Episodes, Jo Clayton & Natalie Lauren
Unauthorised Absence with Jo Clayton and Natalie Lauren
SENDcast Special Episode
Unauthorised Absence
with Jo Clayton and Natalie Lauren
Some stories are too important to be told with words alone.
The short film Unauthorised Absence is out now – watch it here.
You may have seen the trailer for this highly anticipated short film. Dale had the opportunity to preview it ahead of release and sat down with Jo Clayton, who wrote the script, and Natalie Lauren, the film’s producer and actress, to discuss how it puts Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) on screen in a way that has never been done before.
Unauthorised Absence follows Anna, a mother fighting to protect her nine-year-old daughter Thea, who is experiencing school-related distress. It is an unflinching portrait of what that experience actually feels like – the morning battles, the phone calls from school, the meetings where one person in the room is having the worst experience of their life while everyone else is just doing their job.
In this special episode, the conversation covers the tiny details in the film that parents will immediately recognise, why the school secretary and headteacher are portrayed with nuance rather than as villains, and the systemic cruelty of a process that criminalises parents for a situation the system itself has often created. They also discuss the fixed penalty notice system, why 43% of persistent absences are neurodivergent children, and why other countries respond to the same statistic with support rather than fines.
“We wanted to show the unfathomable pressure that this situation puts on just one family – and what the consequences of that are.”
— Natalie Lauren
For parents who have lived this experience, it is likely to be triggering. But that, as Jo and Natalie would say, is exactly the point. If you have lived this, you will recognise it. If you haven’t, you need to see it.
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Guests
Jo Clayton
Writer, Unauthorised Absence
Unauthorised Absence
Natalie Lauren
Filmmaker, MIMESIC
WebsiteWatch the podcast
Watch the film
About the guests
Jo Clayton
Jo is a screenwriter, storyteller and ex-educator from South London. She’s worked for Shakespeare’s Globe, Great Ormond Street Hospital, BBC Studios and the Royal Festival Hall, as well as hundreds of schools, nurseries and community groups in the UK and abroad. She’s also a mum and campaigner for educational rights for all children, regardless of need or ability.
Jo is currently researching a new project and would like to talk to primary school teachers, TAs and heads about the way their work impacts them personally, their experience of Ofsted, how the job has changed, and what they’d like to see in the future of the education system. Get in touch at Unauthorisedabsencefilm@gmail.com.
Natalie Lauren
Natalie Lauren is an award-winning actor, filmmaker and mentor from Norfolk, selected for the BFI NETWORK x Film Hub South East Future Producers programme in 2024. She has produced a range of short films across drama, comedy and experimental filmmaking which have screened at numerous BIFA-, BAFTA- and Academy Award-qualifying festivals. She is particularly drawn to psychologically driven stories that explore complex social issues and the human experience.
Unauthorised Absence (British Short Film Award Shortlist, 2026) brings together this work with her experience as an education mentor to children outside of mainstream education, for which she was awarded for Commitment to Educational Equity in 2025.
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