Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA)

There can be many reasons why learners find it difficult to attend school. This page is all about when the reasons behind attendance difficulties are emotional (often anxiety which can show as worries or fear, withdrawal or anger).

This known as Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) or Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

This page is designed to give an overview for professionals who are supporting learners who are experiencing EBSNA. If you are looking for information relating to our training offer, please visit our EBSNA Training page by clicking here.

Image showing the spectrum of EBSNA needs taken from EdPsychEd.

EBSNA is a spectrum, with varying degrees of severity as shown in the image above. The Learner may not have attended school for many days, weeks, months or even years.

Or the Learner might be going to school some or even most days but be late, or leave early, or sometimes miss part or whole days of school.

Or the Learner might be going to school every day – but be carrying a lot of anxiety with them. They may show this anxiety at school, by leaving the class or avoiding school work in class. Or they may be working well in school, but they show their distress at home - after school or in the morning before school.

Working with Families

EBSNA can really challenge the home-school relationship.

But successfully supporting a child to attend school can often depend on the shared understanding between home and school about what is going on, and then building a shared plan of what to do now.

It is important that the learner is part of these discussions, contributing as much as they can and agreeing to any plans made.

What parents can do.wmv

Image showing the EdPsychEd website logo.

The content and images on this page have been developed from materials by EdPsychEd, Horizons and Dr Jerricah Holder, Educational Psychologist. We are grateful for their permission to share this with you.

Image showing the EBSA Horizons logo.

Useful Resources and Links

The Ladder of Strength and Courage

Learners experiencing EBSNA can get stuck in an anxiety cycle where they increasingly avoid learning tasks, class or school. You may find yourself negotiating an increasingly smaller and smaller timetable with a learner.

The Ladder of Strength and Courage can be used with learners and their families to plan next steps for gradually increasing attendance, starting with the easiest steps and building up to the hardest.

This video has been developed for parents and carers and shows how to use the Ladder of Strength and Courage.

The Ladder of Strength and Courage Guide.mp4

A Parent's Experience

In this video from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, a parent shares her family's experience of EBSNA.

Working with Parents & Carers

In this video from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, a psychotherapist and co-funder of an alternative provision school for children and families with emotional and behavioural difficulties discuss how schools can work with parents and carers whose children are experiencing EBSNA.

Interested in further training?

You can access our taster videos and find information about the full training offer by visiting our EBSNA Training page by clicking here.

Want to explore this more?

To explore any of the information on this page with an Educational Psychologist, please request a Systemic EIC. To find out how to request a Systemic EIC please click here.

Have concerns about a learner?

If you have concerns about an individual learner in relation to EBSNA, you can explore this with an Educational Psychologist by requesting an Individual EIC. To find out how to request an Individual EIC please click here.

Please note: You can access our EBSNA page for sharing with parents and carers by clicking here.

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