She can't get through the school gates anymore
When anxiety makes school physically impossible, families often get attendance letters and fine threats instead of help. Flip the frame: persistent school avoidance is powerful evidence of unmet special educational needs — often the strongest card in an assessment appeal.
Phrases to look for on your letter: “attendance” · “unauthorised absence” · “fines”
Why this is an appealable position
Emotionally based school avoidance is widely recognised — including in council's own EBSA guidance documents — as a presentation of underlying need: anxiety, autism, sensory overload, unmet learning needs. A child who cannot attend plainly 'may have' SEN and 'may need' provision via a plan, which is the whole assessment test. Attendance data, normally used against families, becomes your evidence: the graph of decline tells the Tribunal what the refusal letter ignored.
Your position is strongest when
- Attendance shows a clear downward pattern
- Physical symptoms before school are documented (GP visits, sickness records)
- School's adjustments (reduced timetable, safe spaces) haven't restored attendance
- Any autism/anxiety diagnosis or referral exists
Evidence to gather now
- Attendance printout
- GP records of anxiety symptoms
- Reduced-timetable agreements
- Your diary of morning battles
- Council's own EBSA guidance (quote it back)
Your first move
Reframe every attendance document as needs evidence, get the GP visit on record, and appeal the assessment refusal citing the pattern — while asking school to formally record EBSA, not truancy.
Build my SEND appeal pack — £11.99Answer plain-English questions about the decision and your child, and get Tribunal-ready grounds in minutes — matched to the right HMCTS form, SEND35 or SEND35A.
Common questions
We're being threatened with attendance fines. Does that affect the appeal?
Different track — but a recorded EBSA/SEN picture undermines fine enforcement and strengthens your appeal. Ask school in writing to record absences as illness/EBSA given the documented anxiety.
How does your council compare?
Refusal rates vary wildly between councils — England's average is 26.4%, but some councils refuse over 60% of assessment requests. Look up your council's refusal rate — it's context the Tribunal never sees but you should know, and free specialist advice is available from IPSEA (ipsea.org.uk).
Where these rules come from: Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3 · SEND Regulations 2014.