Responding to school anxiety or EBSA

Alis Rocca on School Anxiety

The first thing we need to remember as school professionals is the reason why we’re doing what we’re doing.
So it’s not about considering that one size fits all.
It’s not about thinking every human that’s going to walk through your door is exactly the same.

Recognising the individual

It’s recognising the individual, recognising the unique traits that make up that individual and linking both of those.

Giving pupils the best experience.

So we’re here to give them the best possible experience of education.
We’re here to turn them into real, effective learners who love learning and love education.
So that’s our remit.
And then it’s recognising that’s going to have to look different for everybody.
So, how do we make sure that we’re meeting the needs of everybody?
And that’s a statutory requirement.

Early help for your pupils

It’s about recognising, responding sooner rather than later with the smallest steps and building on that if you need to.

Tools to support your pupils who may be anxious

Using things like the visual timetable, the now & next board so that they can come in & see at the beginning of the day what to expect, and that helps with them planning their day in their head, and sometimes doing that the night before.

Reducing anxiety by helping students feel prepared for what’s coming next.

So as you finish the school day, just going through those things with children so that they can feel less concerned, less worried about what to expect the next day.

How breathing and mindfulness helps.

Also things like teaching breathing & mindfulness techniques to help with that feeling of overwhelming, that feeling of anxiety that a child might have.

Sharing strategies with parents or carers

Talking to the parents so that they can bring that into their routines at home, so maybe at night, making sure the child gets a good night’s sleep, having a really calm routine at bedtime, and going through those breathing techniques to just start to help the child relax.

Maybe on the way to school in the morning, going through those breathing techniques before they come into the school. Children start to feel more secure & in control so they start to feel more in control of their emotions.

Zones of regulation or a worry box

We’ve also used zones of regulation. We’ve used different things like bringing something comforting in from school or a worry box – having a worry box in school that the child can go to when they need to feel that sense of overwhelm.

How these techniques work

So what you’re trying to do is create an environment where the child doesn’t feel out of control and where the child that might be thinking:

I don’t want to go in school because I might get this overwhelming feeling of anxiety.
So I’d rather stay home than risk it

If they know there are things that will help them during the school day, the worry box, a comforting toy, breaks, being able to come out of the classroom at time, a trusted adult, a trusted friend that they can talk to at different times.

All of those things are little building blocks that help a child think:

“Yeah, okay, it’s going to be tough, but I know that there’s
things there that will support me.“