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All EPs interviewed spoke highly of the West Sussex EBSA Guidance documents and extensive toolkit and the generosity of the local authority in sharing this advice and making it available for all to use. It was hailed by one EP as 'The Holy Grail' and another as 'The Bible'!
https://westsussex.local-offer.org/information_pages/460-ebsa-toolkit-and-appendices

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Appendix 1 Profile of risk of EBSA

Appendix 2 Information gathering from school

Appendix 3 Information gathering and integration

Appendix 4 Example Support Plan and Support Plan with visuals

Appendix 5 Whole school audit

Appendix 6 Strategies for Young People with ASC
The Educational Psychology service has also produced information booklets for parents, children and young people and are holding a series of training events for school staff and other professionals to supplement this guidance with a practical tools enabling them to work effectively with children and young people and their families. Dates for these will be promoted in the coming months.

Resources:

Emotionally Based School Avoidance - Guidance

EBSA and Autism

Booklet for Parent Carers

Booklet for Young People

Booklet for Children

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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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Scales such as the Beck Youth Inventories and Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA). The Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) were also found to be useful in building a picture of children and young people's wellbeing.

See website below for a free version of the RCADS and scoring information:
https://help.greenspacehealth.com/article/50-child-depression-and-anxiety-rcads-25

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Child Centred Working based on Personal Construct Psychology - Useful for Eliciting Children's Voices

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Child Centred Working based on Personal Construct Psychology - Useful for Eliciting Children's Voices

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Lots of EPs found that Personal Construct Psychology techniques such as 'The Ideal School' and 'The Ideal Self' were useful when working with children and young people around EBSA issues to explore what attending school meant for them. One EP trained a parent to use The Ideal School exercise with her son who was, at the time, unable to leave his bedroom. The output was shared at a joint meeting with the school and provided much needed insight into the support that was needed.

More information about The Ideal Safe School exercise can be found here: https://edpsy.org.uk/blog/2020/drawing-the-ideal-safe-school-an-optimistic-approach-to-returning-to-school/

More information about The Ideal School exercise can be found here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/educational-psychology/new_site/resources/JaneWilliams_DECP2016conference.pdf

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Dr Tina Rae's Book: Understanding & Supporting Children & Young People with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

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Dr Tina Rae's Book: Understanding & Supporting Children & Young People with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

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Dr Tina Rae's book was recommended by EPs due to its theoretical content and photocopiable worksheets (in particular, the 'Sunday Night/Monday Morning' plan and 'The Anxiety Ladder' to use directly with families and children. Dr Rae runs a webinar alongside the materials in the book and her YouTube channel also came highly recommended:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DrTinaRae

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EPs found it useful to teach school staff how to use solution circles and one EP had held EBSA solution circles with SENCOs from different settings in order to discuss EBSA difficulties across local authorities. Solution circles were felt to facilitate effective peer supervision.

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Book Recommendation - 'Understanding School Refusal'

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Book Recommendation - 'Understanding School Refusal'

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Some EPs recommended this book by Karen Grandison, Louise De-Hayes and M.S. Thambirajah

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EPs recommended this Resilience Card Deck by Juliet Ttofa to facilitate conversations with families and young people around EBSA and to gain their views.

Buy the card set here: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Nurturing-Resilience-Card-Deck-Vulnerable/dp/0367514117/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=lkVIx&content-id=amzn1.sym.31c9090c-9b65-4f91-bf37-04dd92281172&pf_rd_p=31c9090c-9b65-4f91-bf37-04dd92281172&pf_rd_r=W1DVNMXRR2TAVJD047MX&pd_rd_wg=ZA0QC&pd_rd_r=6f69dcaa-38a6-42d1-8f6e-9a69a0e1e59d&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi

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Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approaches with Parents

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Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approaches with Parents

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Several EPs said that they use elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with young people with EBSA. This approach, particularly the DNA-v model (link below) helps young people to explore the relationship between their thoughts and feelings and to uncover motivation to change in line with their values. One EP had adapted the DNA-v approach (information free of charge and available on website below) to use with families in online sessions to enable them to use this approach at home with their child.
https://dnav.international/dna-v-for-youth/

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The School Refusal Assessment Scale - Revised (SRAS-R) (Kearney & Silverman, 2002)

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The School Refusal Assessment Scale - Revised (SRAS-R) (Kearney & Silverman, 2002)

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Despite 'school refusal' potentially now being an unhelpful term, the SRAS-R may be a useful tool to use with families and school staff during initial discussion around EBSA. Some EPs asked for these scales to be completed ahead of an initial meeting.

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Motivational Interviewing (MI) Approaches may be helpful when working directly with children and young people. It is important that the ethical principle of beginning the work with no agenda is maintained (i.e. the 'end goal' in MI work may not be for the child to be back at school).

A free Motivational Interviewing webinar is currently available at: https://collegeofwellbeing.com/motivational-interviewing-free-webinar/

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It may be helpful to signpost school staff to online CPD opportunities to learn more about EBSA. Learning and Wellbeing Psychology host an online course available immediately that came recommended:
https://mycpdgroup.com/courses/emotionally-based-school-avoidance/#learndash-course-content

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Using Dynamic Assessment to Explore Change

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Using Dynamic Assessment to Explore Change

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Some EPs favoured the use of Dynamic Assessment (DA) with students with EBSA to explore change not related to school attendance using games and activities. Modelling mediation through DA with a trusted member of school staff present may be helpful in demonstrating the pace of learning that the student responds best to. This may be particularly helpful where students with EBSA identify classroom learning as a contributory factor to their difficulties attending school. DA sessions aim to leave children and young people with a sense of accomplishment and pride in learning to do something new and may act as a catalyst for positive change in order areas.

The EP Reach Out YouTube Channel has several videos about Dynamic Assessment available to stream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqkrhK9q6p0

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Thinking about Dynamic Assessment – Resources, Mediation and Formulation