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School refusal for the exhausted parent with a functioning bullshit detector

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What Can We Do When School's Not Working?

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What Can We Do When School's Not Working?

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Authors:

Dr Abigail Fisher (Educational Psychologist)

Dr Naomi Fisher (Clinical Psychologist)

Eliza Fricker (Parent)

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Abigail Fisher (Author), Naomi Fisher (Author), Eliza Fricker (Author) & 0 more

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What Can We Do When School’s Not Working?: An Illustrated Handbook for Professionals

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Buy What Can We Do When School’s Not Working?: An Illustrated Handbook for Professionals 1 by Fisher, Abigail, Fisher, Naomi, Fricker, Eliza (ISBN: 9781032571140) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Barriers to Education (website launching April 2025)

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Barriers to Education (website launching April 2025)

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https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpadlet.com%2FNFIS%2Fnfis-what-i-wish-i-knew-topics-a-l-x2j1uzctdwd9fq4i&h=AT1x7A4CoiFHkJHV7hSKLmAatpFGgVoHV8-qTf4xiUIw44g2hgr0PiXH6bcf5IhP4k_HuMf1q10h9o3VWyNIKjE6wajbVmLDAN9RiiXPNcZ5j8Hq0CUqU1kN_nA5tRQn0979JvRCvD-i43dUFOo

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Can't Not Won't: A Story About A Child Who Couldn't Go To School

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Buy Can't Not Won't: A Story About A Child Who Couldn't Go To School Illustrated by Fricker, Eliza (ISBN: 9781839975202) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Dr Naomi Fisher: The Teenager's Guide to Burnout

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Dr Naomi Fisher: The Teenager's Guide to Burnout

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teenagers-Guide-Burnout-Finding-Recovery/dp/1472149386

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Dr. Naomi Fisher (Author), Eliza Fricker (Author)

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The Teenager’s Guide to Burnout: Finding the Road to Recovery

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Buy The Teenager’s Guide to Burnout: Finding the Road to Recovery by Fisher, Dr. Naomi, Fricker, Eliza (ISBN: 9781472149381) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Not Fine in School: Advice for young people

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Not Fine in School: Advice for young people

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PLEASE KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Many children and young people find it really difficult and frustrating when they find it hard or impossible to go to school or college. You most definitely are not alone and there is lots of useful information which can help you to find the best ways to help support yourself with this.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF

The most important thing to know is that by making some very small changes, you can feel a bit better and more able to cope with things which may seem very difficult at the moment. These things may not cost much money and won't take up much of your time either. There may be times when you just can't face things but mostly, after a bit of perseverance you will find you are able to keep trying these things and feeling better too!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Depending on where you live, how old you are and what your own environment is, we aim to help you (and parents/carers and schools) to find appropriate resources and information to understand a bit more about how your thoughts and beliefs create feelings which then lead to particular behaviours (including avoidance in some cases) and we hope you will find information about why you may be finding your school or college environment difficult but also support and resources to help you to move forward to a place which is not so distressing for you.

OPEN UP TO PARENTS OR SOMEONE YOU TRUST IN SCHOOL

We understand it is very hard to start a conversation about how you are feeling sometimes as you may be worried about the reaction you will get. You may be surprised to know that your parent/carer or teacher may already have an idea that you are finding things difficult and it may be an easy conversation to have. If you find face to face conversations hard you could think of other ways of letting them know for example sending a text or writing on a piece of paper and leaving it somewhere easy to find. Parents will usually have your best interests at heart and care very much about how you're feeling, sometimes we make wrong choices and you may think we don't care about how you feel or how hard you are finding things. If this is the case it may also be useful to speak to another trusted adult and let them know about this website so they can come and look at the resources for parents and schools.

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Information for children and young people who are finding school attendance difficult

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Not Fine in School: Advice for professionals

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Not Fine in School: Advice for professionals

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Many children have an underlying Special Educational Need or Disability that contributes to their anxiety; this can include Autistic Spectrum Conditions, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder or Dyslexia.

SEND also include Social, Emotional or Mental Health Difficulties, which could affect a child's ability to establish friendships, cope with a variety of strong emotions, and increase a child's vulnerability to bullying.

High levels of anxiety can be classed as a disability and are a barrier to learning requiring the use of assess-plan-do- review cycles. Children and young people will need a consistent, individual support plan which is shared with all staff. If children struggle to engage, they need patience and an experienced professional to help them access the right support.

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There are many things professionals can do to support the education and wellbeing of children and young people when barriers to attendance exist

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6. LOCATE & READ YOUR SCHOOL'S POLICIES

Focus on policies for ATTENDANCE, SEND, & MAKING COMPLAINTS (as applicable).

Check they are being followed correctly and if they are not, ask why?

The school should respond to attendance problems by making assessments and helping to investigate what the underlying triggers or unmet needs are so that they can be addressed. This might involve the SENDCo, and referrals to an Educational Psychologist, CAMHS, and possibly other services such as Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.

The Department for Education told us that when a school identifies an emerging issue, including mental health issues which require additional support, they should not delay putting it in place.

The school should follow the graduated approach process set out in the department's statutory guidance on special educational needs and disability code of practice.

The guidance is clear that support should be provided from an early stage, whether or not the child has a specific diagnosis.

A child in school who has this support would be regarded as receiving special educational needs (SEN) support.

A school should always involve a specialist where a pupil continues to make little or no progress or where they continue to work at levels substantially below those expected of pupils of a similar age despite evidence-based SEN support delivered by appropriately trained staff.

For some children it will be appropriate for a request to be made to the local authority for an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. This request can be made by the school or the parent.

The special educational needs and disabilities code of practice intentionally does not require a diagnosis for a child to access the support they need. The process is based on a child's needs.

7. BE PROACTIVE

Ask for meetings and contact people who might be willing to help (including your GP, CAMHS helpline, School Nurse, Local MP, LA attendance team).

Take independent witnesses with you to meetings to make notes and support you.

Research your child's and your own rights then quote best practise - refer to legislation and statutory guidance for schools.

After meetings request copies of the minutes. If you don't feel they are accurate ask for them to be amended.

If a written record is needed write your own summary of the main points and anything agreed and email it to everyone involved for their approval and records.

8. CONTACT CHARITIES & SUPPORT SERVICES

Start with the following websites (see links below):

Then also look at others you think may be helpful

Check your council's LOCAL OFFER to see if they list anyone who might be able to help.

9. THREATENED WITH PROSECUTION?

Act quickly - hopefully you will have been keeping records and trying to get medical evidence - (don't leave it this late to get medical evidence and referrals) - this is what protects you, as prosecuting parents of a child with a diagnosis of mental health problems: (a) generally doesn't happen and (b) breaches the Equality Act (2010). Sadly, people often get to the point of being in court the following week, don't have representation and then don't point out to judge that the child is absent because of mental illness. So, it is VERY important to see your GP and get a CAMHS referral in place ASAP.

A parent cannot be penalised if a statutory exception applies. These exceptions are: where the school has given permission; where the pupil is prevented from attending by sickness or other unavoidable problems; where their family is marking a day reserved exclusively for religious observance; or where the local authority has failed to fulfil any duty it has to help them get to school.

It is for schools or local authorities to decide if they wish to use a penalty notice as a sanction in individual cases.

Penalty notices are governed by the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2007 as amended. The regulations require every local authority, in consultation with their schools and the police, to draw up a code of conduct for issuing penalty notices.

It is for local authorities to decide whether to prosecute a parent having taken account of all the circumstances of the case and the information submitted by the school. Local authority officers are best placed to assess the family's circumstances and decide upon the most appropriate course of action.

The Department for Education would encourage parents to work with their child's school and their local authority, to discuss the reasons behind their child's absence and agree an action plan so that the right support can be put in place to help their child to return to regular and consistent education, whether at school or otherwise.

10. RESEARCH RELEVANT LEGISLATION & DfE GUIDANCE

Local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable education for children of compulsory school age who, because of health reasons, would otherwise not receive suitable education (section 19, Education Act 1996). This applies whether or not the child is registered at a school and whatever type of school they attend. The education must be full-time or as close to full-time as the child's health allows.

The DfE statutory guidance on ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs sets out that local authorities should provide education as soon as it is clear that the child will be away from school for fifteen days or more, whether consecutive or cumulative.

The DfE make it clear that local authorities should be providing a "safety net" of suitable education for any child of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school, or otherwise, may not for any period receive education. A local authority must make arrangements for the suitable education of any child of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school, or otherwise, may not for any period receive education without such arrangements. Education Act 1996, s.19(1). Thus, the local authority can have a duty to provide alternative arrangements in situations not only where children are unable to attend by reason of illness or exclusion. This is because the phrase "or otherwise" "is plainly intended to encompass other causes of non-attendance at school or non-receipt of education". R (DS) v Wolverhampton City Council [2017] EWHC 1660 (per Garnham J) (at para.36).

Local authorities should have a named officer responsible for the education of children with additional health needs. The Department for Education (DfE) say that the current legal framework provides for sufficient "flexibility" to avoid issues such as prosecution for non-attendance, even where absences have not been authorised.

The DfE say that there are statutory exceptions which ensure that a parent should not be penalised or prosecuted where a pupil is prevented from attending school by sickness, or where the local authority has failed to fulfil any duty it has to help them get to school.

The DfE also make it clear that it is not necessary for children to be marked as absent due to illness in order to receive adequate education outside of school.

Relevant Judgements & Case Law

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Advice and information for families trying to navigate systems in the search for support when a child or young person is finding attending school difficult

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Barriers to Education Padlet (project led by Greater Manchester EPs and Spectrum Gaming, autism charity)

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Barriers to Education Padlet (project led by Greater Manchester EPs and Spectrum Gaming, autism charity)

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Context (copied and pasted from the Spectrum Gaming website (https://www.spectrumgaming.net/advocacy):

"It is almost universally recognised that the current guidance for supporting young people who are struggling to attend school does not work for many.
But the North West has been at the forefront of collaborating at a multi-agency level around this issue, and Spectrum Gaming has been leading on creating some new guidance alongside key partners.
We have delivered 3 webinars over the past few months that outlined the ambitious project, explained the foundational concepts and understanding that underpin the need for change, and gathered views and input from a wide range of attendees and contributors.
The next step is to continue to collaborate on creating guidance and resources that work for young people. We are working with a huge team of incredible people, including young people, parents, and professionals from across different sectors, to create something that we believe will much better meet the needs of all young people.
This guidance will be launching as a website in the coming months and will be open access for everyone"

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Spectrum Gaming: Autism and Trauma Guide

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Spectrum Gaming: Autism and Trauma Guide

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Updated: Jul 28

This is a neurodiversity affirming guide for parents and professionals around supporting young autistic people with trauma.

Contents:

Acknowledgements:

This guide was developed in coproduction with over:

350 autistic young people from the Spectrum Gaming community

with special thanks to:

How did people contribute to this?

Dr Naomi Fisher

Kirsteen Wilshere

Nanny Aut

This is a neurodiversity affirming guide for parents and professionals around supporting young autistic people with trauma.

Contents:

Acknowledgements:

This guide was developed in coproduction with over:

350 autistic young people from the Spectrum Gaming community

with special thanks to:

How did people contribute to this?

Over 350 autistic young people, 150 autistic adults, 700 parents and 80 professionals joined focus groups, attended live writing sessions (where we meet and write together), had 1:1 interviews or completed surveys to share their views, and one of the results of this work is this guide to autism and trauma.

This resource is truly coproduced, and has the views of autistic young people at its heart. In order to ensure it is factually accurate, the work we did was reviewed by experts in the area:

And their edits were reviewed by young people on an ongoing basis to ensure they helped to make the guide better, while also keeping the authenticity of young people's views/insight.

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This is a neurodiversity affirming guide for parents and professionals around supporting young autistic people with trauma.

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Spectrum Gaming: Autism and Anxiety Guide

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Spectrum Gaming: Autism and Anxiety Guide

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Example: You are struggling to eat dinner in the school hall

"You must get used to sitting in the dinner hall so, we will make you sit in there for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then increase the length each time, until you aren't anxious about it anymore."

Can you work together to understand why it is difficult, then work out the right approach? This often involves environmental changes, or aids to help manage the sensory input from the environment:

There are many different approaches for challenging anxiety, but it is important to recognise that a different approach is needed, depending on the type of anxiety:

If anxiety is a result of difficulties you experience, such as a space being too loud or too bright, then repeated exposure (such as the 'small steps' approach, where you go into the space a bit at a time) can only ever cause harm as the space is not suited to your needs. Each exposure increases the damage and this can have quite a huge negative long-term impact. The length of time you spend trying to get used to the environment (e.g. a further 10 minutes) may also increase the likelihood of sensory overload, if this is something that you experience.

If anxiety is (your brain tells you something is threatening when it isn't), for example a phobia, taking small steps to challenge your anxiety can be helpful. But you still need environmental adaptations put into place, because if your anxiety is too high, small steps will feel much bigger. These steps also need to be under the control of the person experiencing the anxiety. Being pushed by someone else is likely to deepen the anxiety, not reduce it.

Sometimes, a difficulty makes you struggle so much that you also develop too. This then means that you need environmental changes (for example, ear defenders or going at a quieter time), but then if you are still struggling to attend a space and it is something you want to do (e.g. wanting to sit in the dinner hall with your friends), you can try out some small steps a little bit at a time to prove there is nothing to be afraid of (if your needs are being met in the space).

Sometimes what can look like irrational anxiety can have a very real threat behind it. For instance, an exam phobia can look irrational on the surface, but if you recognise that all someone's work and knowledge comes down to two hours in an environment and setting in which they struggle massively, and that they have been told repeatedly that these results determine your whole future, then you realise that is a threat to that person, not an irrational one.

Autistic young people struggle a lot when people challenge their anxiety in the wrong way, so we have worked together to create a four step process to challenge anxiety, which works for . If a young person is struggling with anxiety, this process should be followed one step at a time to reduce the chance of it having a negative impact on their life.

Example: You are struggling to eat dinner in the school hall

"You must get used to sitting in the dinner hall so, we will make you sit in there for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then increase the length each time, until you aren't anxious about it anymore."

Can you work together to understand why it is difficult, then work out the right approach? This often involves environmental changes, or aids to help manage the sensory input from the environment:

There are many different approaches for challenging anxiety, but it is important to recognise that a different approach is needed, depending on the type of anxiety:

If anxiety is a result of difficulties you experience, such as a space being too loud or too bright, then repeated exposure (such as the 'small steps' approach, where you go into the space a bit at a time) can only ever cause harm as the space is not suited to your needs. Each exposure increases the damage and this can have quite a huge negative long-term impact. The length of time you spend trying to get used to the environment (e.g. a further 10 minutes) may also increase the likelihood of sensory overload, if this is something that you experience.

If anxiety is (your brain tells you something is threatening when it isn't), for example a phobia, taking small steps to challenge your anxiety can be helpful. But you still need environmental adaptations put into place, because if your anxiety is too high, small steps will feel much bigger. These steps also need to be under the control of the person experiencing the anxiety. Being pushed by someone else is likely to deepen the anxiety, not reduce it.

Sometimes, a difficulty makes you struggle so much that you also develop too. This then means that you need environmental changes (for example, ear defenders or going at a quieter time), but then if you are still struggling to attend a space and it is something you want to do (e.g. wanting to sit in the dinner hall with your friends), you can try out some small steps a little bit at a time to prove there is nothing to be afraid of (if your needs are being met in the space).

Sometimes what can look like irrational anxiety can have a very real threat behind it. For instance, an exam phobia can look irrational on the surface, but if you recognise that all someone's work and knowledge comes down to two hours in an environment and setting in which they struggle massively, and that they have been told repeatedly that these results determine your whole future, then you realise that is a threat to that person, not an irrational one.

Autistic young people struggle a lot when people challenge their anxiety in the wrong way, so we have worked together to create a four step process to challenge anxiety, which works for . If a young person is struggling with anxiety, this process should be followed one step at a time to reduce the chance of it having a negative impact on their life.

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Understanding Anxiety Part 1: Introduction to Autism and Anxiety

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Anxiety is often seen as a negative that the individual must overcome, but anxiety is often a healthy protective mechanism that enables us to identify and avoid harm. To ignore it means we ignore key signals that manage our wellbeing.

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jivaOM-B0qo&pp=ygUdcG9va3kga25pZ2h0c21pdGgganVzdCBzYXkgbm8%3D

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Addressing Barriers to Education Webinar 3: Burnout

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Addressing Barriers to Education Webinar 2

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IoeKj8nTsGM

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Barriers to Education (Replacing the EBSA Guidance) Webinar 1

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EBSA Strategies and Toolkit for Secondary Schools

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EBSA Strategies and Toolkit for Secondary Schools

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Name that feeling (worksheet from Twinkle)

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Some children may need help to describe how anxiety feels to them. They might need an adult to offer words which describe unpleasant feelings, for example, in their stomach or other areas of their body – knots, butterflies, like a washing machine, etc. Ask the child to draw out and label their physical symptoms on the worksheet. Then ask the child to create a key and select certain colours to represent the feelings of happy, angry, sad, scared, excited, and worried. For each identified feeling, the young person can colour where they feel that emotion in their body.

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Addressing Emotionally Based School Avoidance 

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Addressing Emotionally Based School Avoidance 

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Anna Freud Resource

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Parent's views on EBSNA with Dr Rachel Sawyer

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Parent's views on EBSNA with Dr Rachel Sawyer

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Parents’ views on EBSNA with Dr Rachel Sawyer

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Four functions of Emotionally Based School Non-attendance

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Four functions of Emotionally Based School Non-attendance

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Taken from Newcastle City Council

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Pupil friendly resources (worksheets, cards etc) within

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Pupil friendly resources (worksheets, cards etc) within

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For use with older students

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For use with younger children

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Information Booklet for Children - Somerset Council

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Information Booklet for Children - Somerset Council

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EBSA Support for Children and Young People

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EBSA Support for Children and Young People

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RAG (Red-Amber-Green) ratings, also known as ‘traffic lighting,’ are often used to summarise indicator values, where green represents a ‘favourable’ value, red an ‘unfavourable’ value and amber a ‘neutral’ value. When working with children experiencing EBSA, this can be applied to children’s timetables as a method of supporting the child with EBSA to gradually increase their school attendance.

To do this, a key adult that supports the child should work with the child to identify any days of the school week or lessons on their timetable that they feel more comfortable attending, such as lessons with a particular teacher or peer. These can be coloured as ‘green’ days or lessons in which the child agrees to attend. The other days or lessons can then be coloured ‘amber’ which signifies that they may be able to attend them with support, and ‘red’ meaning they do not feel able to attend at the moment and will need more time and EBSA.

This can help provide goals for the child to aim for and a sense of progress in being able to attend some school or lessons. It also helps the staff supporting the child to understand when to encourage the child to attend and when to provide other forms of support. The RAG ratings can then be reviewed on a regular basis with the aim that over time more days or lessons will become ‘green’, and the child is able to increase their attendance and maintain an element of choice and control over their anxiety.

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You can use various different visual representations of a scale to help you in exploring a child’s avoidance hierarchy. The aim is to determine the variables that lead to anxiety and to rank them according to the level of anxiety or likely avoidance a child experiences. Ladders, thermometers, ice bergs, mountains and smiley/sad faces could all be reproduced to do this activity (see example thermometer below). You may need to scaffold the activity by listing different situations in case the child/young person finds it hard to spontaneously suggest some. For example:

• Being in an empty classroom
• Putting my uniform on
• Getting out of bed
• Sitting next to another child in my class
• Playtime
• Being in the lunch hall
• Specific lessons (maths, drama, PE)
• Talking to my teacher
• When the teacher asks a question/for hands up

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Emotional literacy is a term used to describe a number of skills that underpin emotional regulation including:
• Recognising emotional states
• Understanding and labelling emotions
• Being able to express our emotional experiences to others
• Regulating our bodily responses to emotions

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At the core of EBSA for many young people is their skills in recognising and managing their emotions. Emotion Coaching uses moments of heightened emotion and resulting behaviour to guide and teach the child or young person about more effective responses. Through empathetic engagement, the child's emotional state is verbally acknowledged and validated, promoting a sense of security, and feeling 'felt'. This activates changes in the child's neurological system and allows the child to calm down, physiologically and psychologically.

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Emotion Coaching UK promotes the use and development of emotion coaching to support childen and young people through training, consultancy and resources

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Many children and young people experiencing EBSA will have experienced some form of trauma, particularly those where the third function of EBSA (to avoid separation from the home or caregivers) is core to their avoidance. In an educational context, trauma-informed practice is a strengths-based framework in which schools and staff understand, recognise, and respond effectively to the impact of trauma on pupils (Quadara and Hunter 2016; Craig 2016). Trauma-informed practice should be practised as a whole school approach with a focus on consistent and predictable strategies that emphasise the importance of relating to the experiences of others. There is no single, proven model for successfully implementing trauma-informed practice in educational settings. However, researchers and practitioners commonly suggest the following interrelated strategies can be useful in supporting the wellbeing and learning of all students, particularly those impacted by trauma: • Ensuring physical and emotional safety for students and staff • Respect for diversity, including different cultures, historical backgrounds, and genders • Positive relationships, particularly focused on trustworthiness, consistency, and predictability • Empowerment of students, including taking a strengths-based approach.

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The concept of nurture relates to the importance of the social environment on the development of emotional well-being. Children who have a good start in life are known to have significant advantages and are also more likely to attend frequently compared to those who have experienced missing or distorted attachments. A whole school approach to Nurture embraces the idea that teachers can help children to develop the social skills they need to thrive, and the confidence and resilience to deal with whatever life throws at them – not just at school, but for the rest of their lives.

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Helping children and young people to feel part of their school community acts as a buffer to the risk factors for becoming EBSA. The Tree of Life activity is one that all schools can use during PSHE or form tutor time to explore and celebrate individual experiences and develop a sense of belonging

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Many children and young people who experience EBSA have experienced bullying or a breakdown of relationships with peers or teachers. Restorative approaches provide schools with a range of practices which promote mutually respectful relationships, manage behaviour and conflict, address bullying, absences, and build community cohesion. Restorative approaches offer a framework to build upon existing good practice. There is a wealth of evidence that shows how the use of restorative approaches alongside Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), helps to develop more resilient and self-regulating learners, thus creating positive learning environments. A restorative school is one which takes a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right. To be effective, restorative approaches must be in place across the school. This means all pupils, staff (including non-teaching staff), management and the wider school community must understand what acting restoratively means and how they can do it. As a result, restorative schools adopt a whole-school approach to restorative methods.

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School responsibilities to children experiencing EBSA Regardless of whether you record absences as authorised or not, you continue to have clear responsibilities for safeguarding and educational provision. Whilst a child remains on the role of the school you must ensure that you continue to:
• Carry out welfare checks
• Develop an Individual Health Care Plan in partnership with the school, parents, pupils, and any relevant healthcare professional (where appropriate)
• Liaise with outside agencies to ensure that actions are undertaken on your behalf
• Provide educational and other ordinarily available activities • Monitor progress
• Coordinate SEN provision and review needs at the SEN and EHCP levels

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Examples of provision that might be ordinarily available
• Quality first teaching (differentiated learning, extra check-ins with pupil)
• Safe spaces for time out when a child is overwhelmed
• Lunch time clubs away from the busy playground
• Named adults in school for children to talk to about their worries
• Social inclusion provision such as buddying, peer mentoring and structured play

Examples of SEN provision
• Targeted learning interventions (for example, literacy small group work)
• Social skills intervention groups
• Nurture groups or ELSA intervention
• Psychoeducational sessions on anxiety management/relaxation techniques
• A key adult to develop a relationship with the child and scaffold their access to challenging situations

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- Differentiated learning approaches
- Adjusted expectations in line with emotional needs
- Allowing a child to start a few minutes earlier or later than their class
- Appropriate positioning within the class to reduce the impact of sensory needs
- Allowing a child to sit with a child they have an established relationship with
- Not taking part in an activity or lesson which has been identified as particularly stressful until the child is more able to cope (through intervention or support)

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Children and young people will often show early signs of EBSA such as not wanting to get ready for school, feeling unwell on school days, missing occasional lessons, or avoiding particular activities in school. For some children and young people their internal coping skills or the external support put in place for them may be sufficient for them to be able to attend. However, they continue to face daily struggles with their emotions and the demands that are placed on them both in and out of school. It is therefore important to document concerns about EBSA early so that sufficient monitoring and support are maintained over time

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is a term used to describe children and young people who experience difficulty attending school due to emotional factors, often resulting in prolonged absences.

A clear distinction needs to be 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.

The literature in this area often uses the term ‘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.

Thambirajah et al. (2008) claim that EBSA: “…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”.

Cant attend currently --> changeable

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To avoid something or situations that elicits negative feelings or high levels of stress (e.g. fear of the toilets; the noise in the playground; lots of people moving all together in the corridors between classes, tests/ exams);​​

To escape difficult social situations (e.g. feeling left out at playtime; reading out loud in class or other public speaking/group task; working as part of a group);​​

To get attention from or spend more time with significant others (e.g. change in family dynamic, concerned about the well being of parent);​​

To spend more time out of school as it is more fun or stimulating (go shopping, play computer games, hang out with friends);​​

Are there any maintaining factors?​

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Working alongside children…​

- Listening/exploring/curiosity​

- Information gather – forming a hypothesis… what is the function of the behaviour? ​

Working alongside parents / care givers ​

- Listening/exploring/curiosity – they are the experts in their child’s life!​

- Coaching and check-ins  – how to support/challenge their child

Working alongside school …​

- Ongoing support for key members of staff​

Relationships and agency ​

- Clear action plan​

- Whole-school approaches – communication between staff​

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​Areas to cover/example questions :​​

​​

Developmental and educational history ​​

What was s/he like as a young child? Can you tell me about their early experiences at school? The primary school, at the start of secondary school? ​​

Strengths, interests and aspirations ​​

What is s/he good at? What do they like doing? Do they have any hopes for the future? Do they know what they want their life to be like when they are an adult? ​​

Any potential changes or losses within the family or child’s life ​​

Can you tell me about your family? Who is in it, who is like whom. Who is s/he closest to? Have there been any changes within the family recently? (You could ask them to draw a family tree/ genogram). ​​

Relationships ​​

Does s/he talk about any other children? What does s/he say? Does s/he talk about any adults within school? What does s/he say? Who does s/he get on with...who doesn’t s/he get on with? ​​

The child’s views, what is going well in school ​​

Has s/he mentioned anything that is going well in school? (e.g. teachers, lessons, friends) ​​

Behaviour and symptoms of anxiety ​​

When s/he is worried what does it look like? What do they say they are feeling? ​​

Typical day – when they go to school and when they don’t go to school ​​

Please describe a typical day when s/he goes to school from the moment s/he...gets up until s/he goes to bed....... and when s/he doesn’t go to school? What does s/he do when they do not go to school? What do other family members do? ​​

Impact on various members of the family ​​

How does their non-attendance impact on you? And on other family members? Who is better at dealing with the situation? Why?
​​

Parental views on the reasons for the EBSA ​​

Why do you think s/he has difficulty attending school? (ask each parent separately) If (other parent/ sibling/Grandparent) were here what would they say? Are there any differences of views about the reasons and what should be done within the family? ​​

Exceptions to the problem ​​

Have there been times when s/he managed to get into school? What was different about those times? ​​

Previous attempts to address the problem ​​

What has been the most helpful thing that someone else has done in dealing with the problem so far? What has helped in the past when things have been difficult? What strategies have been most helpful so far in managing their anxiety? ​

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When working with individuals it is really important to also identify and build areas of strength or resilience of the child, family and school which may help to ‘protect’ the child and promote school attendance. This may include:​​

Developing ambition, aspiration and motivation;​​

Increasing confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, value in themselves;​​

Developing feelings of safety, security and a sense of belonging;​​

Having positive experiences where they can succeed;​​

Holding positive relationships with peers or staff;​​

Feeling listened to and understood;​​

Understanding the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour;​​

Willingness to work in partnership between school, family and external professionals;​​

Developing parenting skills and understanding;​​

Flexibility of approaches within school, person centred listening to the voice of the child.​

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Difficulty attending school with periods of prolonged absence;​​

Child reluctant to leave home and stays away from school with the knowledge of the parent/carer;​​

For younger children reluctance to leave parents or get out of the car;​​

Regular absence without indication of anti-social behaviours;​​

Frequent absences for minor illnesses;​​

Patterns in absences, for example, particular days and/or subjects, after weekends and holidays;​​

Reluctance to attend school trips;​​

The young person expresses a desire to attend classes but is unable to do so;​​

The child talks negatively about school;​​

Changes in the child’s behavioural presentation.

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Develop resilience factors ​

Warning signs / Risk factors ​

Information gather ​

Assess, plan, do review ​

Systemic work … school culture, understanding of behaviour, community

It is only through understanding the individual experience of each child or young person that we are likely to help them improve or manage their EBSA.

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WHY MIGHT A PUPIL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL?​ | Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

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WHY MIGHT A PUPIL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL?​ | Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

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Family​​

​​

Separation and divorce or change in family dynamic (birth of a sibling);​​

Parent physical and mental health problems;​​

Overprotective parenting style;​​

Dysfunctional family interactions;​​

Loss and bereavement;​​

High levels of family stress;​​

Parents putting a low value on education;​​

Child expected to act as carers / worries about parents’ wellbeing;​​

Parents working long and atypical hours (therefore little time for child+parent time);​​

Family history / acceptance of non-attendance.​

​

​

School​​

​​

Bullying (the most common school factor);​​

Difficulties in specific subjects;​​

Transition to secondary school, key stage or change of school;​​

Academic demands/exam pressure;​​

Transport or journey to school;​​

Peer or staff relationship difficulties.​​

​​

Child​

​​

Temperamental style-reluctance to interact and withdrawal from unfamiliar settings, people or objects;​​

Fear of failure and poor self-confidence/low self-worth;​​

Physical illness;​​

Age (5-6, 11-12 & 13-14 years- i.e. key transitions);​​

Learning Difficulties, developmental problems or Autism Spectrum Condition if unidentified or unsupported;​​

Separation Anxiety from parent;​​

Traumatic events;​​

Psychological or mental health difficulties;​​

Embarrassment at personal attributes e.g. overweight;

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding emotionally based school avoidance seminar

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Guide for Schools about EBSA from Hertfordshire

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Guide for Schools about EBSA from Hertfordshire

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Separation anxiety: information for schools

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Separation anxiety: information for schools

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A lesson for secondary school pupils exploring worry and strategies to manage our worries.

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A lesson for primary school children exploring worry and strategies to manage our worries.

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A tool for children who are anxious about returning to school to use with parents/carers.

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Ideal Safe School Complete 05.07.20 PDF.pdf

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This guidance has useful information about EBSA for parents. The final page section if focused on additional support available in West Sussex. We are working on a Northumberland version.

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Separation anxiety: information for parents

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Separation anxiety: information for parents

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7 ways to supportchildren and young people who are worried

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7 ways to supportchildren and young people who are worried

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Tips on coping with worry and how we can help ourselves.

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An anxiety workbook for children aged 5-11.

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A picture book for children who are worried about coronavirus.

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Publishing platform for digital magazines, interactive publications and online catalogs. Convert documents to beautiful publications and share them worldwide. Title: Everybody Worries Epdf Spring20, Author: Oxford University Press, Length: 1 pages, Published: 2020-04-29

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The Anxious Child: A Booklet for parents and carers wanting to know more about anxiety in children and young people

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The Anxious Child: A Booklet for parents and carers wanting to know more about anxiety in children and young people

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A booklet for parents and carers wanting to know more about anxiety in children and young people.

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Information about Anxiety by Young Minds

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Information about Anxiety by Young Minds

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Responding To Anxiety In Young People | Training Course

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An online training course where you'll explore different types of anxiety and recognise useful responses to support young people coping with anxiety.

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Courses for a range of ages for children and young people transitioning between schools.

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Use BBC Bitesize to help with your homework, revision and learning from KS1 to GCSE. Find free videos, step-by-step guides, activities and quizzes.

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Online mental wellbeing support which is free, safe and anonymous. Includes access to online tips and advice from other young people and the Kooth Team, discussion boards, a chat service and online journal.

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Kooth is your online mental wellbeing community. Access free, safe and anonymous

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An information booklet explaining EBSA to parents and carers.

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A young person's guild to having difficult feelings around school

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A young person's guild to having difficult feelings around school

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An information booklet for young people to explore their feelings around school.

# data[].attributes.headline
A child’s guide to having difficult feelings around school

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A child’s guide to having difficult feelings around school

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A booklet for primary aged children to complete, to explore things they like, dislike or may feel worried about at school.

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Resilience Lesson Plan: Young Minds and Beano

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Resilience Lesson Plan: Young Minds and Beano

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Alongside our friends at Beano, we've created some lesson plans on emotional literacy and resilience to help children understand how they're feeling and what to do when things don't feel right. Help your class learn about mental health wellbeing with 12 easy step-by-step lesson plans with presentations and worksheets linked to the English, Welsh and Scottish PSHE Curriculums and complete with learning objectives and outcomes.

You can download all six lesson plans, including 'Understanding Our Emotions' and 'Understanding Change' from the Beano for Schools website.

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Resilience Lesson Plans | School Resources from Beano

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Alongside our friends at Beano, we've created some lesson plans on emotional literacy and resilience to help children understand how they're feeling and what to do when things don't feel right. Help your class learn about mental health wellbeing with 12 easy step-by-step lesson plans with presentations and worksheets linked to the English, Welsh and Scottish PSHE Curriculums and complete with learning objectives and outcomes.

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Information for schools, parents, young people and children on EBSA.

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) | Support Services for Education

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Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is a term used to describe children and young people (CYP) who experience challenges in attending school due to negative feelings (such as anxiety). EBSA is

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How do our thoughts influence our actions? Try this activity to find out more about yourself.

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blank - Thoughts Feelings & Actions Record - Copy

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Tips on coping with worry and how we can help ourselves.

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Collaborative Working to Promote Attendance and Psychological Wellbeing

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Collaborative Working to Promote Attendance and Psychological Wellbeing

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Collaborative Working to Promote Attendance.PDF

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A presentation to assist with staff training, plus links to resources that may be of use in your context, including a whole school audit.

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Back to School Planning for Parents - Sunday Monday Routine

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Back to School Planning for Parents - Sunday Monday Routine

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Dr Tina Rae talks about the importance of routines for children going back to school after lockdown.

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Listen to Dr Tina Rae, consultant psychologist, on the impact of anxiety on school attendance.

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On this week's podcast we will be discussing how to support children with emotionally based school phobia/avoidance.

For this conversation, Dale is joined by Dr Tina Rae. Tina is a consultant psychologist. Tina has supported children, adults and families for over 30 years. She is currently working as Consultant Educational and Child Psychologist in a range of SEBD/SEMH and mainstream contexts, including Compass Fostering, supporting foster carers, social workers and Looked after children. She has held many positions in many places including a trustee of the Nurture Group Network and is a member of the editorial board for the journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties and for the International Journal of Nurture in Education. She has also written over 100 publications.

We know that our children and young people who already have existing mental health issues will be finding the current lockdown experience particularly stressful and increased levels of anxiety will be the norm.

However, it is probably also the case that every child will be experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety at this time and that when they do eventually return to the school context there will enormous emotional and psychological hurdles to overcome. The need to provide support for increased levels of anxiety and managing the transition to a 'new normal' will be on-going.

Tina's books can be found at Hinton House Publishers - http://www.hintonpublishers.com/searchresult.php?sw=Tina+Rae&Search=Search

Rae, T. (2020) A Toolbox of Wellbeing Helpful strategies and activities for children, teens, their carers and teachers Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T., Such, A. & Wood, J. (2020) The Well Being Tool Kit for Mental health leads in schools A comprehensive Training Resource to Support Emotional Wellbeing in Education and Social Care Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T., Walshe, J. & Wood, J. (2020) Supporting Adolescents with anxiety and stress: Evidence based strategies Buckingham Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. (2020) Motivation Matters Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. (2019) Sensory Activity cards Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. (2019) Mindfulness Activity cards Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. (2019) Happy Habits Activity cards Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. & Such, A. (2019) The ASD Girls' Wellbeing Toolkit An Evidence based Intervention Promoting Mental, Physical & Emotional Health Buckingham: Hinton House Publishers

Rae, T. (2019) The Well Being Tool Kit for Teens London: NurtureUK

Twitter - @DrTinarae

Email - tinarae@hotmail.co.uk

For more podcast episodes from the SENDcast click below...
https://sendcast.wpengine.com/sendcast-episodes/

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Supporting children with emotionally based school phobia/avoidance from the SENDcast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On this week's podcast we will be discussing how to support children with emotionally based school phobia/avoidance. For this conversation, Dale is joined by Dr Tina Rae. Tina is a consultant psychologist. Tina has supported children, adults and families for over 30 years.

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Supporting Vulnerable Groups Pupils During Periods of Transition

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Supporting Vulnerable Groups Pupils During Periods of Transition

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Practical suggestions for both feeder and receiver educational settings on how to facilitate effective transitions for children and young people, frequently cited as a reason for EBSA.

# data[].attributes.body
This guidance has useful information about EBSA for parents. The final page section if focused on additional support available in West Sussex. We are working on a Northumberland version.

# data[].attributes.body
A tool for children who are anxious about returning to school to use with parents/carers.

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Ideal Safe School Complete 05.07.20 PDF.pdf

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Originally developed for supporting the children of keyworkers, the principles will apply to all children as more return to school.

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An anxiety workbook for children aged 5-11.

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7 ways to supportchildren and young people who are worried

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7 ways to supportchildren and young people who are worried

# data[].attributes.headline
Separation anxiety: information for parents

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Separation anxiety: information for parents