Tellmi Helps Persistently Absent Students Return to the Classroom
The Tellmi app is a powerful tool for supporting students experiencing Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA). Digital interventions allow young people to receive mental health support in an environment they feel safe and comfortable in, which is particularly beneficial for those who may face barriers to accessing school services.
Filtering Tellmi’s peer support feed by topics such as ‘anxiety’ or ‘school’ allows young people experiencing EBSA to share empathy and coping strategies with their peers struggling with the same challenges.
Post: “School makes me feel like I’m not good enough, this is the worst it has ever made me feel”
Reply: “School doesn’t define you, you are definitely good enough!”
Since the pandemic, an increase in poor mental health in young people has led to increased absenteeism (UCL, 2024). There has also been a parallel increase in the number of students who have disengaged from education (Children’s Commissioner, 2022) and the number of parents who fail to ensure that their child attends every school day has also increased (Public First, 2023). Absenteeism has also been exacerbated by delays in students receiving Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) assessments and a lack of access to appropriate provisions (Children’s Commissioner, 2022). During the 2023/24 academic year, 26.7% of students in state-funded secondary schools were persistently absent (Explore Education Statistics, 2024) from school. That’s almost double the absentee rate recorded in the last full school year before the COVID-19 pandemic (13.7%).
Post: “I’m on the bus but I don’t want to go to school today. I’m trying to go for a full week but it’s so hard. I just feel so depressed and nothing I do is helping. I’m constantly going through things in my mind and I have to deal with it while at school.”
Reply: “I relate to this! I’ve found going to school hard, even more so since covid. It’s hard, I’m not going to lie. Just try and be there as much as you can. That’s probably not going to be everyday, and that’s okay! The most important thing is when you’re in school, try to engage in the lessons as much as possible and take things in, it helps pass time if you’re focused on work. But don’t always force yourself to be there if you can’t though.”
Encouraging young people back into the classroom is extremely important because persistent absenteeism has life-long consequences for young people, including poor academic performance, mental health problems that last into adulthood, and employment difficulties (Halligan & Cryer, 2022; Tamlyn, 2022; West Sussex EPS, 2022).
However forcing them to do so through the threat of punishment, or attempting to prevent absence with punitive policies for both students and parents, ignores the emotional, social and systematic factors that contribute to absence (Tamlyn, 2022). The concept of Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA), first defined by the West Sussex EPS (2018), encourages a more appropriate and compassionate way of supporting students who face challenges attending school. It shifts the blame away from young people who avoid school and instead aims to understand how their needs can be met to make school a more comfortable environment that encourages attendance.
Persistent absenteeism is a pressing concern for school leaders with harmful short-term and long-term consequences for students, but EBSA can be addressed with the appropriate help (West Sussex EPS, 2022).
Tellmi’s resources and services are helping to provide that. To assist school leaders in supporting students affected by Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA), Tellmi have designed a series of physical resources, such as booklets and engagement materials, that can be shared with those struggling to attend school. They offer guidance on how to manage the emotions associated with EBSA and encourage the use of the Tellmi app to support their return to school. They can be obtained free of charge by all schools in our commissioned areas. 1,000 packs have already been ordered by schools, who are simultaneously promoting the benefits of using the Tellmi app to help students address difficulties related to school attendance. Tellmi’s in-app Directory of over 700 resources and services also helps students return to the classroom. It includes psychoeducation tools designed to increase resilience and develop the mental health self-management skills that are crucial in helping young people overcome EBSA.
Being able to speak anonymously to peers who understand EBSA helps young people to feel less alone and gives them the confidence to try to reengage with school.
Post: “I’m starting to get help to get back into school, it’s exciting but also nerve wracking. Anyone else who has been in this situation, what’s it like?
Reply: “I hope you’re okay. It’s amazing that you are getting support. How is the support going? I understand it’s nerve wracking, I had counselling. I was very nervous for the first session but the woman was so helpful and it helped so so much.”
These packs are only available to organisations in areas where Tellmi is commissioned. To learn more about commissioning Tellmi in your area please get in touch.
* Example posts have been adapted to maintain user anonymity.
References
Baker, M., & Bishop, F. (2015). Out of school: A phenomenological exploration of extended non-attendance. Educational Psychology in Practice, 31(4), 354–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2015.1065473
Chain, J. L. S. (2022). Emotion Based School Avoidance: Exploring Staff and Pupil Voices on Provision in Mainstream Schools [Doctoral dissertation, University College London]. UCL Institute of Education. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10153415/1/Chian_10153415_thesis_sig_removed.pdf
Children’s Commissioner (2022). Back into school: New insights into school absence. https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2022/07/cc-new-insights-into-school-absence.pdf
Explore Education Statistics (2024). Pupil attendance in schools, Week 29 2024: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-catalogue/data-set/c16e95c8-40c9-474c-9cdd-4be994321147
Halligan, C. & Cryer, S. (2022) Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA): Students’ Views of What Works in a Specialist Setting’. Continuity in Education, 3(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.5334/cie.38
Public First (2023). Listening to, and learning from, parents in the attendance crisis. https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ATTENDANCE-REPORT-V02.pdf
Tamlyn, G. (2022). An Exploration of the Narratives of Young People Who Have Experienced Emotional Based School Avoidance. [Doctoral dissertation, University of East London]. University of East London School of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.15123/uel.8v313
Thambirajah, M. S., Grandison, K. J., & De-Hayes, L. (2008). Understanding School Refusal: A Handbook for Professionals in Education, Health and Social Care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd UCL (2024). Rising school absence: what do we know and we can we do?
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/2024/01/16/rising-school-absence-what-do-we-know-and-what-can-we-do/
West Sussex EPS (2018). Emotionally Based School Avoidance: Good practice guidance for schools and support agencies. https://schools.westsussex.gov.uk/Pages/Download/6bfa216d-d74f-4510-aca8-408e7a5ef949/PageSectionDocuments
West Sussex EPS (2022). Emotionally Based School Avoidance: Good practice guidance for schools and support agencies. https://schools.westsussex.gov.uk/Pages/Download/c5b4a7c0-81b1-4d5e-a3ae-aa0ebe689b05/PageSectionDocuments