DEDICATED WEEK FOR PARENTS
School Avoidance Awareness Week 2026 brings together leading experts, lived experience and practical solutions to help families and professionals better understand school avoidance and attendance difficulties.
Across five days of live webinars, resources and discussions, we'll explore everything from trauma, anxiety and sensory processing through to legal rights, safeguarding, alternative provision, flexible approaches and recovery.
Whether you're a parent feeling stuck, a professional wanting to do better, or someone supporting a child in distress, this week will help you move from confusion to confidence.
Because children are more than attendance data.
Support, understanding and practical help for families
School Avoidance Awareness Week 2026 brings together experienced SEND professionals, educators and specialists to help parents and carers understand why a child may be struggling to attend school and, importantly, what can help.
Across the week, we’ll explore school avoidance, anxiety and burnout, school-based trauma and recovery, behaviour as communication, home education, EOTIS, EHCPs, legal rights and choosing the right educational provision.
You’ll hear from speakers including Chrissa Wadlow, Liz Evans, Libby Hill, Kelly Jarvis and Jess Douglas, combining professional expertise with practical advice that families can actually use.
Whether your child has recently started finding school difficult, is experiencing persistent school non-attendance, or has been unable to access education for some time, the week is designed to help you better understand what may be happening beneath the surface and what your next steps could be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to subscribe for a whole year?
No. There’s no annual commitment. School Avoidance Awareness Week is included as part of a Sunshine Academy membership, but your subscription has a minimum term of just one month. You can cancel easily through your account if you decide you don’t want to continue, with no cancellation charges.
And that month gives you much more than School Avoidance Awareness Week. You’ll have access to hundreds of webinars and training sessions, including previous School Avoidance Awareness Weeks, plus our community forum where you can ask questions and get support from Sunshine Support’s SEND experts 24/7. You’ll also find live advice clinics, extended podcasts, quizzes, meditations, home education resources and a huge library of practical SEND information and support.
So even if you join specifically for School Avoidance Awareness Week, use your month! Explore the Academy, watch anything else that could help your family, ask our experts questions and catch up on sessions whenever it suits you. And if you love having all that support in your pocket, of course, you’re very welcome to stay. ☀️
What if I can’t attend the sessions live?
That’s absolutely fine. You don’t need to attend live to benefit from School Avoidance Awareness Week. The sessions will be available to watch on demand through the Sunshine Academy, so you can catch up at a time that works for you.
We know that families experiencing school avoidance are often juggling an enormous amount, and committing to being online at a particular time isn’t always realistic. Watch one session, watch them all, pause halfway through and come back later.
The week is there to work around you and your family, not the other way around.
Is School Avoidance Awareness Week right for us if my child is still attending school?
Absolutely. You do not need to wait until your child stops attending school to seek help. School avoidance can look very different from one child to another. Your child might still be attending but experiencing Sunday-night anxiety, physical symptoms, distress before school, masking throughout the day, meltdowns afterwards or becoming increasingly exhausted and burnt out.
They may be attending some days, arriving late, struggling with particular lessons or finding attendance increasingly difficult. Understanding what is happening before things reach crisis point can be incredibly valuable. School Avoidance Awareness Week will help you look beyond attendance figures and begin understanding what your child may actually be communicating through their distress.
I’m a professional. Is there different content for me?
Yes. We have a separate School Avoidance Awareness Week programme specifically for professionals. While both weeks share the same goal of improving understanding and support for children experiencing school avoidance, the content and perspectives are different.
Our research and conversations with families, teachers and other professionals tell us that parents and professionals need different things from these conversations. The professional programme explores school avoidance through the lens of education and professional practice, with sessions designed to help you understand what may be happening for a child and how you can respond effectively within your role.
Want to see what’s happening during the Professionals Week? Click here to view the full line-up and find out how to join us.