Is school not catering for your needs?

Schools claiming that they are student-centred is a fallacy.  They might want to be, but the very structure of their being prevents this from happening.  Primarily they are timetable centred because they need to match teachers, classrooms and students which is an enormously difficult task to do, never mind catering for individual needs within that.  It's not that schools don't want to meet your needs - it is simply that they cannot.  There is only so much a school can flex, and the greater the demands for personalisation, the less able they are to provide personal support within their fixed budget.  If your needs exceed the 'norm' of the provision, you can struggle in school as these needs cannot be met - and this is absolutely not the fault of the school.

For some teenagers, being in the physical proximity of so many other teens is highly problematic.  School classrooms are full of people, and some of your are not comfortable in this situation.  You cannot concentrate to learn with this level of 'noise' and cannot relax and think freely with the pressures to conform to 'the norm'.   Bullying and anxiety can become a self-perpetuating cycle, and you withdraw more and more into yourself as you literally become silenced by the 'noise'. 

This is why we work in partnership with schools to provide this additional support to these students, outside of the school premises.  Sometimes you may attend school part of the time, other times you work with us solely and do all your learning from home.  We manage this relationship with the school and any case workers or health workers, and between us, we support you as best we can.