EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance): Guide for Schools

2026年11月12日

For teachers, SENCos and pastoral staff in England

EBSA (emotionally based school avoidance) is a term many local authorities in England use for a child who has severe difficulty attending school because of emotional factors such as anxiety; it is not a medical diagnosis, and schools are not expected to diagnose it, but to notice it early, listen, agree support with the family, and bring in the GP, mental health services and the local authority when needed.

This guide is for the people who usually spot EBSA first: tutors, SENCos, heads of year and pastoral teams.

This article is about how schools and services respond. It is not medical advice. If you are worried about a child, talk to the family, your SENCo or mental health lead, and the child’s GP.

In this article

EBSA meaning
Is there an EBSA diagnosis?
The latest absence figures for England
What DfE expects schools to do
EBSA in school: spotting it early
The local authority role
When school is not working: alternative provision
What Japan has learned from futoko
Questions and answers

EBSA meaning

Lincolnshire County Council defines EBSA as a term used to describe a child or young person who has severe difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors, which can result in prolonged absences. It can start suddenly or gradually, and ranges from occasional reluctance to complete non-attendance. The council stresses that it should not be seen as deliberate defiance: it is complex, with no single cause.

The acronym comes from local authority educational psychology services, not from statute. DfE’s attendance guidance and its guidance on mental health and attendance do not use the letters “EBSA”; they speak of pupils with “social, emotional or mental health issues” affecting attendance and pupils “anxious about attending school”. The children are the same. What the term adds is a clear line between anxiety-driven absence and other kinds:

Pattern	What it usually looks like	What usually helps first
EBSA	The child struggles to get to or stay in school, with distress; parents usually know where they are and want them to attend	Listening, an agreed plan of adjustments, a phased return, health services where needed
Truancy	Non-anxiety-based absence, often without the parents’ knowledge	The school’s usual attendance procedures
Parentally condoned absence	A caregiver deliberately keeps, or supports keeping, the child at home	Other routes of support and challenge in the attendance policy
Illness	The child is unwell, physically or mentally; recorded as authorised	Health care; if long or recurring, education arranged with the local authority

Real children do not stay in one row. As Lincolnshire puts it, what started the avoidance may not be what keeps it going, and what looks like the cause may be the consequence.

Is there an EBSA diagnosis?

No. EBSA describes a pattern, not a clinical condition, and support should not wait for a diagnosis. DfE’s mental health and attendance guidance says school staff are not expected to diagnose mental health conditions, but are expected to work to ensure regular attendance, and that the guidance is not only for pupils with a diagnosed disorder, disability or SEN.

A child with EBSA may also have something a clinician can assess, such as an anxiety disorder, autism or ADHD. That belongs with health professionals. The school’s job is to share what it sees and connect the family:

The GP, the usual first route to NHS assessment and referral.
Children and young people’s mental health services (CAMHS), usually by referral.
School nursing and a Mental Health Support Team, where your school has one.
The SENCo and the local authority, if SEND may be involved or the child has an EHC plan.

Waiting lists are real. DfE says that where outside support is not quick, schools and local authorities should consider other temporary solutions while waiting.

The latest absence figures for England

England does not count EBSA. It counts absence for any reason: persistently absent means missing 10% or more of possible sessions, severely absent 50% or more. The latest accredited statistics, published by DfE on 15 October 2026, cover the autumn and spring terms of 2025/26.

1.27 millionpupils persistently absent (17.50%)

168,000pupils severely absent (2.32%), up from 166,000

Over 7×as likely to be severely absent with an EHC plan as with no identified SEN

24.68%persistent absence in Year 10, the highest year group

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England, autumn and spring term 2025/26. England only; all reasons for absence.

Persistent absence fell slightly, but severe absence rose, including in primary schools (0.92% to 1.05%) and special schools (6.66% to 6.88%). Both rates climbed within the year: persistent absence from 18.10% in autumn to 18.66% in spring, severe absence from 2.12% to 2.32%. Pupils on SEN support were almost four times as likely to be severely absent as pupils with no identified SEN. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own figures and guidance.

What DfE expects schools to do

Working together to improve school attendance is statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools and local authorities (current edition July 2026). Its sequence puts support well before enforcement:

Expect Build a culture where pupils can, and want to, be in school.
Monitor Use data to spot patterns early, before they become entrenched.
Listen and understand Talk with the pupil and parents about the barriers.
Facilitate support Remove barriers in school; help the family reach outside support.
Formalise support If voluntary support is not working, for example an attendance contract.
Enforce Only when other avenues are exhausted.

For anxious pupils, the guidance holds two ideas together. Children with normal but difficult worries are still expected to attend, and a long absence may heighten anxiety about returning. But schools should also understand the sensitivity of some reasons for absence and the importance of school as a place of safety, “rather than reaching immediately for punitive approaches”. The tools it names are what a good EBSA plan is built from:

Tool	What the guidance says
Adjustments	Agreed and regularly reviewed with the pupil and parents; formal reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 where a pupil has a disability
Phased return	A time-limited phased return, for example for pupils with anxious feelings about attending
Part-time timetable	Only in very exceptional circumstances; agreed with the parent, part of a wider plan, reviewed, with an end date; never to manage behaviour
EHC plan review	Tell the local authority when attendance falls; amend the plan to include attendance support if needed
Referrals	School nursing, Mental Health Support Teams, the local authority, mental health services, GPs

DfE also encourages a senior mental health lead and expects a Senior Attendance Champion. These two should talk often.

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See the Country Head role in the UK

EBSA in school: spotting it early

Hertfordshire County Council’s EBSA guidance says early intervention is recognised as the most effective response, and that EBSA often starts gradually. It suggests looking at risk factors across school, family and child:

Area	Examples from Hertfordshire’s guidance
School	Bullying, subject difficulties, transition, academic demand, the journey to school, exams, relationship difficulties
Family	A change in family dynamic, parental health problems, bereavement, family stress, being a young carer
Child	Fear of failure, low self-confidence, separation anxiety, undiagnosed learning needs, traumatic events, feeling overwhelmed

Protective factors include positive relationships, feeling listened to, experiences of success and a sense of belonging. A checklist for the first fortnight:

Read the data: a pattern (Mondays, one lesson, after holidays) or a sudden stop?
Meet the parents, and the pupil if old enough, to listen first. Write down the pupil’s words.
Agree a few adjustments, a named adult and a review date.
Ask the SENCo whether unmet SEND needs are part of it.
Suggest the GP if health may be involved; make the referrals you can.
Tell your local authority contact if absence is heading towards persistent or severe.

A woman in her forties works on a written plan at a desk by a window in a quiet, bare room in England (illustrative image) — A good EBSA plan is short: a few agreed adjustments, a named adult, and a date to review it with the family. (Illustrative image)

The local authority role

Schools are not meant to do this alone. Every local authority is expected to have a School Attendance Support Team offering four functions free to all schools:

Communication and advice

Bringing schools together to share advice and practice.

Targeting Support Meetings

Regular, at least termly, conversations with each school about pupils at risk.

Support for families

Early help workers who work intensively with families on the causes of absence.

Legal intervention

Where voluntary support has not worked or been engaged with.

A second duty matters when EBSA is tied to a health need. Under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities must arrange suitable, normally full-time education for children who, because of illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive it. DfE’s guidance on children who cannot attend school because of health needs includes mental health needs. Once it is clear a child will miss 15 days or more for health reasons, consecutive or across the year, the authority should arrange alternative provision, starting by the sixth day of absence at the latest, working with the school, medical practitioners such as a GP, and the family.

Two education professionals review a plan together at a meeting table in a plain local authority office in England (illustrative image) — Meetings between a school and its local authority are where a pupil’s plan can reach beyond what one school can offer. (Illustrative image)

When school is not working: alternative provision

DfE’s attendance guidance lists alternative provision among the supports that may be used as absence intensifies, and its statutory guidance on alternative provision was updated in February 2025. AP is not automatically the answer for EBSA: overall absence in state-funded AP was 42.27% in autumn and spring 2025/26. A new building does not remove anxiety. What matters is an adult who listens, a plan the child has helped shape, and a route back towards full-time education.

Legal routes and funding for opening a setting are in our guides on how to set up alternative provision and setting up an independent SEN school.

A male mentor in his thirties works with two teenagers on laptops in a small, calm learning room in England, seen from behind (illustrative image) — A small group, a trusted adult and work at the child’s own pace. (Illustrative image)

What Japan has learned from futoko

Japan’s education ministry (MEXT) counts pupils as futoko (non-attending) when they miss 30 days or more in a year for reasons other than illness or money. In fiscal year 2024 it recorded 353,970 futoko pupils in elementary and junior high schools, 38.6 per 1,000, the highest yet. The history is in our article on school refusal and futoko in Japan.

NIJIN Academy was built for these children: a hybrid school where they enter a metaverse campus from home, join small, interactive live lessons with a form group and friends, and go to physical classrooms when ready. Its principle: don’t blame people, build systems.

1,000+children enrolled since September 2023

400+graduated or returned to school

97%attendance recognition among families who applied

52physical classrooms across Japan

Figures published by NIJIN. “Attendance recognition” means the child’s registered school counts learning at NIJIN Academy as attendance.

Two lessons transfer to England. A place to belong can come before a return to the building. And records matter: outside learning can only be recognised if the school can read the records, much as English guidance requires education away from school to be recorded with the right codes.

NIJIN is also hiring for two UK partnership roles, including Local Government Partnerships with councils’ attendance and SEND teams. For the Country Head role, you do not have to leave your post: start on a service contract alongside your job. Teaching experience is not required. The guide is 10% of revenue excluding tax, capped at JPY 50 million; with no revenue it pays nothing. Other terms are discussed in the interview. See also leaving teaching in the UK.

Questions and answers

What is the EBSA meaning?

Emotionally based school avoidance: a child with severe difficulty attending school because of emotional factors such as anxiety. Local authorities use the term; DfE covers the same pupils as those with social, emotional or mental health issues affecting attendance.

Is there an EBSA diagnosis?

No. It is not a medical diagnosis, and DfE says school staff are not expected to diagnose. If a health condition may be involved, the GP is the usual first step, with referral to CAMHS where appropriate. School support should not wait.

What does EBSA in school look like?

Lincolnshire lists low or intermittent attendance, low mood and anxiety, social isolation and signs of emotional distress. It often starts gradually, which is why DfE asks schools to act on early patterns in attendance data.

Is EBSA the same as school refusal?

Largely the same children. Many prefer EBSA because “refusal” suggests a choice, and many of these children want to go and cannot. Both differ from truancy.

Can a pupil with EBSA have a part-time timetable?

Only in very exceptional circumstances: agreed with the parent, part of a wider plan, reviewed regularly, with an end date. DfE also names a time-limited phased return for anxious pupils.

Must the local authority provide education if a child cannot attend for health reasons?

Under section 19, yes: suitable, normally full-time education. Once it is clear a child will miss 15 days or more, provision should start by the sixth day of absence at the latest.

Is the Country Head role a job or a business?

A business you lead, as business head and principal. Start on a service contract alongside your job, or as a co-owner; investment is optional. Pay is a 10% guide, not a salary.

Lead NIJIN Academy in the UK

If you have spent years noticing the children whose anxiety keeps them from school, and want to build a place they can reach, read the role. You can start alongside your current work.

See the Country Head role in the UK