How can you support a child with EBSNA you are working with?

Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) is a complex issue, staying curious, feeling confident to try a different approach, remembering that no one is to blame for the situation, along with a culture that promotes staff and student well-being, can all support a successful reintegration.

It is important to remember most school-anxiety/ school refusing children do want to attend school however their difficulties and anxiety are overwhelming. They care about their education and want to succeed; however, they need understanding and support at home and at school to do so.

They may need adjustments to their daily routines, timetables, or their school environment. Pressures to focus on attendance rather than the child's needs can make things even harder to 'fix'. As soon as concerns are raised, a designated member of school staff should reach out and connect with the parents/ carers. Preferably staff with a trusting relationship.

Many of the factors associated with positive outcomes will already be present within your education settings existing good practice and include:

Developing a Surrey Healthy Schools approach to wellbeing, health, inclusion and achievement
Early Intervention
Working with parents and staff as well as the child or young person
Working flexibly with a focus on understanding the function of the child or young person's avoidance behaviour
A focus on a rapid return to an education setting alongside intervention, support and adaptations within the school and home environment (be mindful that a focus on rapid return will not be appropriate for all children and young people).
Implementation of the 'Assess, Plan, Do, Review' Four part cycle:

Stage of the cycle	Description
Assess	As part of the 'Assess' phase you can identify EBSNA signs and risk factors, education setting push and pull factors to gather information to build a rich picture of the situation. You can use Surrey's Early Help Assessment form (DOC) and Early Help Assessment practitioner guidance (PDF).
Plan	As part of the 'Plan' you can bring together all the information gathered and use it to inform a co-authored action and Support Plan (DOC).
Do	The 'Do' strand should describe strategies and interventions that have been effective in supporting the reintegration of a child or young person who is experiencing difficulties coming to an education setting. Carry out additional High Quality Teaching strategies and note differences made. Refine delivery of strategies to maximise the effect they have. Ensure that additional provision is delivered as it is meant to be. Think about what you need to adjust considering initial observations and feedback.
Review	Using assessment measures to monitor the progress of an intervention and adjust the plan for next steps will be part of your 'Review.'

Where can I receive advice or support with EBSNA?

Training and Webinars

Surrey Educational Psychologist Service and Mindworks School Based Needs Services are continually delivering training. The training is underpinned by research and provides extensive resources. Training for schools/settings can be booked on the training section of the Surrey Education Services. Third sector and wider partner EBSNA webinars have been uploaded to the Surrey Youth Focus webpage.

There is a progressive programme of training and support for schools to assist in the development and maintenance of a supportive and inclusive school culture. For more information visit Surrey Healthy Schools.

Effective Family Resilience incorporating Early Help Assessment training is bookable through the Surrey Children's Services Academy. Training covers how to use the Family Resilience Windscreen and identify the range of services available to support families.

Resources

Individual support for children and young people

A Profile of Risk of EBSNA (PDF) has been developed that looks at 5 key risk areas for EBSNA. The checklist is for use alongside the usual attendance monitoring systems in education settings and consideration of patterns of attendance, to screen for possible EBSNA in relation to non-attendance. If the resultant profile suggests to you that the pupil is at risk of emotionally based school non-attendance, the next step is to obtain the views of the pupil, parent/carers and other staff within a setting. A Support Plan (DOC) should be co-produced with the pupil, parent/carers and education setting using the EBSNA support guide for settings (PDF) and the EBSNA Support Plan (DOC) template provided by Surrey County Council and partners.

If the family need resources to be made accessible e.g., no access to technology or are not confident using it, are visually impaired or have English as an additional language you must ensure the resources available to families can be made accessible and families are supported to use them.

As part of any plan to support the child to attend well, education settings should facilitate relevant pastoral support. This should be done with the clear aim of improving attendance as much as possible while supporting the underlying EBSNA issue. The Department for Education have published examples of effective reasonable adjustments (PDF).

You may also like to refer to the Department for Education's summary of responsibilities where a mental health issue is affecting attendance (PDF).

Additional Support Services

The Inclusion Service provides support to schools, parents and young people in providing services on behalf of the Local Education Authority and deals with non-attendance, child Protection and making enquiries about children missing education.
Surrey's Education Psychology Service offer a weekly helpline for education settings that operates in every quadrant every Wednesday from 1 to 4pm (including school holidays).

Surrey County Council are developing a new support pathway for EBSNA via our Learners Single Point of Access (L-SPA), this will allow referrals for support to be made direct to our multi-professional team.

Whole School best practice

By asking "can we create an environment where EBSNA doesn't exists?" schools are already employing many strategies that support CYP who may experience school related anxiety. We suggest that schools develop a Surrey Healthy Schools approach to wellbeing, health, inclusion and achievement and use the Self-Evaluation Tool and training to assist the leadership and management of these areas. This can help to foster a compassionate, respectful and anxiety friendly environment.

Surrey Healthy Schools presents an opportunity for schools to actively promote physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. It is a commitment to encouraging personal, social and health development and supports the links between health, behaviour and achievement. It is not aimed merely at pupils' health or school curriculum development but centres around the whole school environment and all aspects of school life.

By looking at the systems already in place and creating opportunity for open discussion, you will develop a solid foundation that works for your school.

Where can you find support and advice?

This EBSNA Padlet website has an EBSNA resource bank designed for professionals.
Surrey Educational Psychology Service EBSNA Whole School Initial Audit Tool for Schools is a useful tool to gain a whole school understanding of EBSNA awareness and will help to identify areas of development.
Graduated Response Early Years information and documents to help Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO), early years practitioners, home-based childcarers and playworkers support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families.
Surrey Inclusion and Additional Needs service schools a document designed to schools and settings understand Surrey County Council service offers available to support schools to meet pupils needs as they emerge.
Ordinarily available provision (schools) this guidance aims to support settings, practitioners, families, and carers to work together to ensure that children's additional needs are met at the earliest opportunity.
Surrey Wellbeing Partnership (SWP) is a formal joint venture of local and national charities of various sizes with a common goal: to work with children and young people in the community to improve wellbeing and mental health so that they can live full, fun and confident lives.
Mindworks School Based Needs Team offers advice and signposting for children, young people, parents and school staff, 1-1 support and group work for children, young people and parents (both within school and out of school settings).
Mindworks Complex Mental Health Needs Teams (Community Teams) work across Surrey and are made up of health and social care professionals. These multi-disciplinary teams promote good mental health and provide assessment and treatment to children and young people up to the age of 18 with a mental health condition. The teams assess and treat children and young people who are struggling with difficulties associated with neurodevelopment conditions where these are having a significant impact on the child's development and quality of life and causing them and/or their carers distress.
Mindworks Mental Health Support Team for Specialist Schools in Surrey is a school-based service, which supports the mental health of children and young people in specialist schools across Surrey. The team offer support and advice to key people (teacher and or parent/ carer) around the child or young person to enable them to identify any concerns, understand what has happened for that child or young person and support any developing mental health needs.
The Mindworks 24/7 mental health crisis line is available for children and young people who are worried about themself, a friend, or for parents worried about their child or young person. It can be contacted on 0800 915 4644, is open all day and all night, seven days a week.
Transitioning from primary to secondary school or changing schools in-year is a particularly significant change for children. Learning about change and how to cope with it will help them with transition and prepare them for many other changes and challenges they will face in life. Young Minds have a section of resources related to supporting school transitions.
Youth Engagement Scheme (YES) - is an early intervention for young people, between the ages of 13 and 16, who are struggling with one or more of: school attendance, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and/or are at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and the criminal justice system. YES is an early intervention for young people, between the ages of 13 and 16, who are struggling with one or more of: school attendance, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and/or are at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and the criminal justice system. You can email yes@surreycc.gov.uk for more information.

You may also find the details of further services who offer information and support on our Local Offer Directory.