Shifting the dial on learning and adapting

6th May 2026

Here are some notes taken from the meeting on 6th May. Attendees came from a range of public and third sector organisations.

Shifting the Dial on Collaboration – Caroline Slocock, Co-founder of the network

Caroline introduced the Better Way principles and behaviours, emphasising collaboration and relationship-building as key components.

Multi-Agency EBSNA Partnership Framework – Su Freeman, formerly Collaboration Manager at Surrey Youth Focus and Associate Mountain Top Vision

Su shared her experience addressing emotionally-based school non-attendance (EBSNA) by bringing together a diverse group of professionals across education, health, and social care sectors.

The work started with one conversation. A colleague from a parent carer forum described families—her own included—at breaking point with needs unmet, made worse by COVID. So I started asking: “Is anyone else seeing this?”

Across mental health, social care, schools, the voluntary sector—the answer was a resounding yes. She had uncovered a shared pain point: children and young people struggling to attend school due to emotional distress—what we now recognise as Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance. Its’ impact was profound, stretching across whole families. But alongside recognition, she also noticed blame. “Why aren’t schools doing more?”, “Why is this so late?”, “Why isn’t that service stepping in?” A familiar pattern: them and us.

There was no single offer, no shared understanding, no joined-up response.

Here is the full event summary.