The Children Who Don’t Go To School
Addressing Emotionally-Based School Avoidance
There’s no doubt that the latest data on the rates of school absence is seriously concerning. Sensationalist headlines describe the thousands of ‘ghost children’ who haven’t returned to education since the Covid pandemic and government figures show the highest numbers of severe school absences ever recorded. Yet, behind each statistic is a unique child, in need of support, who’s at risk of getting lost in the wind. We need real change but, to make this change possible, first we need to understand them.
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Why has school attendance become such a hot topic of debate in the last few years? Research has demonstrated clear links between low absence rates and enhanced earning potential, greater opportunities for higher education, enhanced quality of life, better health outcomes and even reduced death rates. At the same time, high absence rates are associated with poorer literacy skills, increased use of alcohol and drugs, social isolation and risky sexual behaviours. These problems can persist into adulthood, leading to higher risk of marital problems, psychiatric disorders and economic deprivation.[1] With the stakes so high, it’s clear to see why improving school attendance should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.
While school attendance receives a lot of attention, relatively little attention is given to the individuals struggling to attend school. More than 140,000 children missed more than 50% of their schooling in the summer term of 2022, the highest number on record.[2] On top of this, government statistics show a persistent absence rate (missing more than 10% of school) of 22.5% for the 2022-23 academic year to date. In other words, nearly a quarter of all school-aged children have missed at least 10% of their education so far this year.
These statistics demand the answers to countless questions. Who are these children? Why are they missing so much of their education? What’s being done to turn the situation around? Whose responsibility is it to get these children back into school? Is it right that parents are fined if their children don’t go to school?
While the risk factors that lead to school avoidance are often complex, the rising pressure on children’s mental health services speaks volumes to the significant increase in emotionally-based school avoidance (EBSA) affecting young people, both in the UK and around the world. These young people are some of the most vulnerable in our society and are the greatest at risk of the detrimental lifelong impact of low school attendance. But what do we know about them and how can we help?
Evidence suggests that certain groups of young people are at greater risk of EBSA, including neurodivergent children. A study in Norway found that the risk of school refusal for autistic children was 42.6% compared with 7.1% for neurotypical children.[3] Other vulnerable groups also at increased risk include those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Persistent absence rates in pupils eligible for free school meals were 35.4% compared with 17.9% for non-eligible pupils in the autumn and spring term 21/22.[4]
Whilst recognising vulnerable groups can help to some extent, we also need to consider what the individuals’ struggles are. What are the real reason these children aren’t going to school and what’s causing the enormous barriers to attendance for those with emotional difficulties?
When I asked myself this question, various factors came to mind immediately, starting with the lack of early identification of need. Often where children mask in school, or were able to mask before the pandemic, school staff don’t see the signs that a child may be experiencing emotional difficulties. Studies have shown that a key issue facing children who demonstrate school avoidance behaviours is a lack of self-regulation skills[5]. These children struggle to cope with the demands of the academic and social environment and can lack the resilience needed to overcome their challenges. Some may present very differently in the home and school settings, making it difficult to identify problems.
Other key issues that prevent children experiencing EBSA from reengaging with their education include missed opportunities for intervention (I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard that CAMHS has closed a case because the young person didn’t attend an appointment) and lack of availability of specialist services, which has pushed the threshold for support to impossible heights. There’s also the issue of ‘the blame game’, where parents are held responsible and considered to be at fault. The feelings of guilt and shame that transpire only exacerbate the issues and stop them from reaching out for help.
If we can recognise the risk factors associated with EBSA and understand some of the potential causes, what can we do to avoid it and to help those children who are not currently attending school? With such a complex problem, there’s never going to be an easy solution, but there are steps that can be taken.
Firstly, schools need to take a pro-active approach to avoiding EBSA. This starts with developing protective factors to reduce the risk of EBSA. It includes adopting a whole-school positive culture that recognises all emotions as valid and provides pupils with an environment where they feel safe to express their emotions. Schools can also provide safe, quiet spaces for pupils when they are experiencing intense emotional reactions and support for them to develop strategies for emotional regulation.
For schools to adopt a prevention-focused approach, they should also be monitoring data closely. This doesn’t mean just looking at overall attendance rates, but also seeking to identify patterns in attendance too, particularly for those in high-risk categories. Is a child always late on a day they have Maths as their first class? Are they avoiding breaks or lunchtimes? Are there any patterns in their punctuality or behaviour? Identifying patterns and recognising risk factors enables early intervention to take place for pupils who need it.
Developing protective factors and creating a suitable environment may help prevent more children from experiencing EBSA, but it doesn’t solve the problem for families who are already in crisis. By the time many of my clients reach me, their child has been out of school for more than a year and they are totally lost, not knowing what to do or where to turn for help. It would be impossible for me within the scope of a single blog post to give detailed and accurate advice on how to support an individual child experiencing EBSA but here is some general guidance that I hope will help.
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As a parent, it can be really scary to admit that you’re struggling to support your child’s needs but it’s important to be honest with school and any other services involved in your child’s care. Referrals to other services, whether it’s CAMHS, educational psychology or elsewhere, can take a long time so don’t wait until you’re at breaking point to ask for help. If you have no point of contact, ask for a meeting with the school SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) to talk about what’s happening. Make sure you leave the meeting knowing what the next steps are and who is going to do what.Follow an Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle.
If you have a child with special educational needs, you may already be familiar with this phrase. It’s used to describe the way any intervention in school should implemented and monitored for a child who is struggling. It starts by assessing what the child’s needs are, planning a suitable intervention to meet those needs, following through with the plan and then reviewing it after a set amount of time. Based on the review, a new assessment is made of what is or isn’t working and what other information has emerged regarding the child’s needs, leading to the start of another new cycle. This way of organising and implementing support should also be used for a pupil experiencing EBSA.Consider the child’s needs carefully.
Without a clear understanding of the barriers preventing a child from attending school, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to make improvements. Consider all of their needs - academic, social and sensory. Think about what’s keeping them away from school. Have they been bullied? Is the school environment too noisy? Where are they struggling most academically? What negative experiences might they have had in school that are causing anxiety? Asking these questions is important to make sure unknown factors haven’t been missed accidentally.Create a personalised action plan that actually addresses the child’s needs.
It’s all well and good offering shorter days or offering catch-up tuition for missed Maths learning, but if the child is experiencing overload walking down the corridor because they have heightened sensory sensitivities, these interventions aren’t going to make a substantial difference in the long run. A more suitable strategy would be to allow them to leave the classroom 5 minutes before the end of each lesson so they can get to their next lesson before the corridors get busy. It’s important that the suggested actions are targeted at supporting the needs of the individual child. Also, a carefully considered support plan is likely to need input from more than one service, whether it’s health care (including mental health services) or social care. If this is the case, make sure the plan covers everything the child needs. It should include suitable adjustments that make school easier for them to access, as well as interventions to help them develop the skills they need to cope more independently.
If you have a child experiencing emotionally-based school avoidance or you have any concerns that they are at risk, please reach out for help. Your child’s school or GP can make a referral for mental health support and there are charities who can offer guidance, including Anna Freud and YoungMinds.
If you would like to hear more on this topic, please click here for details of our on-demand webinar on emotionally-based school avoidance.
[1] Kearney et al. (2019) Reconciling Contemporary Approaches to School Attendance and Absenteeism: Toward Promotion and Nimble Response, Global Policy Review and Implementation, and Future Adaptability (Part 1) Front.Psychol. 10, 2222
[2] The Centre for Social Justice (2023) Lost and Not Found: How severe absence became endemic in England’s schools
[3] Munkhaugen, EK et al. (2017) School refusal behaviour: Are children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a higher risk? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 41-42 pp 31-38.
[4] GOV.UK Education Statistics (2023) ‘Absence rates by pupil characteristic – autumn and spring combined’ for FSM eligible and FSM not eligible in England between 2016/17 Autumn and Spring Term and 2021/22 Autumn and Spring.
[5] https://www.cypnow.co.uk/blogs/article/school-refusal-why-is-it-on-the-rise-and-what-can-parents-do