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 is important.
Below are a range of training and resources you might find helpful:
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).
Where can you find support and advice?
- This EBSNA Padlet website has an EBSNA resource bank designed for professionals.
- 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).
- 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.