Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
What is EBSA? 
Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is the term used to describe children and young people who have challenges in attending school due to negative feelings, such as anxiety. Children and young people with EBSA may:
- be reluctant to go to school, or have stopped attending at all
- avoid getting dressed or prolong the process in the morning
- refuse to leave the house or show distress on the way to school
- show physical and emotional signs of distress
- their tolerance of school may decline across the week, and
- they may find it difficult to return to school after weekends or holidays
(disclaimer, this is not an exhaustive list).
Absence from school due to EBSA is different from that of physical illness or truancy, with most children or young people experiencing EBSA showing signs of high anxiety and significant distress about attending school. This can lead to repeated periods of absence, long periods away from school or in some cases disengagement from school entirely.
EBSA is not a behavioural or parenting issue, in most cases, the child or young person wants to learn and attend school but feels overwhelmed and unable to do so. Their anxiety may reduce during weekends and school holidays, but they may show signs of emotional distress as the return to school approaches.
Other names for EBSA 
EBSA is sometimes called School Anxiety, School Refusal, School Avoidance or Anxiety Related Non-Attendance. At the Hull Parent Carer Forum, we prefer to use the term EBSA to accurately convey the emotional foundation of the challenges faced by children experiencing school avoidance. This terminology acknowledges that the root of school avoidance is often linked to emotional factors.
EBSA and barriers to attendance 
There are many varying and complex reasons that EBSA occurs, it is important to remember that as abstract as those reasons may seem to an adult, they are being experienced as concrete and real to the child or young person. It is equally as important to recognise that it isn’t a case that the child or young person won’t engage with school, merely that they can’t – and placing blame and pressure on the child or parent compounds symptoms and challenges associated with EBSA.
Research shows that EBSA may occur because of unmet Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, either diagnosed or suspected. Other triggers may be bullying, academic pressure, the impact of school policies, and physical or mental illness. Anxiety can become a special educational need, and if it creates a substantial, long-term negative effect on the child or young person's ability to engage in day-to-day living is considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010. More information about the barriers to attendance, and details of support, resources and research can be found on the Not Fine in School website a parent-led organisation for the increasing number of families with children experiencing school attendance barriers.
School Trauma. The Childs Voice
Hull Parent Carer Forum produced this short video to share the voices of our members children and young people who have experienced EBSA. These are the things they said were barriers to their attendance and the feelings of the impact it had on them.
Survival in School
The survival guide documents are by innerworldwork.co.uk and they provide free resources for carers and schools to support carers, teachers, and students.
Survival in Primary School
Survival in Secondary School
Other sources of information and support