Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) guidance and training

Lancashire Educational Psychology Service has developed this guidance to help the education workforce in supporting young people experiencing emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA).

The guidance includes an EBSA Toolkit for schools and incorporates the views and experiences of Lancashire pupils, parents/carers and educational settings.

The Lancashire EBSA Strategy and training closely aligns with the recently issued (September 2022) DfE Guidance on Working together to improve school attendance including the following key elements:

Ensuring staff have adequate training on attendance
Early intervention
Building strong relationships with families, listen to and understand barriers to attendance and work with families to remove them
Multi-disciplinary support for families
Work collaboratively with other schools in the area, local authorities and other partners when absence is at risk of becoming persistent or severe

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Lancashire EBSA guidance (strategy and toolkit) (PDF 664 KB)

Parental guidance

This guidance has been produced by Lancashire Educational Psychology Service and is based on the current evidence base/best practice guidance, as well as understanding of our local context, regarding supportive strategies associated with positive outcomes for pupils with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). This has been developed as part of an action research project and incorporates the views and experiences of Lancashire pupils, parents/carers and educational settings.

Please direct parents to the school anxiety and school avoidance (EBSA parental guidance) page on the SEND local offer for an accessible web version of the parental guidance.

You can also download a print version: Lancashire EBSA Parental Guidance print version (PDF 820 KB)

The Educational Psychology Service parent/carer helpline is temporarily closed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

EBSA training

We offer online, on demand training for Lancashire schools on EBSA, hosted by Lancashire Professional Development Service (LPDS).

Optional follow-up coaching sessions will be held for schools who have accessed this training.

Please see the LPDS website for more information: