Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
Supporting children and young people who have difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors.
Feeling worried or anxious is normal. It can even help keep us safe or perform well in tough situations. However, sometimes anxiety or too much worrying becomes a problem, especially if it stops people doing what they need or want to do.
Many children and young people worry about school, and that’s normal. Learning to manage worries is part of growing up. However, sometimes a child’s worries make it hard for them to go to school. If your child feels very anxious and doesn’t want to attend, they may have Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).
How we can support children and young people with EBSA
The Educational Psychology service uses the latest evidence about what works to provide support. This includes:
- getting involved as early as possible
- working with parents, school staff and the young person
- being flexible and thinking about what each child needs
- helping them to get back to school quickly, if that's right for them
- providing good support and making changes at school if necessary
Publications
We also provide publications to support you. For children and young people there are information booklets:
- Are you feeling sad or worried about school?
- Do you worry about going to school?
For parents and carers, we have:
- EBSA information for parents and carers
- EBSA and autism information for parents and carers
- Good practice guidance for schools and support agencies
You can find all of these on the Services for Education website.
Support and resources from the SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS)
The SENDIAS service provides a series of factsheets about EBSA for parents, carers and young people. You can download these from EBSA section on the factsheets page of the SENDIAS website.
You can also get information and advice from the SENDIAS team by phone or email. The service has advisors trained to support young people. See their contact details.
Resources from Thriving in Education
Whilst the website Thriving in Education is mainly for schools, there is a section called 'enhancing parent and carers' knowledge and confidence'. This contains links to resources that may help you.