How can school help?
Things the school can do to help:
- assess the needs of your child and factors that may be contributing to EBSA. The school should work with you, your child or young person, and any professionals involved in supporting your child to understand the cause(s) of the EBSA
- agree a support plan with your child and yourself. This will typically involve a gradual process to reintegration, with the aim to steadily increasing the amount of time in school.
- depending on the needs of the child or young person, this might start with very small steps such as your child getting ready for school and entering the school office.
- the plan will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is effective
- if your child or young person has a Modified Learning Plan it will be reviewed every 2 weeks and adjusted as needed
- if your child has complex health needs, or a medical condition, an individual healthcare plan may be put in place
- schools may apply for inclusion funding if they identify a need for additional resources, external support, or specialised interventions to effectively support a child
- open communication and consistency throughout the process is essential for success
- schools may ask for support from the Specialist Teaching Service who also include the Inclusion Outreach Team. At the point of referral there will be consideration of reasons behind and which team maybe best to support
- schools can refer to the Specialist Teaching Team, if they feel there maybe unmet SEND needs, to help them unpick and look at additional forms of provision that may help bridge the gap/ transition
- schools can access Educational Psychology Service support/assessment if they have purchased time. All schools receive 1 and a half free days of core-time, so they could use that Educational Psychology Service time for school-wide EBSA support
- if you are not happy with the support the school is putting in place for your child or young person, or you'd like help to work with the school, you can contact SENDIASS Southend (if your child has special educational needs and/or a disability) or the Southend-on-Sea City Council Inclusion Team
- if strategies put in place by the school have not worked, you may want to speak to your child's GP. If the GP agrees that your child is not currently able to attend school, ask them for a letter to give as evidence to the school or local authority for their non-attendance. Your GP may also be able to make a referral to a mental health support service
Some approaches to consider with the school
We encourage you to talk to the school to see if there are any things they can put in place to support you and your child. Here are some suggestions and ideas:
- timers to help with children understanding
- visual scales to help you know if your child is worried
- red, amber and green bands, or card to help you know if a child is finding things hard
- help to recognise the signs of anxiety