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School absences - West Sussex County Council

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Information on absences from school, including holidays during term time, and fixed penalty notices.

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance is a broad umbrella term used to describe a group of children and young people who have severe difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors, often resulting in prolonged absences from school. A clear distinction is made between those that are absent from school due to truanting and those that are absent from school due to the specific emotional distress that they experience around attending school (Thambirajah, Grandison & De-Hayes, 2008).

Although the literature in this area often cites the phrase School Refuser, this terminology could be considered misleading as the term 'refuser' implies that the young person has control over the school non-attendance. This is problematic as this terminology locates the 'problem' within the young person and detracts from environmental factors that could be considered instrumental in supporting a young person back to school:

"School refusal occurs when stress exceeds support, when risks are greater than resilience and when 'pull' factors that promote school non-attendance overcome the 'push' factors that encourage attendance" (Thambirajah et al, 2008: p. 33).
Cause:
There is no single cause for EBSA and there are likely to be various contributing factors for why a young person may be finding it difficult to attend school. It is well recognised in the research literature that EBSA is often underpinned by a number of complex and interlinked factors, including the young person, the family and the school environment (Thambirajah et al, 2008).

However Kearney and Silberman's (1990) review of the literature indicates that there tends to be four main reasons for school avoidance:

1. To avoid uncomfortable feelings brought on by attending school, such as feelings of anxiety or low mood.

2. To avoid situations that might be stressful, such as academic demands, social pressures and/or aspects of the school environment.

3. To reduce separation anxiety or to gain attention from significant others, such as parents or other family members.

4. To pursue tangible reinforces outside of school, such as going shopping or playing computer games during school time.

According to this model, the avoidance of uncomfortable feelings or situations described in the first two points could be viewed as negatively reinforcing the EBSA, whereas in the second two points, the EBSA could be seen as being positively reinforced by factors outside of school (Kearney & Spear, 2012).

Prevalence

The UK literature reports that between approximately 1 and 2% of the school population, with slightly higher prevalence amongst secondary school students, are absent from school due to emotional reasons (Elliot, 1999; Guilliford & Miller, 2015). It is reported to be equally common in males and females with little evidence of a link to socioeconomic status (King & Bernstein, 2001).

Difficulties children have in articulating their distress and the difficulties that parents and school staff have in understanding the young person's emotional experience of school are often key barriers in identifying and supporting young people at risk of EBSA (Thambirajah et al., 2008).

For some young people, the distress may be obvious in their presentation and chronic non- attendance. However for others, these difficulties may not be so easily identifiable. These young people may demonstrate sporadic attendance, missing the odd day here and there or particular lessons, or may only be able to attend school when provided with a high level of support and a modified timetable.

The onset of EBSA may be sudden or gradual. The literature suggests that there tend to be peaks in EBSA corresponding to transition between school phases (King & Bernstein, 2001).

It is also important to highlight that some young people with EBSA may appear to recover relatively quickly from the initial upsets of the morning and this can lead school staff and others to question the legitimacy of the EBSA; however it is important to hold in mind models of anxiety, as it is not unusual for the anxiety to quickly dissipate once the perceived threat is removed (Thambirajah et al., 2008).

Figure 1.

Picture of a 14 year old her feelings are like a whirlwind where she is not in control, that the school is not a safe place, she worries something bad might happen, she sees school as having lots of people in it, but she is on the outside and that people are making fun of her. She has also indicated that she feels she is not doing well with her work and she loves being at home.
Download a PDF version of the Emotionally Based School Avoidance Guidance and other leaflets here.

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The West Sussex Local Offer is a fast, easy way to find local services specialising in educational needs, disabilities, education and more.

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Children’s mental health - Every Mind Matters

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See tips and advice for parents and carers on how to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, and give them the best chance to stay healthy.

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WSCC Family Information Service - Enquiry

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More information: Information about childcare Disabled children Information for young people Local offer If you wish to contact us please call 01243 777807 or send an email to family.info.service@westsussex.gov.uk

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Leisure, recreation and community - West Sussex County Council

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Activities, community and cost of living support, local history, volunteering and climate change.

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The West Sussex Local Offer helps you find information about local services, support and events for children and young people aged 0 - 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). You can also find childcare via the West Sussex Family Information Services website.

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The West Sussex Local Offer is a fast, easy way to find local services specialising in educational needs, disabilities, education and more.

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The NSPCC is the UK’s leading children’s charity, preventing abuse and helping those affected to recover. Help us be here for children. Please donate now.

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Parenting and Family Support - Family Lives (Parentline Plus) | Family Lives

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Parenting and family support from Family Lives (formerly Parentline Plus) through our website, helpline 0808 800 2222, email service at askus@familylives.org.uk, live chat and local services.

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West Sussex Parent Carer Forum | Information | Training

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West Sussex Parent Carer Forum is a charity for the parent carers of children & young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs / disabilities (SEND).

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HappyMaps - Find the best support, advice and information on young people's mental health, all in one place. For Parents, Professionals and Young People.

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Home - HappyMaps: Help and Resources for Children's Mental Health

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An award-winning website on children's mental health collating sensible and professional advice on common problems. With new self-help pages for young people.

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Online free advice from Citizens Advice to help you find a way forward, whatever the problem. Our research enables us to campaign on issues affecting people's lives.

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Spurgeons transforms the nation, one child at a time by ensuring every family has the support needed to flourish.

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We all have times when we need some parenting support. With My Family Coach, you get all the help you need with advice‌ ‌to support ‌every‌ ‌stage‌ ‌of‌ ‌your‌ ‌child's‌ ‌development.

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(IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice

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(IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice

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IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) - helping children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the education they are entitled to by law

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special educational needs and disabilities

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Reaching Families - Empowering families of children and young people with SEND in West Sussex

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Special educational needs and disability (SEND) - West Sussex County Council

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Information for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.

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SEND Information and Support - Citizens Advice in West Sussex

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Looking after your mental health

We've been working with you to look after your mental health for over 50 years. During that time, we've evolved and expanded our support and how we work.

It is important to us that anyone in West Sussex is able to get support. So our work includes outreach to ensure those who most need us know about us and feel able to ask for help. We are working with a wide variety of communities and have Ukrainian support available, help for children, young people, adults, older people, parents, carers and families.

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Looking after your mental health We've been working with you to look after your mental health for over 50 years. During that time, we've evolved and expanded our support and how we work. It is important to us that anyone in West Sussex is able to get support.

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YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People

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YoungMinds are a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.

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We work with professionals to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Learn about our training, services, research and more.