Improving outcomes for children and young people dealing with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

The impact of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) - when a child or young person has severe difficulty attending school due to emotional factors, often for prolonged periods of time - can be far reaching. In the longer-term, EBSA has been shown to negatively impact academic development, limit social and employment opportunities, and increase the chances of mental health difficulties in later life.  

Most recent government figures suggest that there are approximately 770,000 persistent school absentees in England and local data highlights an increase in the number of children absent from school because of their emotional needs, with this number continuing to rise.  

In response to this, Warwickshire County Council’s SEND and Inclusion Change Programme has recently launched a project to develop an improved offer of support for those children and young people experiencing EBSA, with a focus on early identification and intervention. 

The project will develop new guidance, including an EBSA Pathway and toolkit, to support schools and settings, and health and social care colleagues, to identify children and young people at risk of EBSA. Underpinning this guidance there will also be a training and development offer to equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills required to be able to spot the early warning signs and work with families to provide support.  

In addition, a suite of guidance will be developed to provide information, advice and guidance for parents and carers. 

The project team includes multi-agency representation from schools and settings, parents and carers, social care and health.  

For more information or to get involved in the project please contact sendchange@warwickshire.gov.uk