EBSA Webinar · June 2026

Not just
staying home.

Understanding emotion-based school avoidance through case formulation.

Leanne Brooke · Senior Psychologist Education, NSW Department of Education
NSW Premier's Teaching Scholarship — sponsored by The Anika Foundation

Open the RTSK → Get the webinar slides
The centrepiece

The Reconnect to School Kit

A free case formulation and intervention-planning tool for school counsellors. Work through a structured questionnaire, generate evidence-informed suggestions, and export a plan.

1

Case management

Open, save, and manage student case files. All data stays on your device.

2

The questionnaire

Select the relevant indicators. Conditional questions appear automatically as needed.

3

Evidence-informed suggestions

The report generates strategies and links to resources for schools, parents, and young people.

4

Customise

Deselect strategies that don't fit. You are the clinician — the tool supports your judgement.

5

Export

Export to Word or PDF. Ready for case notes, consultations, or parent meetings.

Try the RTSK

Free to use No login required Export to Word or PDF
Open the RTSK →
From the webinar

Slides & key takeaways

Download the slides

EBSA Webinar — June 2026 PDF · slide deck

Three things to take away

  • 1 The young person's inner world is rarely simpleSeek to understand and hear their voice before reaching for solutions. The most important contributor is not always the most obvious one.
  • 2 The formulation shapes the planIf the strategies aren't working, go back to the formulation — not just the strategy list. The hypothesis must be right before the plan can be effective.
  • 3 The school environment is part of the equationEBSA is not solely a student problem, and not solely a school problem. KiTeS reminds us to hold the complexity across the individual, family, school, and wider context.
Go further

Resources & further reading

Tools for hearing the student's perspective, plus the evidence base behind the webinar. Open to anyone — share freely with your teams.

Tools for student voice

The young person is our most important source of information.

  • Reconnect to School Kit (RTSK) School refusal assessment & intervention guide. Free, no login, exports to Word or PDF. Open the kit →
  • Landscape of Fear (Primary) A visual tool for younger students to map where in the school day distress rises and eases. Add link →
  • Picture Cards for EBSA Image-based prompts to help students communicate feelings about school when words are hard. Add link →
  • My School Experience — AMAZE An AMAZE resource for gathering a young person's view of their school experience. Add link →
  • Inventory of School Attendance Problems (ISAP) — Youth Youth self-report (English) exploring the reasons behind attendance difficulties. Open PDF →
  • SCREEN — User Manual Guidance for administering and interpreting the SCREEN school attendance instrument. Open PDF →
  • SNACK Questionnaire (English) A student questionnaire on school attendance and connectedness (English version). Open PDF →
  • School Refusal Assessment Scale–Revised (SRAS-R) Identifies the function behind school refusal in young people aged 8–17. Open resource →
  • Perception of School Social Bonding Instrument Measures a young person's sense of connection and belonging at school. Open PDF →

Key reading

The frameworks and evidence the webinar drew on, referenced in APA 7th.

  1. Allen, J. G., Fonagy, P., & Bateman, A. W. (2008). Mentalizing in clinical practice. American Psychiatric Publishing.
  2. Bevington, D., Fuggle, P., Cracknell, L., & Fonagy, P. (2017). Adaptive mentalization-based integrative treatment: A guide for teams to develop systems of care. Oxford University Press.
  3. Bevington, D., Fuggle, P., Fonagy, P., Target, M., & Asen, E. (2013). Adolescent mentalization-based integrative therapy (AMBIT) – a new integrated approach to working with the most hard to reach adolescents with severe complex mental health needs. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 18(1), 46–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00666.x
  4. Li, A., et al. (2021). A systematic review of somatic symptoms in school refusal. Psychosomatic Medicine.
  5. Macneil, C. A., Hasty, M. K., Conus, P., & Berk, M. (2012). Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice. BMC Medicine, 10, Article 111. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-10-111
  6. Melvin, G. A., et al. (2019). KiTeS framework: An inclusive bioecological systems approach. Frontiers in Education. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00061
  7. Melvin, G., McKay-Brown, L., Heyne, D., & Cameron, L. (2025). Interventions to promote school attendance. Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO).
  8. McKay-Brown, L., et al. (2018). Reengagement: A multidisciplinary approach. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.
  9. Thambirajah, M. S., Granduson, K. J., & De-Hayes, L. (2008). Understanding school refusal. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  10. Parliament of Australia. (2023). The national trend of school refusal and related matters.
  11. Weerasekera, P. (1996). Multiperspective case formulation: A step towards treatment integration. Krieger Publishing.
Acknowledgement of Country

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which I work and live: the Awabakal and Darkinjung Nations. I pay respect to the wisdom of Elders past and present, and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.