There are a number of services who can offer support if and when you feel you need it.
Support from school or education setting
It is important to communicate any concerns regarding Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) with your child's school/setting. They can help to find out what's worrying your child and what you and they can do to help. A support plan can be created that could include:
- Home-school meeting to understand the reasons for the non-attendance.
- An allocated named key adult who can maintain daily communication, to include a wellbeing check and ensure work is set, if not in class
- Meeting with the pupil to gain their views around the non-attendance or participation
- Jointly creating a support plan with you, your child and the school/setting.
- Making reasonable adjustments according to your child's needs and the reasons for their non-attendance/participation.
Schools in Surrey can take a Surrey Healthy Schools approach to wellbeing and health and can access a range of resources and services to support your child. Support can include mental health support, counselling, and access to a School Nurse, they can also ask Specialist Teachers for Inclusive Practice (STIPs) to assess your child's difficulties.
Support with additional needs
An underlying Additional Need or Disability can contribute to anxiety levels; this can include Autistic Spectrum Conditions, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Sensory Processing Disorder or Dyslexia. These can make school feel like a difficult place to be for a child, even if they do want to attend school. It is worth noting that additional needs includes Social, Emotional or Mental Health Difficulties. These can affect a child's ability to make friendships and cope with strong emotion.
You may therefore also wish to discuss with the school if they feel an assessment of your child for any relevant additional needs is required.
If you need a bit more help
There are times when the challenges of family life become more difficult, and families may need extra support for a period of time. Targeted help focuses on the specific needs of the family to help them make positive changes.
Health, education and social care practitioners can request support for you or you can yourself via the Children's Single Point of Access (CSPA).
Helpful resources and services
You may also find the information and support offered by these services is helpful to you. The details of further services can be found on the Family Information Service Directory.
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Surrey Family Learning | Surrey Family Learning offer courses for parents on many aspects of parenting and child development, including anxiety and EBSNA. Search their course catalogue for times and dates. |
| Define Fine | A small UK parent led organisation that support families affected by EBSNA. |
| Not Fine In School | A UK based organisation set up to support parents, young people and professionals impacted by EBSNA: They also have a family support group on Facebook. |
| Young Minds | Have a parent's guide to School Anxiety and Refusal. |
| Every Mind Matters- Children's Mental Health | This is important for children of all ages, but in particular if the child is transitioning from one school to another, or to another class, which may make them more anxious about school. |
| SEND Advice Surrey | Offer impartial, confidential, free advice and support to parents/carers of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities. |
| Family Voice Surrey | Champions the needs and rights of SEND families in Surrey: families with children or young adults up to the age of 25 who have special educational needs, chronic illnesses, including mental health conditions, or disabilities. |
| The National Autistic Society Surrey Branch | Is a volunteer-run support group founded by parents to support other parents. Volunteers offer a variety of local support group meetings, talks, parent programmes and activities for families that include autistic children or adults. |
| Are safe spaces for young people to drop into to talk about worries and mental health confidentially. There is also a phone service and virtual workshops operating alongside the face-to-face sessions. The opening times and phone number are listed on their website. They also offer two daytime projects for young people who aren't in school called 'Slow Grow' and 'Forests Skills'. | |
| Surrey Child and Family Health | Have a number of sensory video workshops, on their website. |
| BBC Bitesize | Have a section on School refusal. |
Your child's GP can offer support which might include a referral to a paediatrician or Mindworks. They advise, help and support children, young people and their families with their emotional wellbeing and mental health .
You can also speak to your child's school nurse. The video below describes what a school nurse does and how they can help.