🎬 Unauthorised Absence: A Short Film Exposing Attendance Injustice

Summary

At its heart, the film follows a single mother and her undiagnosed autistic daughter as they navigate the crushing pressures of school distress and punitive attendance rules. Based on writer Jo Clayton’s lived experience and imbued with the testimonies of hundreds of other parents, the script distils years of struggle into one sharp narrative: the devastating impact of attendance laws.

Across the UK, school attendance has become one of the most politically charged issues in education. Under current legislation, local councils and schools have sweeping powers to enforce attendance. Families can face Parenting Orders, Education Supervision Orders, School Attendance Orders, and fines (penalty notices). 

Families of neurodivergent children are being pushed into impossible situations. Current attendance laws mean that when a child struggles with school distress, or school refusal, parents are often met not with support but with fines, threats, and even prosecution. Instead of recognising the underlying needs, the system penalises families already under strain. 

This is the reality Unauthorised Absence sets out to challenge. The film shines a light on how rigid attendance policies can devastate families, turning everyday struggles into battles with bureaucracy and the courts.

What is School Distress?

School distress and school refusal are now often referred to as EBSNA (Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance), which describes when a child or young person is unable to attend school because of overwhelming emotional distress. Unlike truancy, which is deliberate absence without parental knowledge, EBSNA is rooted in anxiety, fear, or mental health challenges that make the thought of going to school unbearable.

For many neurodivergent children, this distress can stem from:

• Sensory overload in busy classrooms.
• Unmet learning needs such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism.
• Peer difficulties or bullying that heighten anxiety.
• Rigid school structures that leave little room for flexibility or support.

Parents often describe mornings filled with panic attacks, meltdowns, or physical symptoms like stomach aches and headaches. These are not excuses; they are genuine signs of distress. As Unauthorised Absence aims to point out, forcing attendance through fines or threats does not resolve the underlying issues; it can deepen trauma for both the child and family. Campaigners prefer the term EBSNA because it shifts the focus away from “refusal” (which can sound like defiance) and toward the emotional reality of children who desperately want to learn but cannot cope in the current system.

The Film’s Focus

To understand how these policies play out in real life, we spoke to Natalie Lauren, producer of Unauthorised Absence, to find out more.

At its heart, the film follows a single mother and her undiagnosed autistic daughter as they navigate the crushing pressures of school distress and punitive attendance rules. Based on writer Jo Clayton’s lived experience, and imbued with the testimonies of hundreds of other parents, the script distils years of struggle into one sharp narrative: the devastating impact of attendance laws.

Natalie explains:

“Jo’s initial script for a film on her experience of the SEND system was initially enough for a feature film. Covering an 8 year period, it includes elements that parents will recognise: from being forced to leave work, the threats of fines, having to defend herself legally, inadequate and inappropriate “support” options, inaccessible diagnostic pathways, relocation, and being accused of accused of the most awful things a mother can be. Not to mention, amidst all of this, learning how to be the best parent to the young person who was struggling very much amidst it all and trying to work out the world around them.”

Making The Film

We asked Natalie what it’s like to try to get a film like Unauthorised Absence off the ground, and how she and the team are working to secure the support and funding needed to make it a reality.

Natalie explained the realities of independent filmmaking:

“Now, in the film industry, without a string of successful films to your name and a lot of industry contacts, there is just no way to get a film of that size financed. So Jo cut the script down to a short film. She was given some incredible advice by a BAFTA-recognised script editor: effectively, to make the most compelling short film, you need to strip all this back to just one, obvious, very focused idea. If there was just one thing you could change about the system you were met with, what would it be? She chose the attendance laws. Because, for her, that was the catalyst for the 8 years of unfathomable pain and struggle that followed.”

A Campaign for Change

Unauthorised Absence is more than a film. Natalie describes it best, saying:

 “It’s a film, but it’s also a campaign. To unite the immense efforts across the education landscape into one obvious, empathy-driven vehicle that raises awareness of the human cost of the attendance laws.”

The ambition is bold. The team plans to tour the film across UK festivals, before making it available on every internet-enabled device in the country.

“We want it screened in schools, at home for parents, and made available to parliamentarians,” Natalie says. “Because only then can we begin to shift the narrative and reform aspects of the SEND system for the better of everyone.”

Why Funding Matters

Like many independent projects, the film relies on community support. Donations and sponsorships are vital to cover production costs and ensure the film reaches the broadest possible audience.

Natalie emphasises:

“We want this to be as much of a community-driven venture as humanly possible, because that is how we will be able to have maximum impact. We really do encourage people to reach out, get in touch, and support the film in whatever way they can.”

The team is aiming to shoot in April and complete post-production by July.

How You Can Support

• Follow the film’s journey on Instagram and Facebook: @unauthorisedabsencefilm
• Share the story within your networks to raise awareness of how attendance laws affect SEND families.
• Back their Kickstarter and provide a donation as a late pledge.
• Partner with an organisation to help amplify the campaign and provide financial backing.
• Spread the word to schools and advocacy groups to attract further support.

This is a community-driven project, and every contribution, whether financial or through advocacy, helps ensure the film can be made and reach the audiences who need to see it. At SEND Tutoring, we are proud to support this project. It aligns with our mission to amplify the voices of families and advocates, and to challenge policies that harm rather than help.

In addition to championing the message behind the film, SEND Tutoring has also contributed funding to the project through Kickstarter. Our decision to do so reflects the experiences of countless families we work with who have found themselves navigating the dangerous waters of their children’s distress, too often met with punitive responses from local authorities rather than the understanding and support they deserve. By backing this project, we hope to help bring these stories to light and push for the compassionate, evidence‑informed approaches that children and families urgently need.

Support for Every Learner

Discover how SEND Tutoring supports students with a wide range of needs, including dyslexia, PDA, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and more. 

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Ella Jones

If you’re looking for support for a child or young person with special educational needs or a disability, book a free call with us today and find out how we can help.