Push and pull factors template for school avoidance
The push and pull factors sheet maps what makes school feel too big for a pupil (noise, corridors, a feared subject, being put on the spot) against what draws them home (comfort, worry about a parent, change at home). Filled in with the parent and pupil, it shows what the avoidance is for, so the plan targets the cause.
A4 PDF · part of the free Calm Classroom pack · print as many as you need
How to use it
Do it together and in pencil. A map you draw with the family is one they will help change, and this term’s drivers may not be next term’s.
Look for the line at the bottom: is the avoidance about escaping something at school or getting to something at home? The answer decides whether you adjust the school day, support the family, or both.
Background: What is emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA)?
What’s on it · Primary (Reception to Year 6)
Fill this in with the parent, in pencil — it maps what's pushing the child away from school against what's pulling them home, so the real drivers surface; this term's map isn't gospel next term.
Child: ……………… Year: …… Date: ……… Review date: ………
| PUSH — what about school feels too big | PULL — what draws the child home |
|---|---|
| Sensory (noise, light, crowds, the dining hall): | Comfort / safety of being at home: |
| Social (friendships, being put on the spot, unstructured times): | Worry about a parent / someone at home: |
| Academic (a feared subject, reading aloud, demand): | Change at home (new baby, illness, loss, separation): |
| Transitions & change (new teacher, new room, a return after illness, a loss): | A parent's own anxiety / other pulls: |
- School-based factors: ……………… Family-based: ………………
- Child-based — what this child brings (temperament, a known or suspected SEND, a history of separation difficulty, somatic symptoms): ………………
- In their own words (verbatim) — child: ……………… parent: ………………
- What we think the avoidance is for (a hypothesis to tick and date, not a verdict): ☐ to escape a bad feeling ☐ to get away from a particular situation ☐ to stay close to someone ☐ to get something better at home · Date: ………
What’s on it · Secondary (Years 7 to 11)
Fill this in with the parent and the student, in pencil — it maps what's driving the student away from school against what's pulling them home, so the real drivers surface; this term's map isn't gospel next term.
Student: ……………… Year: …… Date: ……… Review date: ………
| PUSH — what about school feels too big | PULL — what draws the student home |
|---|---|
| Sensory (corridors between lessons, the canteen, noise, crowds): | Comfort / safety of being at home: |
| Social (friendships, being put on the spot, toilets, unstructured time): | Worry about a parent / someone at home: |
| Academic (a feared subject, reading aloud, exam pressure, demand): | Change at home (illness, loss, separation): |
| Transitions & change (new building, fragmented timetable, a return after illness, exam season): | Other pulls: |
School-based factors: ……………… Family-based: ……………… Child-based: ……………… What the avoidance seems to be for (escape something / get to something): ………………