Phil

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Five-session mentoring course

Anxiety and avoidance

Who it's for

Consider this course for a pupil showing:

  • Reluctance or refusal to attend school, specific lessons, or settings such as the lunch hall or PE
  • Physical complaints (stomach aches, headaches) clustering around school mornings
  • Visible distress such as tearfulness, freezing or panic when pushed, rather than defiance
  • A pattern of partial attendance or persistent lateness

What it works towards

  • Understand anxiety as a normal, explainable body response rather than something 'wrong' with them
  • Map specific avoidance patterns
  • Build confidence gradually through small, achievable steps
  • Agree a realistic plan for maintaining or rebuilding attendance

The five sessions

  1. Session 1 Understanding my worry Pupil can explain, in simple terms, what anxiety is and why the body reacts this way.
  2. Session 2 Mapping my avoidance Pupil and mentor have identified specific situations that are avoided, ranked by difficulty.
  3. Session 3 Small steps Pupil has agreed and attempted the first, smallest step on the avoidance ladder.
  4. Session 4 Calming my body Pupil can use at least one grounding technique before or during an anxious moment at school.
  5. Session 5 My return-to-school plan Pupil has a written, realistic plan for the next steps on the avoidance ladder, shared with pastoral staff and family.

A sixth session follows, without the pupil: the mentor writes the support plan and agrees next steps.

The approach, and where it comes from

This module follows a graded-exposure approach (building tolerance through small, manageable steps rather than avoiding the trigger) informed by cognitive behavioural therapy and the DfE's statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, which addresses emotionally based school avoidance directly and emphasises small, achievable steps over forcing full attendance immediately. It also reflects the DfE's Mental health and behaviour in schools advice on recognising anxiety-driven behaviour, and is designed to run alongside close work with pastoral and SENCO staff. Supporting a pupil back into regular attendance also contributes to the attendance evidence considered under Ofsted's attendance and behaviour evaluation area.

Try it with a small group

Three weeks free, no card, up to three staff and ten pupils. Everything recorded during the trial carries over if you continue.

Start the free pilot

Or read the white paper, which sets out the evidence behind each of the twenty courses.

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