What we’re working on
Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
What do we mean by Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)?
Emotionally based school avoidance is a term used to describe children and young people who experience significant and enduring challenges in attending school due to emotional factors.
EBSA reflects the underlying psychological processes when the “stress response” and cycle of anxiety and avoidance has become triggered.
It is not a diagnosis but a way to help us understand the needs of children who experience distress around attending school.
Hearing the voices of Families
At SGPC we have been hearing the voices of our families telling us that school attendance has raised challenges for their children and young people for a number of years. We have done a great deal of work to help support our families and raise awareness of the difficulties being faced.
As a result of your voices and SGPC’s efforts to raise awareness of EBSA, a steering committee was formed with the support of the Local Authority’s Lead Educational Psychologist.
For more information, please see below, where you will find details of our journey on this important topic as well as updates.
“You Said, We Did”
Launched in 2025, SGPC’s guide signposts to support for both parents and young people and breaks down common myths that parents may hear.
Check out our resources section, where you will find our EBSA guide.
A Steering Committee is formed
Our Areawide Annual survey 2021, and our SEN Support Survey in 2021, both highlighted parent carers concerns surrounding their child’s non-attendance at school related to;
Anxiety
Not coping with the school environment
School refusal, lack of support in school
Part time timetable
Depression
Friendship issues and bullying.
The findings of both reports were highlighted to the local authority and meetings with the Educational Psychologist Lead. A Steering Committee was formed to look at how to address these issues raised and to put solutions into place.
Who is part of the Steering Committee?
Educational Psychologists
SGPC
Schools
Support services across health and social care
Steering Committee Aims
Identification and early intervention
Numbers of children experiencing EBSA
Gathering information
Evidence based models of EBSA to support early targeted support e.g. research.
Graduated Support available
For young people
For parent carers
For schools
For Professionals
Multi-agency Pathways
Raising the profile of EBSA & Training
EBSA Toolkit for schools
Training for Schools
Raising the Profile of EBSA & Training
“We heard all about the experiences and challenges of EBSA from parents and carers, particularly in regards to not feeling listened to early enough or even blamed, so we put together an EBSA working group consisting of the parent carer forum and professionals from health, social care, education settings to see what we could do.
We weren’t getting early help right; not all schools were confident in their strategy, and we didn’t have a centralised approach. So, the educational psychologists started working on an EBSA Toolkit for schools to enable prevention, early identification, and intervention – giving schools the resources to map support around individuals.”
Dr Helen Cox, Principal Educational Psychologist
Schools training with the EBSA Toolkit started in 2023
The toolkit includes sections on what EBSA is, what schools can do to support children and looks at various stages of early intervention and strategies, e.g. if a child is consistently late, can reasonable adjustments be made?
It also discusses risk and resilience and push and pull factors, e.g. bullying, transport, and bereavement, and takes a whole school approach for intervention and prevention.
You can read the full toolkit here
Resources Created
Schools training with the EBSA Toolkit started in 2023
Schools training with the Belonging Toolkit (the toolkit can be found in section 3) started in November 2024
The first videos of the Can’t not won’t series for parent carers, launched in November 2025
SGPC and the South Glos Educational Psychology team have teamed up to create a series of video guides designed specifically for parent carers on the topic of emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)
These videos give information on EBSA, starting with the Psychology of EBSA including working with schools through to Recovery to Rediscovery.
Each video has an accompanying handout with links to further information and support
Videos in the series
Part 1: Understanding the Psychology behind EBSA and the approaches taken to meet EBSA needs
Part 2: A joined up approach between schools and parents/carers
Check out our resources section where you can watch the videos and read the handouts
Part 3: Health and Wellbeing (including sleep)
Part 4: Parent Wellbeing: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Part 5: Emotion Coaching
Part 6: Recovery to Rediscovery
Part 7: EBSA and Neurodiversity
Coming Soon
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Coming Soon 〰️
See below for the latest news and events
