Anxiety is a common problem for young people in the UK, and is one of the biggest causes of emotionally based school non-attendance. 3.3% of children and young people in the UK, about 290,000, have an anxiety disorder (Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain; Green, McGinnity, Meltzer, Ford and Goodman, 2005).
One of the biggest areas of misunderstanding when working with children who have SEMH needs or have experienced trauma is around the topic of boundaries and consequences. To be clear - all children require safe boundaries and there are consequences for all actions. I am using the term consequences here in place of punishment quite
Post Covid, engagement in learning has been a key area of need for many schools and young people. Anxieties run high, emotionally based non attendance is a key factor but the time spent out of education has also had an impact on lesson attendance for many. Many young people are increasingly attending school but struggling
Addressing emotionally based school avoidance - a model. Firstly this article will use both this term and emotionally based school non attendance interchangeably. The preferred term at Semh.co.uk is emotionally based school non attendance as this is a factual, non judgemental term. The school avoidance aspect gives a degree of judgement and we try to remain
Updated DECEMBER 2023 - Free relational plan download - see below the table (bottom of the page) There is one way to ensure a relational support plan does not get read - and that is to make it too long. Often too much background information can make it unlikely a document is shared
Whether it is trauma informed, attachment aware, child centred etc etc professionals working with young people strive to understand and address individual needs a young person has. Often the terminology can create difficulties - for example saying trauma informed makes some feel they are making a diagnosis. For this reason I want to lay out
Relationships can make or break a child's experience in school. So how can we help get them off to the right start? In this article we focus in on how pastoral staff can build better relationships. 1. Boundary the relationship early Explain your role and what you are seeking to do. Identify the child's goals
What is an SEMH teacher? An SEMH teacher may be one who works in an advisory capacity between multiple schools, either for a local authority or a trust. They may also work in one particular setting cohorts of young people who experience significant barriers to learning (primarily associated with SEMH). An SEMH professional may also
Sensory profiles (or sensory checklists) are incredibly powerful tools to help adults and young people to identify what sensations they make seek or avoid (or not notice) and what can be done about it. For teachers working with young people, this can have a huge impact on associated behaviours. Sensory assessments can be quite difficult
Following COVID-19, there has been an increase in Emotionally Based School Avoidance, also known as Anxiety Based School Avoidance or Emotionally Based Non Attendance. Sometimes known as school refusal, EBSA occurred for a long time prior to the pandemic but this has intensified as children have experienced extended periods at home due to the risk
