What is Emotional Based School Avoidance? (EBSA)

Bradford Local Offer recognises that many children and young people worry about school. This is normal. Anxieties are part of life and learning to deal with them is part of growing up. However, sometimes these worries may lead to difficulties attending school. When a young person has lots of worried feelings and does not want to attend school, they may be experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). 

If you need to speak to somebody at Idle CE Primary School about EBSA or you need support on a morning with EBSA please use of our dedicated email address: EBSA@idle.bradford.sch.uk

EBSA is not a medical diagnosis but a way of understanding that there is something causing a young person to feel worried and that is impacting how they feel about attending school.

What can you do to support your child with EBSA? 

It can feel 'kinder' for a child or young person to avoid the situation that is causing them to feel worried or anxious. However, the more time they spend out of school, the stronger these feelings become and the harder it will be for them to return. It is best to intervene and support a return to school as soon as possible.

Create space to listen to your child.

Listen to them and acknowledge that their fears are real to them. It is important to accept their feelings.

Be curious and non-judgmental, as this will mean your child will be more likely to be able to open up about what they are finding difficult about school. 

Work together with us at Idle CE Primary.

Tell us there is a problem as soon as possible so that we can work in partnership to address the issue. This can be done by speaking with your child's class teacher, by speaking to a member of the leadership team available each morning or by seeking support from our Pastoral team through our EBSA email address. EBSA@idle.bradford.sch.uk

It is key that all adults both at home and school work together to agree a supportive and consistent approach.

Work with us to support your child to have a voice. 

It may be that your child tells you different things at home, or you know an adult who they respond well to in school. Share this information with school so that your child’s views can be heard.

Talk about strengths as well as worries.

As well as focussing on finding out about your child’s worries, try to find out about what things are going well in school, or what makes a school day feel better. 

Keep going! Be persistent, consistent, and hopeful. 

What do we do at Idle CE Primary to support EBSA? 

At Idle CE Primary School we are proud of the provision that we have established in order to support pupils with EBSA. We understand that one approach does not meet all needs and therefore have carefully researched and considered the strategies we have in place in order to ensure they meet the varied needs of our pupils who struggle with EBSA.

The following strategies are available to support our pupils: 

Stanley the School dog.

We are so lucky at Idle CE Primary school to have an extra cute memnber of staff who is here to support the wellbeing of our pupils. Stanley our school doy is avialable every morning to welcome pupils to school who may find the morning overwhelming. He can sit in quiet space with pupils to help them settle into school or they can have some time outside with Stanley to help them take their mind off the feelings and thoughts that have made the start of their school day feel tricky. 

Pastoral Welcome. 

A member of our Pastoral team is available at our school office from 8.45am to greet pupils who find it difficult to come in through their classroom entrances. The pastoral staff member will then support pupils to feel ready to join their class for start of the school day. This may mean that pupils will spend some time in our Orchard space before joining their class, where there are lots of mindful activities for children to complete. 

Nuture Breakfast. 

For some pupils the start of our school day can feel very busy and overwhelming with the large footfall into school. To support pupils who need a softer, quieter start to the school day we offer Nurture breakfast to pupils. This takes place in our Orchard which offers pupils a calm, quiet space to have a little breakfast and drink, time to complete some mindful activities and have a chat to help pupils feel to join their class for a successful day with their peers.  

Launch into Learning. 

For some of our pupils, a little more support is needed in order to help them feel ready to access the curriculum. We understand that although they are in the building, they may not feel ready to learn. To support with this we offer some pupils a daily timetabled session to support them in being ready to learn. This helps pupils to access the quality first teaching their in their classroom with a positive mindset. 

Planned approach to accessing the school day: