotype, and know how to help them at school.

  • 19 minutes
  • 6 modules
  • 0.5 CPD hours
  • Certificate

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What you'll learn

  • Tell obsessions, compulsions and everyday rituals apart
  • Spot signs of OCD in school, such as constant reassurance-seeking or redoing work
  • Put simple support in place, like a trusted adult and a quiet space
  • Keep in regular touch with parents and carers to spot triggers
  • Know when a pupil needs specialist help and how to raise it

About this course

OCD rarely looks like someone who just likes things neat. In school it might be a pupil who keeps asking to go to the toilet, rips up work over one small mistake, or arrives exhausted because rituals kept them up half the night. It's easy to read that as defiance or laziness, and it's neither.

You'll learn what obsessions, compulsions and intrusive thoughts are, and why stopping a ritual can make the anxiety worse. In the classroom, that might mean a trusted adult and a quiet place to go, a log of thoughts and triggers shared with home, or some thought about "unlucky" numbers in maths and typing rather than handwriting in exams.

You'll also know when a pupil needs a GP or CAMHS referral, and which charities, such as OCD UK, can help them and their family.

  • For early career teachers, governors and 4 other roles. Post-16, primary, secondary and special.

6 modules

Open in order

  1. Introduction

    1 min

  2. Understanding OCD and Intrusive Thoughts

    6 min

  3. Supporting those with OCD and Intrusive Thoughts

    7 min

  4. When to Seek Further Support

    4 min

  5. Looking After Yourself

    2 min

  6. Wrap Up

    2 min