Specialism
Emotionally Based School Avoidance
If mornings have become the hardest part of the day, if your child is in real distress about going to school and you've run out of things to try, you're in the right place. Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) is the area I have researched most deeply, and the one I'm most often asked to help with.
What I've learned about EBSA
My doctoral research focused on EBSA across the primary-to- secondary transition. Years of doing this work, alongside running a school for young people who weren't coping in mainstream, taught me a few things that shape how I approach every case:
It is not defiance
What looks like a child refusing to go to school is almost always a child who is struggling to manage how school feels. The starting point is understanding why, not how to make them go.
It is not truancy
EBSA is a different pattern, and it needs a different response. Reward charts and consequences alone tend to make things worse because they miss the underlying anxiety.
It is rarely about one thing
There are usually several threads at play: sensory, social, academic, family, transitions, friendships, sleep, identity. Useful work means looking at all of them together.
The adults need support too
Parents arrive exhausted. Teachers and SENCos are often holding many similar situations at once. A return-to-school plan only works if the adults are joined up and looked after.
How the work unfolds
EBSA work is not a quick fix and I won't pretend otherwise. What it can be is a clear, steady process that takes the pressure off the immediate question of “how do we get them in tomorrow?” and replaces it with something workable.
Understanding what's going on
I gather a full picture: from you, from your child where appropriate, from school. The work begins with formulation, not a fix.
A shared plan
A written formulation and plan, agreed between you, school and any other professionals involved. Everyone knows what they're doing and why.
Putting it into practice
Implementation takes time. I stay involved through ongoing consultation, school liaison, or direct sessions, so the plan flexes as things shift.
For families and schools, together
EBSA almost always works best when home and school are on the same page. I'm happy to work directly with both simultaneously, with everyone's agreement, so we're not having parallel conversations that don't quite meet. If you're a parent reading this and your school isn't yet on board, that's normal. Bringing them in is part of what the work involves.
If this sounds like where you are, let's talk.
The first conversation is free and there's no obligation. You don't need a plan before getting in touch. That's what the call is for.
Get in touch