1. Czone
  2. Health and wellbeing
  3. Mental health and emotional wellbeing (MHEW)
  4. Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) toolkit
  5. EBSA toolkit

EBSA toolkit

12. Whole school approach

Whole School/College Preventative and Proactive Approaches

Every child should feel welcome and included at school, no matter what their needs are.

Good practices for promoting emotional wellbeing and preventing mental health problems can help with EBSA. Schools must also follow rules to protect children's mental and physical health.

Schools also have a legal duty to safeguard children under the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. 

Please see:

Effective WSCA includes these eight key principles: 

Whole School/College focus on EBSA  

It is important that educational settings take a proactive approach to understanding and managing EBSA, as part of a whole-educational setting initiative to monitoring attendance and promote emotional wellbeing.  

Best practice around ESBA include educational settings having: 

To manage school attendance issues well, schools should:

  • Spot Problems Early - Have a clear system to notice and understand attendance issues.

  • Help for Parents - Give parents information about school avoidance.

  • Train Staff - Make sure staff know about EBSA and how to help.

  • Assign a Leader - Have a senior staff member to oversee and organize support.

  • Act Early - Focus on preventing and addressing problems quickly.

  • Be Understanding - Know that many students with EBSA want to be at school but face difficulties.

  • Follow Protocols - For older students, use the Vulnerable Learners Protocol in your policies.

  • Ensure Safety - Follow rules to protect students.

  • Listen to Students - Take students’ views seriously and look at their whole situation.

  • Work Together - Collaborate with parents and other professionals.

  • Have Clear Rules - Set clear policies on attendance, behaviour, bullying, and transitions.

  • Teach Wellbeing - Include lessons on resilience, mental health, and emotional wellbeing.

  • Offer Gradual Help - Provide support that builds up based on what the student needs.

  • Vulnerable Learners Protocol is embedded into the settings policies and procedures.   

Further guidance and tools: 


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