Each edition is matched to a different developmental stage and reading level, so you can choose the one that best fits your student. Brave at School uses playful, encouraging language and draw-or-write spaces for younger students and emerging readers. Success Plan uses neutral, plan-focused language for older students who are more self-conscious about their pages. Because the grade bands are flexible, a younger student who reads well might do best with Success Plan, and an older student who needs simpler language or more visuals might do best with Brave at School.
School Avoidance & Anxiety Toolkit for Counselors | K-8 Worksheets for School Refusal Individual School Counseling
Help students dealing with anxiety-related school refusal and school avoidance. School refusal worksheets, anxiety tools, teaching visuals, and counselor guides that help students in grades K-8 understand their worries, build coping skills, and make a step-by-step plan to get back to school. Ready for individual, small group, or team-based support as a companion to the Anxiety-Related School Refusal Professional Development Webinar.
Help anxious students get back to school with these school refusal worksheets, anxiety trackers, transition plans, teaching visuals, and counseling guides for grades K-8. This ready-to-use set gives students the same skills you build in session, on pages they can hold, carry, and come back to. Students learn when and where their anxiety spikes, name the worries behind it, shrink those worries, practice calming tools, build kinder self-talk, plan their mornings, and track every step of their return.
It’s designed for Tier 2 small groups and Tier 3 individual counseling or team plans, and several pages also work as Tier 1 classroom or advisory lessons. It’s a strong fit for students who resist coming to school, struggle with separation at drop-off, arrive late or leave early, spend long stretches in the office or nurse, or report frequent stomachaches and headaches before school.
The set includes two developmentally matched student editions:
- Brave at School (Grades K-3): a 14-page set with friendly, simple language, a worry thermometer, picture icons, draw-or-write spaces, and cut-apart Brave Words Cards
- Success Plan (Grades 4-8): a 15-page set with neutral, plan-focused language and layouts that older students will actually carry and use
Every page follows the counseling goals from the school refusal PD:
- Notice: find the triggers behind refusal and build awareness of worries with a shared 0 to 5 scale
- Shrink: check anxious thoughts against the evidence and turn “what ifs” into a plan
- Cope: practice calming strategies, test which ones work, and build positive self-talk
- Return: create a morning or arrival plan, notice what’s good about school, and celebrate progress with a gradual, step-by-step return
What’s Included:
- Brave at School student pages (14 pages, Grades K-3), color and BW:
- Worry Map
- Worry Thermometer
- Worry List
- Worry Log
- Worry Detective
- Worry Problem Solver
- Calm-Down Menu
- Did It Help?
- Kind Words Collection
- Brave Words Cards
- My Morning Plan
- Things I Like About School
- Brave Steps Tracker
- Brave Steps Ladder
- 7 teaching visuals
- Brave at School counselor guide (8 pages), color and BW
- Success Plan student pages (15 pages, Grades 4-8), color and BW:
- Anxiety Map
- Stress Scale
- Brain Dump
- Anxiety Tracker
- Fact-Check Your Thoughts
- Game Plan
- Regulation Toolkit
- Strategy Review
- Receipts
- Coping Statement Cards
- My Arrival Plan
- School Reality Check
- Weekly Wins, a blank My Weekly Wins page you customize with each student
- Step-by-Step Ladder
- 6 teaching visuals
- Success Plan counselor guide (9 pages), color and BW
- Purpose, how to use it, what to say, what to look for, and ASCA alignment for every student page
- A suggested 6 to 8 session sequence and a chart of pages that work well together
- A progress monitoring chart with data points to graph for MTSS team meetings
- Guidance on sharing pages with caregivers and staff, plus cautions and when to refer
- ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors alignment for the whole set and for each page
Skills Students Will Learn:
- How to notice when and where in the day anxiety shows up
- How to rate their worry on a 0 to 5 scale and spot early warning signs in their body
- How to get worries out of their head and sort them by type
- How to fact-check an anxious thought and find a more realistic one
- How to make a Plan A and a Plan B for worries that could really happen
- How to test calming strategies and choose a go-to set they can use quietly in class
- How to collect evidence that they can handle hard things
- How to use coping statements in the moments when anxiety climbs
- How to follow a predictable morning or arrival plan
- How to count partial progress as a win and take the next step up
Who It’s For:
This set is designed for school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and school-based mental health professionals who want structured, ready-to-use school refusal, school avoidance, and anxiety interventions for students in grades K-8.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is this for individual or group counseling?
Both. It’s designed for Tier 2 small groups and Tier 3 individual counseling or team plans. Pages like the Calm-Down Menu, Brave Words Cards, Regulation Toolkit, and Coping Statement Cards also work as Tier 1 classroom or advisory lessons.
Do I need to use every page?
No. Pick pages based on each student’s main trigger. The counselor guides include a suggested sequence and show which pages work well together.
Why are there two editions?
Can I use it to monitor progress?
Yes. The trackers, strategy reviews, and ladders give you numbers to graph. The counselor guides list exactly what to record and how often to review it.
Does it help with caregiver and staff partnership?
Yes. The morning and arrival plans are meant to be filled out with the team. The guides explain which pages to share with teachers and caregivers and what each adult does with them.
Does it include black-and-white versions?
Yes. Every page comes in both color and black-and-white.
How long does it take?
Most pages take 20 to 30 minutes in session. The suggested sequence runs 6 to 8 sessions, and the trackers continue weekly after that.
What are the teaching visuals for?
The teaching visuals are for you to supplement sessions. Use them to model a skill before students try it on their own page, hang the scale posters where students and teachers can see them, and walk through the example ladders so students know what a small enough step looks like. The Teacher Quick-Reference card helps classroom teachers follow the plan with simple check-ins and the student’s chosen tools.