Free, independent resources for families in England  ·  Not legal advice  ·  Always consult your local SENDIASS  · 
The SEND Navigate Library

Books for Parents Navigating EBSA, PDA, and SEN

Five practical guides for parents of children with SEND, written by a former Headteacher and SENCO who is also an SEN parent. Each is available in paperback and Kindle.

Cover of The Parent's Shield by Stephen MallettCover of The Attendance Shield by Stephen MallettCover of Not Refusing. Unable. by Stephen MallettCover of EBSA: The Morning Crisis Survival Guide by Stephen MallettCover of PDA Survival Guide by Stephen Mallett
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Which book do I need?

The Shields

For when the system is the problem: your rights, the law, and the letters that hold a school or local authority to what it owes your child.

Cover of The Parent's Shield by Stephen Mallett

The Parent's Shield

The Complete Legal Guide for Parents Navigating the SEND System

The UK parent’s manual for EHCPs, SEN rights and tribunal, for when your child needs more than school is giving.

Best for: Getting an EHCP started, challenging a weak draft, or preparing for Tribunal.

Pairs well with:

What’s inside
  • Force a Local Authority to assess your child — even after refusal
  • Read and fight a draft EHCP, section by section
  • Win at SEND Tribunal — and know when to appeal
  • Secure Disability Living Allowance using the 'Worst Day' framework
  • Stop unlawful provision cuts at Annual Review

Free on this site: .

Cover of The Attendance Shield by Stephen Mallett

The Attendance Shield

Protecting Your Family from School Attendance Fines When Your Child Has EBSA or SEND

Protect yourself when absence becomes letters, fines and prosecution threats, and turn attendance pressure into the right support.

Best for: Penalty notices, prosecution threats, and attendance meetings that feel like a trap.

Pairs well with:

What’s inside
  • What the law actually says about absence when a child cannot attend
  • How to respond to a penalty notice or prosecution threat
  • Turning an attendance meeting into a support conversation
  • The letters to send, and when to send them

Free on this site: .

The EBSA pair

For when your child cannot get into school. One explains why and what helps; the other gets you through tomorrow morning.

Cover of Not Refusing. Unable. by Stephen Mallett

Not Refusing. Unable.

The UK Parent's Manual for School Distress, EBSA, and the Way Through

Why your child can’t go to school, what actually helps, and how to get school and the local authority on side.

Best for: Understanding what is happening, and building the evidence that makes others act.

Pairs well with:

What’s inside
  • The Sanctuary Home Protocol
  • The Won't vs Can't distinction
  • The Inarguable Evidence Binder
  • Section 19, EHCP, EOTAS — the routes that force the system to act

Free on this site: .

Cover of EBSA: The Morning Crisis Survival Guide by Stephen Mallett

EBSA: The Morning Crisis Survival Guide

What to Do When Your Child Can't Get Through the School Gates

A practical plan for surviving, and calming, the school morning when your child is in distress.

Best for: Tomorrow morning. Open it at 7:15am when nothing is working.

Pairs well with:

What’s inside
  • The 4 D's — a minute-by-minute crisis decision tree
  • The Partial Attendance Strategy for negotiating a safe path back
  • Ready-to-send letter templates for school and the LA
  • The EHCP-readiness checklist

Free on this site: .

The PDA guide

For when ordinary requests feel like threats, and the usual parenting advice makes things worse.

Cover of PDA Survival Guide by Stephen Mallett

PDA Survival Guide

When Everyday Demands Feel Too Much

Low-demand, high-trust parenting and school strategies for children with a PDA profile.

Best for: Lowering the pressure at home without losing safety, care or school contact.

What’s inside
  • The 72-Hour Reset Planner
  • Phrase Swaps & Scripts
  • School Conversation Guides
  • Complete Parent Resource Workbook

Free on this site: .

How the books fit together

The two Shields are for when the system is the problem — one covers EHCPs and your rights, the other covers attendance, fines and prosecution. The EBSA pair is for when your child cannot get into school: one explains why and what helps, the other gets you through tomorrow morning. The PDA Survival Guide stands on its own, for children whose difficulty is with everyday demands rather than school specifically. Most parents start with the one that matches this week, and add its pair when the next problem arrives.

About the author

Stephen Mallett

Twenty-five years in education as a teacher, SENCO and Headteacher, and working full time in SEND for the last seven. Autistic and ADHD, and a parent of two children with SEND — so these books are written from both sides of the table.

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