12 weeks · 8 sessions · Online

School Attendance (EBSA)

Across 12 weeks, you have eight 45-minute 1:1 online sessions to build a graded return plan with the school, at your child's pace. You attend as the parent, and your child is deliberately not asked to join.

A written plan after every sessionEvenings and weekends includedVetted, DBS-checked UK specialists
£60£80a session
8-session programme
£480 all-in · save £160
£640 booked separately
  • 8 sessions of 1:1 time (6 hours)
  • Booked at your own pace
  • Save £160 on booking the sessions separately
  • Switch specialist anytime

Not sure this is the right programme?

This programme includes

Week 1 · Session one

EBSA assessment: history and function

  • Review your child's avoidance history, attendance pattern and possible causes
  • A clear picture of what makes school feel impossible
Week 2 · Session two

Formulation and reducing accommodation

  • Build a shared explanation of what is keeping avoidance stuck
  • Changes to your approach to attendance battles and home comforts
Week 3 · Session three

SEND law and school responsibilities

  • Check what school must do, part-time timetables and EHCP needs
  • A clearer view of your child's legal position with school
Week 4 · Session four

Graded return planning with school

  • Create a graded return plan and prepare your school meeting script
  • A practical script and step-by-step return plan to take to school
Week 5 · Practice week: Hold the school meeting and start the first rungs
Week 6 · Session five

Return ladder troubleshooting: week 6

  • Troubleshoot morning routine collapse or Sunday anxiety spikes together
  • Practical next steps for the first problems in your return ladder
Week 7 · Practice week: Run the ladder and note what wobbles
Week 8 · Session six

Return ladder troubleshooting: week 8

  • Explore non-attendance days or difficulties with an unhelpful school
  • Adjustments to what is not working in your return ladder
Week 9 · Practice week: Keep climbing with the adjusted plan
Week 10 · Session seven

Setback planning and maintaining momentum

  • Plan for setbacks around illness, holidays and interrupted momentum
  • Ways to keep your graded return moving after disruption
Week 11 · Practice week: Settle the routine before your final review
Week 12 · Session eight

Review, EHCP decision and long-term plan

  • Review progress and consider whether an EHCP application is warranted
  • A longer-term plan shaped around what you have learned

The research behind it

This programme uses a graded, function-based approach informed by the research behind the West Sussex EBSA guidance and Anna Freud Centre resources. EBSA has no single gold-standard manualised treatment, and outcomes cannot be guaranteed. This is specialist guidance for parents, not diagnosis or treatment.

How we'll know it worked

You will look for attendance climbing the agreed ladder, rather than an instant return to full-time school. Your baseline from session 1 is measured again in the final session and shown side by side.

  • Attendance percentage from the school register, the hardest data available.
  • Sunday-night and morning anxiety ratings, tracked each week.
  • Two or three goals in your own words, scored from 0 to 10 in session 1 and again at the end. A move of 3 or more points is the standard CAMHS benchmark for meaningful change.
  • A written outcome summary you keep, which can also be used as evidence for school meetings and EHCP applications.

Is this for me?

Mornings end in a battle

Your child becomes distressed before school or refuses to leave the house.

You can see that forcing attendance makes the next morning harder.

Attendance has fallen away

Your child's attendance is part-time, patchy or has stopped altogether.

You feel blamed by school or worried about threats of a fine, when your child's absence is driven by anxiety rather than truancy or defiance.

Something underneath is unmet

You suspect anxiety or unmet SEND needs are making school feel impossible.

You need help understanding what is driving the avoidance before asking your child to do more.

Want one conversation before committing to 12 weeks? Start with a £40, 45-minute online chat with a neurodiversity specialist. Book a specialist chat fits better.

£60£80a session8 sessions · 6 hours of 1:1 time · a written plan after each

No waiting lists, specialists on-demand

Matched in 24h
to specialist
£80
per session
Dr Helen Marsh, Educational PsychologistHCPC verified4.9

Dr Helen Marsh

Educational Psychologist

Helps families understand assessments and build a clear plan, without the jargon.

EHCP supportAutism
£80 / session
Book
Mei Chen, Speech & Language TherapistRCSLT verified5.0

Mei Chen

Speech & Language Therapist

Gentle, play-based sessions that build confidence and communication at home.

Speech delayStammering
£80 / session
Book
Sophie Bennett, Occupational TherapistHCPC verified4.8

Sophie Bennett

Occupational Therapist

Practical sensory and motor strategies that fit into real, busy family routines.

Sensory needsADHD
£80 / session
Book

Ready when you are

A programme of 1:1 video sessions with a vetted UK specialist, with the same continuity throughout.

No subscription · switch specialist anytime

Not ready to book?

Vetted before they ever meet your child

Enhanced DBS, qualifications verified against the awarding body, identity confirmed in person.

Read how we vet specialists →

This is specialist guidance for parents, not diagnosis or treatment. Session 1 always screens for anything that needs your GP, NHS or CAMHS first, and we tell you straight away if it does.

Common questions

What if it does not work?

The final session looks honestly at what changed and what did not. If the original reading of the problem was wrong, you will be offered a different programme or specialist. If 12 weeks was too short, you can choose a discounted top-up block. If the need is clinical, you will receive a written summary for a GP or CAMHS referral. You will always leave with a clear route forward.

Who attends, and is it online?

The programme is fully online and you attend as the parent. Your child is deliberately not asked to join because being made to talk about school can itself become a demand that fuels the avoidance. If direct work with your child emerges as a need, it can be offered as an in-person add-on.

Why are eight sessions spread over 12 weeks?

The four gaps are deliberate practice weeks, not missing sessions. A return to school is usually slow, and you need time to try each rung of the ladder, see what wobbles and adjust the plan with the school onside.

What happens in the first session?

You map the history and current attendance pattern, set goals in your own words and record a baseline. The specialist also screens for bullying, unmet SEND needs and mental health concerns that need support from a GP, the NHS or CAMHS. That safety check is part of the programme, although this is specialist guidance for parents, not diagnosis or treatment.

What if the school will not cooperate?

Your session with the SEND-system specialist covers what school must do, the legal position on part-time timetables and when school avoidance may point to an unmet EHCP need. You also prepare a script for the school meeting, so you know what to ask for and why.

Book your programme

A programme of 1:1 video sessions with a vetted UK specialist, and a written summary after each.

No subscription · switch specialist anytime

Not ready to book?

School Attendance (EBSA) Parent Support | Remarkable Minds