aged 11, drawing of school.
Children and young people at Swindon Youth Voice (and beyond) have expressed concerns about some of the language used in relation to school attendance, such as Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA). It is argued it shifts the blame onto the child, simplifying a multifaceted issue and ignoring the wider context.
1. Defining Emotional-Based School Avoidance
The term Emotional-Based School Avoidance refers to children who don’t attend school due to emotional distress or anxiety. It arguably implies that the primary cause of the issue is internal, focusing on the child's emotional state.
While the intention may be to highlight the role of mental health, the terminology can create a narrative that places the responsibility on the child for not attending school, with their emotions as the primary issue.
2. Shifting Responsibility Away from External Factors
By focusing on the child’s emotional state, the term can risk overlooking crucial external factors. Issues such as:
Bullying or social isolation within the school environment
Inadequate support systems for children with SEND
Overwhelming academic pressure or unrealistic expectations with behaviour policies
A rigid school system that doesn’t accommodate diverse learning needs
By shifting the focus from the child’s emotional state to the factors within the school environment, this could lead to a more compassionate solution.
3. Children and parents feeling unsupported
Many children and parents who avoid school due to anxiety or emotional distress feel abandoned by the system. The focus on emotional-based avoidance can give schools an excuse to place the burden on families, suggesting they need to "fix" their child's emotional issues and just get them in. This often leaves parents scrambling for resources whilst feeling that the root causes within the school environment are ignored.
4. Towards a More Holistic Approach
To move forward, relevant decision makers need to adopt a more holistic approach when addressing school avoidance...
School Climate: Are schools fostering inclusive, safe environments where students feel supported?
Learning Styles: Are children with diverse learning needs accommodated with flexibility and understanding?
Emotional Support Systems: Are there adequate mental health resources available within schools?
It is important to note this blog does not seek to blame teaching staff in any way. 39,971 teachers left the profession (for reasons other than retirement) in 2022 / 2023 . This is 9% of the teaching workforce.
Are teachers being given the chance to feedback on why so many of them are choosing to leave the profession? If so, are they being listened to?
Please see the voices below who informed this blog…
Child / parent voices about school and the term Emotional Based School Avoidance:-
Youth Voice participants:-
Age 15 –
Question: “what do you think needs to change about school”
“Everything. The new headteacher changed all of the rules. The uniform and everything has got a lot stricter. The detentions are stricter, you get 30 minute detention even if 1 minute late for school. I’ve never had more than 10 detentions in the last 3 years, but I’ve had 50 in the last few weeks since the new headteacher.
The teachers don’t listen to anyone. You aren’t allowed to report anything unless it is break time, but you can’t speak to them about it at break time because they are too busy. There is no-one at the school who listens, not one person.
It can be a very difficult environment to be in, and I don't like all of the detentions when I feel I am trying and working hard. I hope they will listen."
Age 14 –
“It makes it so stressful when school blame parents for children not feeling well enough to go in. I couldn’t go, but I didn’t want my Mum to get in trouble. This upset me more. It feels like schools don’t understand trauma and how to work with children who have had that.
Youth Voice sessions feel like they are about the beginning, the middle and the end; and all of it is important. That is so different to school.
School just care about getting people through the door, and the end results. The general experience and well-being of people doesn’t matter. That is not good for anyone’s mental health. I do not like the term emotional based school avoidance for all of these reasons, and I hope it is changed. Schools need to change and learn."
Age 14 –
“I guess there are two main reasons why going back to school after being mostly away for 6 months is so challenging.
1. Uniform
2. The length of the school day”
Uniform
“The first barrier that popped into my head is the uniform. The main reason for this is that it is just so uncomfortable. It feels a lot easier to wear normal clothes! The uniform at my school feels unnatural, and I get really focused on not liking the way I look when I wear it.
The blazers are so expensive … I’m not sure if it’s because they are made out of recycled plastic materials, but it makes them scratchy. The clip-on tie feels choking too.
I haven’t really experienced wearing uniform for a year now, to the point where it feels like I wouldn’t be able to go back to doing so. To be fair to school, the times I have been in this year to meet teachers or work in the hub, they have let me wear a smart black hoodie.”
Youth voice mentor: “If there was one thing someone could do to make the uniform situation easier for you, what would it be?”
“I think just giving some leeway over the uniform, by which I mean things like where you buy it from and the logo. Do all of the pieces need to have the school logo on them?”
The Length of the School Day
“This is another difficult subject for me. The school day feels way too long for me to even contemplate. I remember it feeling never-ending. I can’t imagine how I used to manage to go full time. It feels a long way from me being back there.
My friend and some of the other students have been really supportive – if they have asked me ‘Where have you been?’ and I give an answer saying that I have been unwell, they accepted that answer. I really appreciated this.”
The following are from a support group for children not attending school, anonymously submitted for the purpose of this blog:-
Aged 12 - " my body just won't wake up, it's like I black out , I'm so drained , I wish I was normal like my friends "
Aged 14 - "I feel trapped as soon as they close the gates."
Aged 14 – “I just cant cope, I hate it, the noise, all the people, they think I am rude but I’m not. I want to be like my friends and feel ok to go, why don’t I?”
Aged 13 – “I don't go to school, it’s not because I don't want to, it's because I need to sleep. My body has problems and I'm immune suppressed but school think I don't go because I choose not to. They group all the kids together under one label. I wish I could choose not to be ill. But when I am there I need help to go to lessons. I have ADHD but they don't believe me and autism too, but I don't have the golden ticket of diagnosis to get the help I need. When I’m well I can go, accessing lessons is my problem.”
Aged 14 – “Feels like a pressure cooker. I break over and over again, and don't have time to recover before a break again the next day. (when at school). I want to go but I can’t. It’s like there is a massive barrier between me and school. School is like a prison. Too little too late. (help)”
Aged 12 – “My brain wants to do it so badly, but my body breaks and won't cooperate.”
Aged 11 - “I want to go but I can’t. I don’t feel safe and it’s all just scary and lonely.”
Aged 13 – “It makes me want to scream because they can’t read me at all and when I’m telling them over and over I can’t go into a class they just keep saying I can. And when I do start to struggle and get anxious and cry they act like I’m fine or ask if I’m okay. I physically can’t find it in me to tell them I’m feeling something other than fine. If I told them that I’m not okay and I need to leave and that I wish they would all leave me alone and to stop acting like I’m 5 they would just ignore me. They keep asking me if I’ve done this and that and I just lie and answer that I have because I know they will ask questions and that I’ll end up crying again. I am not okay. I feel as worse as I did when this all started and I can’t do it anymore. It feels all hopeless when I’m trying and trying and trying. It feels like no one else cares about how much I’m already doing and they only care about me doing more and more. I feel like I can’t breathe half of the time and I’m disappointing everyone. School makes me miserable and I know that if I don’t do it I’ll end up poor and homeless because that’s what they tell me over and over again. Because I’ve been taught that if I don’t get good grades in school I’ll end up working minimum wage and won’t ever be happy. I don’t get why at 13 I have to understand and live with these thoughts and emotions, and keep on going to the same place everyday for 16 years of my life while it emotionally destroys me.”
Parent - “He is 12 and is diagnosed ADHD. The 2 years prior to this he lived in fight and flight mode in high alert due to his primary school not understanding or attempting to meet need due to lack of funding for him at that time. He spent most of year 5/6 at home and would barely leave. His mental health was in pieces and self esteem non-existent. They caused extensive trauma and he shut down in crisis.
As a qualified primary teacher I have found navigating all this eye opening, exhausting, devastating and frustrating the roller coaster is immense. People who aren't living it simply do not understand why I can't just make him go to school! We hit walls where he simply can't go and we have learnt that forcing and demanding he goes to school just triggers anxiety, and we get the opposite effect.”
Parent – “My daughter is 14. She is always saying nobody understands how hard it is for teens in school. She feels all the staff don't care or don't understand. She is always saying they don't care about the kids mental health, just their attendance records and uniforms. She said it hurts when they say she won't come in and just wants them to understand it's that she can't. She also said it’s not fair that parents get the blame even when they are trying their best. She said the other day why do children and their parents get punished because mental health stops them from being able to attend. She recognises education is important, but should never be put before health.”
Parent – “My 16 year old says that you'd never call someone using a wheelchair a 'stairs refuser', so why call him a 'school refuser'? He has ASC and OCD and in autistic burnout from trying so hard for so long to attend school. My ASC 14 year old hates the term EBSA as she says it's not her 'emotions' that are the problem, it was school not meeting her needs. Her 'emotions' were an understandable reaction to that. We use the term 'barriers to attendance'”
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