Understanding School Avoidance: Why It Happens and How Schools Can Tackle It

In this blog, you will learn:

• What Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is.
• About the connection between mental health and school avoidance.
• About the potential risk factors that may cause pupils to become absent from school.
• Ways to tackle the rising cases of Emotionally Based School Avoidance.
• Discover more about our education recruitment services.

Efforts to improve school attendance often overlook the real issue: why students are avoiding school and how closely this behaviour is linked to declining mental health.

According to GovUK, in the 2025/26 academic year, the rate of persistent absence (pupils who miss 10% or more of their possible sessions) was 18.19%.

School avoidance is commonly associated with mental health struggles and cases continue to increase with the rise of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs amongst children and young people.

To improve outcomes and support children and young people experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), schools must break the cycle driven by mental health challenges once and for all.

In our latest blog, we’re exploring targeted approaches that school staff can take to tackle challenges with mental health and school avoidance.

What is Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)?

Emotionally Based School Avoidance is the term used to describe when children and young people experience difficulty attending school or engaging in school-related situations.

It differs from truancy or ‘wilful’ non-attendance as there is often an underlying presence of anxiety and/or emotional upset in response to school-related situations.

Emotionally Based School Avoidance may result in a child or young person: 

• Avoiding or prolonging getting dressed in the mornings.
• Refusing to leave the house and/or transport method to school.
• Showing physical and emotional signs of distress.
• Being reluctant to attend school for the whole week.
• Being unable to attend school at all.
• Experiencing behavioural changes.
• Withdrawal from social interactions both in and out of school.

What causes school avoidance?

The number of children and young people experiencing difficulties with their mental health in schools is rising and there's been a noticeable increase in school avoidance among students. School avoidance is often rooted in emotional and mental health challenges stemming from past experiences, trauma and ongoing psychological stressors. 

The common causes of Emotionally Based School Avoidance, include:

• Anxiety.
• Bullying.
• Trauma.
• Family or at home difficulties.
• Having a special educational need or disability.

What are the negative impacts of Emotionally Based School Avoidance?

Emotionally Based School Avoidance can have a negative effect on a child’s academic progress, social development and emotional wellbeing. 

Not only can children and young people miss valuable academic learning time, opportunities to grow socially and develop key life skills might also be missed. This can affect children and young people’s ability to form social connections and positive relationships, which could isolate them further. This can also impact work and financial opportunities in the future.

If Emotionally Based School Avoidance is left unaddressed and numbers continue to rise, it can lead to increased stress, low self esteem and a greater risk of mental health conditions in young people such as anxiety and depression. This in turn, makes it even harder to prevent further school avoidance and prepare children for the future.

How to tackle the mental health and school avoidance cycle

Emotionally Based School Avoidance is a growing concern and requires school staff to support pupils experiencing difficulties with attendance as part of a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing.

Methods to tackle the rising cases of Emotionally Based School Avoidance, include:

• Intervene early.
• Adopt a person-centred approach.
• Work in partnership with parents.

Intervene early

Teachers and Teaching Assistants are expected to recognise the signs of anxiety and other mental health challenges. More Teachers are struggling to cope with the pressure to identify changes in student behaviour and support children and young people with their mental health. 

If school staff are able to identify the signs of students experiencing anxiety, trauma or poor mental health, they may be able to intervene early and prevent the situation from worsening.

The Educational Psychology Workforce Insights Report 2025 by Spencer Clarke Group found that the increase in Emotionally Based School Avoidance could be linked to increased levels of anxiety and SEMH challenges following the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Educational Psychologists have noticed a trend in the number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). One respondent described an increase in the level of needs, particularly surrounding mental health with more people seeking diagnoses, but less support being available at a preventative level. 

Schools ensure that staff have adequate training on attendance and bullying so they can approach students with empathy and understanding to help break the cycle. Teaching staff are required to intervene for the mental health and safety of pupils and to prevent school avoidance.

Adopt a person-centred approach

At the core of addressing the rise in mental health challenges and cases of school avoidance is understanding each individual and providing tailored, compassionate support. Adopting a person-centred approach to Emotionally Based School Avoidance means putting the child or young person at the centre of the support process, rather than focusing solely on attendance or behaviour.

An effective way for schools to do this is by taking the time to understand the individual’s unique experiences, emotions and needs by communicating with students. Validating children and young people’s feelings and experiences can help schools build a supportive, collaborative plan that addresses the causes of their school avoidance.

Recognising that each case of Emotionally Based School Avoidance is different allows schools to provide a personalised, empathetic approach that empowers children and young people to regain confidence. Making children and young people feel safe, secure and involved in decision making can help them reconnect with school in a meaningful way and result in better attendance.

Work in partnership with parents

To tackle the growing numbers of Emotionally Based School Avoidance it’s important to find the reason for avoiding school and to take preventative measures. If children and young people are avoiding school because of problems at home or issues with their mental health, these causes need to be addressed by both parents and teaching staff. 

Parents are generally considered to be better positioned to recognise their children’s mental health needs which is why it’s crucial for parents and Teachers to work collaboratively in order to intervene early and provide effective support.

Jointly identifying triggers and aligning strategies through open, empathetic communication with parents can help motivate and comfort students while strengthening their support network.

By working in collaboration with families, schools can gain insight into a child’s home life, emotional wellbeing and any underlying issues contributing to their school avoidance. Schools can also empower families to be actively involved and support the development of personalised strategies based on what motivates and reassures their child.

Aligning strategies at home and school creates a more stable environment that provides consistent and effective support. This can help children and young people feel safer, more understood and better equipped to re-engage with learning.

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