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The reasons behind growing rates of emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) are complex and multifaceted. However, we do know that children and young people (CYP) with existing mental health difficulties, special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those growing up in poverty, are disproportionately affected. The situation is often compounded by a fundamental breakdown in school–parent relationships and punitive responses to absenteeism. For CYP and families affected by EBSA, access to specialist psychological support is often a lengthy and frustrating process. This highlights the urgent need for early intervention and compassionate collaboration between schools, professionals and families to resolve existing barriers to pupils regularly accessing classroom learning.

What is emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)?

The term EBSA is used to describe CYP who routinely struggle to attend school or classroom-based learning due to emotional distress. This can be rooted in mental health conditions such as anxiety, low mood or depression, or from feeling emotionally overwhelmed in a busy school environment. Worryingly, EBSA is estimated to affect between one and five per cent of school-aged children . Although exact figures for EBSA in the UK are not officially recorded, there has been a persistent rise in the number of pupils impacted since the pandemic, causing serious ongoing concern. EBSA has multiple negative outcomes for CYP and their families including lower academic attainment, increased risk of poor mental health, peer relationship difficulties, and parental stress and . Thankfully, support for schools and families and good practice guidance is available.

Tackling EBSA: The ACTivate intervention

The ACTivate intervention was developed through a Department for Education-funded programme and led by a team from . ACTivate is an evidence-informed, strengths-based approach that draws on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is designed to help CYP develop psychological ‘flexibility’. The core ethos of ACT involves guiding individuals to take actions that are aligned with their personal values, enabling them to better manage their emotional responses when faced with adversity, for example, school-related stressors (Hayes & Ciarrochi, 2015). ACT is increasingly recognised as a promising approach for a range of youth mental health concerns including EBSA, with preliminary studies showing improvements in anxiety and class attendance (Petersen et al., 2024). The ACTivate intervention is targeted at CYP aged 10–14 and aims to equip them with the psychological tools required to accept difficult emotions while taking committed actions towards improving their school attendance. It is a manualised, seven-week programme for key stage 2 and key stage 3 students and designed for small group or 1:1 delivery. In the initial rollout (January–June 2025), ACTivate was run across 12 schools (with approximately 70 recipients). An assistant educational psychologist is responsible for the first round of delivery in each site, and then a trained member of school staff takes over facilitating the programme. By adopting this model of implementation and capacity building in-house provision, ACTivate’s reach can be extended to benefit more pupils.

‘A pilot evaluation of ACTivate has shown some encouraging, tentative findings … [that] … indicated improvements in children and young people’s perceived self-efficacy and coping mechanisms.’

Although the intervention was only recently developed, a pilot evaluation of ACTivate has shown some encouraging, tentative findings. Pre- and post-test measures indicated improvements in CYPs’ perceived self-efficacy and coping mechanisms. This evidence was supported by qualitative data collected from parents and staff who reported on the positive impact the programme had shown on CYPs’ coping skills, as well as reducing anxiety and improving school attendance. Further rollout of ACTivate is under way throughout West Sussex and a full-scale evaluation is planned to examine the effectiveness of the intervention on CYPs’ improved attendance over time. The Educational Psychology Service is providing ongoing training to staff across primary and secondary settings, enabling more schools to provide early support for pupils experiencing EBSA.

Implications for policy and practice

Clearly, there is a pressing need to tackle the demand-to-support gap for EBSA-affected families. Brief, manualised interventions such as ACTivate can offer practical, targeted pathways which are readily available in school settings – offering easy to access resources for busy educators and helping to address the challenge of scalability. In conclusion, a multisectoral, multistakeholder response is needed to counter existing barriers and ensure inclusive practice for marginalised groups including CYP with SEND and diverse families. Taking such action can avert the multiple negative outcomes – educational, health, social and economic – strongly linked with chronic absenteeism and, instead, enable all CYP to reap the lifelong benefits associated with regular school attendance.

References

Hayes, L., & Ciarrochi, J. (2015). Using acceptance and commitment therapy to help young people develop and grow to their full potential. In B. Kirkcaldy (Ed.), Promoting psychological well-being in children and families (pp. 101–116). Palgrave Macmillan.

Petersen, J. M., Davis, C. H., Renshaw, T. L., Levin, M. E., & Twohig, M. P. (2023). School-based acceptance and commitment therapy for adolescents with anxiety: A pilot trial. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 30(2), 241–256.