A. Lum1, 2, C. E. Wakefield1, 2, B. Donnan1, 2, M. A. Burns1, 2, J. E. Fardell1, 2, & G. M. Marshall1, 2 1Discipline of Paediatrics, School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, SYDNEY, NSW, Australia, 2031. 2Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, SYDNEY, NSW, Australia, 2031. Introduction: Positive educational support, such as that given by an attentive caring teacher, can improve students' mental wellbeing, which can lead to greater engagement with school and better academic performance. Young people with chronic illness generally experience higher rates of depression and poorer academic performance than their healthy peers. We aimed to compare the benefits of positive educational support on wellbeing and engagement with school among students with and without chronic illness. Methods: Parents of children with chronic illness (n=246) and parents of children without chronic illness (n=373) completed a survey measuring their child's positive educational support, wellbeing, and engagement with school. We compared a mediation model across the two groups using structural equation modelling. The model states that positive educational support indirectly affects students' engagement with school through students' wellbeing. Results: We found full mediation of the model for students with chronic illness, but only partial mediation among students without chronic illness. For students with chronic illness, wellbeing was the strongest predictor of engagement with school. Conclusions: For students with chronic illness, positive educational support only promotes their engagement with school by promoting wellbeing. For students with chronic illness, wellbeing that is independent of positive educational support is also a strong predictor of engagement with school. Therefore, positive educational support must be combined with alternative environmental and personal wellbeing promoting factors to ensure that students with chronic illness engage with school, so to maximise their likelihood of reaching their potential at school and in adulthood. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: A. Lum, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, SYDNEY, NSW, Australia, 2031. Alistair Lum, BPsyc (Hons) PhD Candidate Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia. Proudly supported by Kids with Cancer Foundation. UNSW Medicine, School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia Ronald McDonald House Charities, Australia T: +61 434 626 866 or 9385 9870 E: a.lum@student.unsw.edu.au<mailto:a.lum@student.unsw.edu.au> W: www.med.unsw.edu.au<http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/> [emialbranding (2)]