Showing the council your child is learning
A plain-language guide for parents whose child can’t be in school right now — how to turn what they do at home into evidence, and where to get free, expert help.
First, if your child can’t face school: you are not failing, and you are not alone. When anxiety or emotional distress makes school impossible, it’s often called EBSA — emotionally based school avoidance. It’s real, it’s increasingly recognised, and pushing harder rarely helps. Meeting the child where they are — including through the things they love — usually does.
Your child still has a right to an education
If a child of compulsory school age can’t attend school because of health (including mental health) or other reasons, the local authority has a legal duty to arrange suitable education for them — for example alternative provision or support at home. This comes from section 19 of the Education Act 1996. It’s worth asking your local authority, in writing, what they will put in place.
Why evidence helps
Whether you’re asking for an EHC needs assessment, working towards an EHCP, going through an annual review, or asking for alternative provision, it helps enormously to show two things: that your child has needs, and that when things are set up right for them, they engage and learn. Evidence of what she chooses to do — and the skills it builds — does exactly that.
How to use your PawSteps evidence
1Let your child use PawSteps in a low-pressure way — Critter Craft, the personalised activities, whatever they’ll actually engage with. It quietly records what they do.
2Open Learning Evidence, type your child’s name, and print it (or save as PDF). It lists the activities and translates them into named skills — creativity, focus, planning, applied science, writing, telling the time.
3Add your own short notes: dates, how long they engaged, what they chose, what helped them settle, and what triggers anxiety. Your observations are powerful evidence too.
4Attach it to emails to the SEN team, or bring copies to meetings and reviews. Pair it with any reports from your GP, CAMHS or the school SENCO.
Where to get free, expert help
These are independent, and they’re free
- SENDIASS — every local authority has a free, impartial Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Information, Advice & Support Service. Search “SENDIASS” plus your council’s name.
- IPSEA — a charity giving free legal advice on SEND law, including EHCPs and appeals. ipsea.org.uk
- Not Fine in School — a large parent-led community specifically for school attendance difficulties and EBSA. notfineinschool.co.uk
- Your GP — can refer to CAMHS and record the impact on your child’s health, which supports your case.
- Your school’s SENCO and the local authority SEN team — ask what support and provision they can put in place.
Please read. This is general information to help you feel more confident — it is not legal advice, and PawSteps’ evidence is a record of activity and skills, not a formal educational or medical assessment. For advice on your specific situation, contact SENDIASS or IPSEA above. You know your child best, and asking for help is a strength.