5 School Wide Strategies To Support EBSA and Improve Attendance

Introduction

School teachers understand all too well the importance of a positive and supportive learning environment; both for CYP and ourselves. However, there are times when students experience challenges that lead to emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), commonly known as school refusal or persistent absenteeism. This phenomenon can be complex and multifaceted, impacting their social, emotional, and academic development. Here, we share 5 of the top strategies we’ve seen positively improve attendance through increasing early identification, and feelings of safety, security and belonging within the school community.

Understanding Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

EBSA refers to a child or young person experiencing persistent emotional or psychological distress when at school, often then leading to an understandable and natural coping strategy to avoid / refuse attending school. It is essential to differentiate EBSA from simple truancy, as EBSA is rooted in anxiety or other emotional challenges that impact a child's ability to cope with the school environment. Similarly, there is a move away from the term ‘School Refusal’ since this indicates that there is simple choice to not attend school. By recognising these underlying emotional factors, we can develop a comprehensive approach to address and support these students. In doing so, we’re primarily helping them to feel safe and secure in school, with any increases in attendance simply being enabled by improved wellbeing in school.

Strategy 1: Early Identification and Intervention

If we can identify early signs of EBSA / school refusal, we can provide appropriate interventions to prevent escalation to persistent absenteeism and minimise the impact on the student's education (as well as their social relationships, feelings of belonging and other important resilience factors).

How to Start:

• Regularly monitor attendance patterns, and seeking to have open and honest conversations about the reasons for student’s the drop in attendance (i.e. showing curiosity and care, not being judgemental). See the Checklist for Attendance Tracking and Support  from EBSA Horizons.
• Check in with those students who we see appear anxious or uncomfortable in class, especially to try and understand how broadly these feelings spread across school.
• Use a tool like the EBSA Horizons Risk and Resilience Questionnaire to understand what areas of strength may be helpful to further build upon, and those areas which accommodations or particular support may be needed within.
• Collaborate with Educational Psychologists who can help to develop whole school wide monitoring systems and approaches, alongside a holistic and staged plan of support based on the children and young people’s individual needs.

Quote:

"When my form tutor first talked to me about me missing quite a few days, I expected him to threaten me with detentions or something. Actually wanting to know why I’d missed school, made me feel like someone cared. I got given a pass card to leave lessons early, and a few other things, and this made that time so much easier to manage. I’d probably have stayed home a lot more without that."

- Jacob, 14

Strategy 2: Foster a Supportive School Culture

As adults, we’d dread going into a toxic work environment where we didn’t feel safe and supported; especially when other things may be happening in our lives. The same principle (even more so) goes for children and young people. If the school culture is one of rigidity, confusion, and apprehension, even if the CYP is attending, they are emotionally not likely to be in the best place to learn. Our aim is to always make the school culture for the CYP the same as one which we’d like to work in; one that promotes positive relationships, empathy, and inclusivity, reducing any anxieties and the risk of school avoidance.

How to Start:

• Implement school-wide programs or initiatives that promote and reward the values of empathy, kindness, and understanding. This is no easy task and takes years to embed across school. However, your classroom can also be this place by itself. Even if it is the only sanctuary in your school, it is more needed for this.
• Offer peer mentoring or buddy systems to provide additional support to students experiencing EBSA. These students can offer a level of support, understanding, feeling of acceptance and tips which adult simply can’t.
• Conduct regular check-ins with students to give them a space to express their concerns and feelings.
• Don’t be afraid of individual accommodations based on need. One rule for all doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for adults, and we’d be disgusted if certain accommodations weren’t in place at work if we had some kinds of need. Blanket rules also teach and emphasise to CYP that differences and needs are ‘wrong’ and should be punished. If you don’t have needs, you’re lucky, but it’s not a compassionate world view most teachers aspire to impart upon their students. If you do have needs, you have to mask them or feel shame at best or reprimanded at worst.

Quote:

"I changed schools from one where I felt like every part of me wasn’t liked. Like I couldn’t be me or wanted. I was late because I was anxious about going into the toilets, level 2 detention. I wore different socks because the others are itchy, level 1 detention. Then I moved to a school where the teachers wanted to know me for me. And to help me. Feeling accepted and valued for who I am makes a huge difference. I hated my last school, but now ."

- Emily, 16

 

Strategy 3: Engage Parents and Guardians

CYP often feel a separation between home and school. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to keep every parent up to date with their child’s daily progress and interactions. When conversations do occur more frequently, they’re often around ‘concerns’ that need to be addressed which makes most CYP fear their teachers and parents talking. Where we do notice anxiety building and/or attendance falling, working towards a close ‘partnership’ with parents (and helping them to understand the purpose of this since they too may feel anxious) can be incredibly valuable. This is about open channels of communication which is as much about what has gone well as it is what has been challenging to create a network of support for the student.

How to Start:

• Create and share accessible resources and workshops to educate families on recognising EBSA in particular. Even parents just knowing about this term can help them to search for helpful and relevant ideas and resources themselves.
• Share resources and links to videos with parents about mental health, wellbeing and resilience. Keeping these short and practical (there’s a lot on YouTube!). Even if the strategies in these aren’t always appropriate for their child, they can prompt thoughts which lead to more personalised approaches.
• Have a clear channel for parents to be able to speak with a designated person in school about their child’s wellbeing. This can be by phone or drop-ins (at certain times of the day) or by email. Setting the expectations that this open for general advice to start with, and highlight the routes / stages at which more in-depth support could be put into place if needed.

Quote:

"We knew school were going to get in contact with us about Jack’s attendance, and expected a fine to be coming our way which I was dreading because there’s no way we could afford it. When Mrs Howarth explained about EBSNA, we found it so much more helpful to focus on supporting Jack’s anxiety than trying to drag him into school each day. Felt like a relief that maybe there was a way out of this, and school were going to help." -

Maria, Parent

 

Strategy 4: Enhance Teacher Training

EBSA is not nearly as well known / used as a term in comparison to ‘School Refusal’ or ‘Truancy’ when talking about persistent absenteeism. There are some excellent courses out there available for school staff which provide teachers with the tools and knowledge to recognize and address EBSA. What we’ve found with Dr Jerricah Holder’s EBSA Horizons School Staff Training is that having this available across a whole school can lead to a fundamental shift in approaches and policies which not only ‘feel’ better since we’re able to meet the underlying emotional needs of CYP which are causing reduced attendance, but are also more effective at increasing whole school attendance.

How to Start:

• Identify different levels of staff training needed e.g.

-   All staff: Complete an ‘Introduction to EBSA’ plus some additional subchapters on CYP voice = 1.5-2 hours

-   EBSA / Attendance Leads in school: Complete the full course (i.e. Chapters 1-7) which includes all the assessment tools, strategies and interventions available to use when supporting CYP more intensively = 1½ days

-   Senior Leadership Team: Complete the ‘Introduction to EBSA’ plus time to work with the EBSA / Attendance Leads to action plan for policies and audits = ½ day

• Keep on the agenda during staff meetings to ensure the understanding and approaches become embedded and part of the school systems.
• Use real-world case studies to build an understanding of what difference this makes on an individual level (i.e. builds empathy and motivation to become more involved with EBSA)
• Keep a track of attendance, and highlighting the impact that a whole school approach to EBSA is having on improving attendance rates across school. See the Checklist for Attendance Tracking and Support  from EBSA Horizons.

Quote:

"Great overview of EBSA and the reasons behind it. Great strategies on how to support as a school and practitioner specialising in EBSA within school setting... this reinforces my belief that every school needs an EBSA specialist to work with families and young people."

- Primary Teacher’s view on EBSA Horizons training course.

Strategy 5: Create Safe Spaces Within School

It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to turn up to a place where you feel ‘stuck’ for over 6 hours. A place where the anxiety starts before you even arrive, and persists until you can finally get home and collapse in your refuge. Having a ‘safe space’ in school aims to give students a place where they can seek a temporary sanctuary. Where support is available if they want it. Or where they can just be by themselves to regulate.

How to Start:

• Designate specific rooms or areas as "calm spaces" equipped with comforting items, literature, mindfulness or calming activities (e.g. sensory tools, colour by numbers, headphones to listen to music etc.)
• Make it known to students that these spaces exist, and that they are freely available whenever needed.
• Set up a system so that CYP can always ‘check in’ or ‘debrief’ with someone when they arrive and before they leave (they don’t have to have a conversation, but just know that someone is there for them if they want to talk).
• Arrange a monitoring system to arrange more in depth conversations with those who use the space more frequently (e.g. after 3 occasions within a half-term period, arrange to talk to someone to explore why they may need this).

Quote:

"I felt I needed to go there every day, sometimes twice, just to be able to cope. Before this was there, I couldn’t imagine doing a whole day in school. I don’t need go there as much now, but I like to know it’s there."

- Jacob, 14

 

Conclusion

The persistent news headlines of the rise in school absences / chronic absenteeism alongside every school’s individual experience that their attendance data is worsening year on year highlights the rapid increase we’ve seen in Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) over the last few years. The spiralling effect, and impact on children and young people’s well-being and education can negatively influence the trajectory of their lives. While we can (and should) support each individual CYP experiencing EBSA as much as we can, without investing in school wide (systemic) approaches which can help to turn this trend, it feels like fighting an uphill battle. Sometimes the simplest of changes can have a profound effect, especially in building all staff’s awareness of what EBSA is, and having a safe space in school.

EBSA Horizons School Staff Training

EBSA Horizons School Training is an equally comprehensive CPD course for School Staff, which develops understanding and skills (alongside a lot of resources) to support children and young people experiencing difficulties attending school. This course has been updated for 2023 with a new chapter -

Chapter 6:  The Systemic Change Model of EBSA

Find out more about EBSA Horizons School Training here and register your interest to receive 3 FREE resources from this course.

EBSA Horizons Educational Psychologist CPD

EBSA Horizons is comprehensive CPD course for EPs, which develops understanding and skills (alongside a lot of resources) to support children and young people experiencing difficulties attending school. This course has been recently updated for 2023 with two new chapters -

Chapter 6:  Supporting Autistic CYP Experiencing EBSA

Chapter 7:  Entrenched EBSA

Find out more about EBSA Horizons here and register your interest to receive 3 FREE resources from this course.