Anna O'Neill & Lauren Stanley

BBC News, London 30th January 2024

The number of pupils who refuse to go to school is growing as anxiety around school attendance increases.

At Konstam House, the Royal Free Hospital Children's School's new unit for pupils unable or unwilling to attend school, head teacher Alex Yates says he prefers the term "emotionally based school avoidance" - or EBSA - rather than "school refusal", as it is sometimes known.

"The children are trying to solve a problem, and the problem is that they can't manage in a mainstream setting," he said.