A Teacher's Journey in Addressing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

by Mr Johnson, a UK Secondary School Teacher

When I first met Sam, a Year 8 student, he was already on the path towards persistent absenteeism. What initially appeared as general reluctance to attend school soon revealed itself to be a deeply rooted case of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). The journey was fraught with challenges, but by applying an compassionate approach, we were able to instigate a transformative change in Sam feeling safe and secure in school.

In my teaching career, one thing has become clear: students don't repeatedly skip school without a reason. Sam's situation was a classic case of EBSA. He would complain of stomach-aches, headaches, and feign illness to avoid school. Despite being a bright student, his attendance record was getting increasingly poor, and his grades were starting to reflect that.

In consultation with our school's pastoral care team and drawing on resources about EBSA from the EBSA Horizons training we had, I reached out to Sam's parents. We set up a meeting involving myself, the pastoral care lead, an Educational Psychologist and Sam. We all agreed on the aim: for him to feel ‘okay’ in school, with the understanding that this has to be the first step for him to potentially feeling comfortable in attending school. We were also clear that we’re not planning for increasing his time in school; not until we felt that we’d achieved the first aim, and only then at a level he felt good about. Empowering Sam the whole way.

Sam was concerned about falling behind due to his absenteeism, which only served to increase his anxiety—a vicious cycle. To break this, we provided him with one-to-one tutoring sessions to help him catch up with the curriculum (especially in Maths and History). This eased some of the academic pressures that were contributing to his EBSA.

Peer relationships were also a significant source of stress for Sam. He’d fallen out with two close friends, stopped attending Cricket club, and was feeling more isolated and uninvolved within school. We adapted his schedule, encouraging him to attend after school clubs even if not in school in the day, used social mentoring with two Year 10 students, and the pastoral team coached him to develop assertiveness and social negotiation skills.

I made it a point to check in on Sam regularly (initially every day), offering a listening ear and words of positive regard for him. I wanted him to know that I valued him, and could see the efforts he was making, especially when hard. Gradually, I could see his guard come down, a more comfortable / less anxious and witty Sam emerge.

With the effort from all of us, not least from Sam, his attendance improved substantially over the year. While his anxiety was still present at certain times and during particular lessons, it was manageable. He talked to me when issues arose. He felt safe. He felt secure. He could learn. Sam was happier, and his mental health and future prospects were looking infinitely more promising than a year ago.

There have been other ‘Sam’s’ in school, and probably many others that I am not aware of how much they’re struggling. This experience I hope shows the profound impact we can have on the lives of young people facing EBSA. A multi-pronged approach that explores together what may be impacting their mental health and feeling of safety in school can lead to a substantial improvement in both attendance and overall well-being. The journey may be challenging, and not always linear (Sam has had some ups and downs along the way) but the potential difference these approaches can have for the students is potentially life changing.

This case encapsulates the struggles but also the triumphs in working with EBSA and persistent absenteeism. Sam's story serves as an optimistic tale of what can be achieved when teachers are equipped with the right tools, knowledge, and skills. The hope is that this inspires you to identify, intervene, and support those students who might be grappling with similar issues. To find out more about training for school staff on EBSA, go to the EBSA Horizons online course page

EBSA Horizons School Staff Training

EBSA Horizons School Training is a 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 a 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.