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Real life

WARMTH in practice

WARMTH in practice

At Barriers to Education, we believe the most powerful way to create change is by sharing real stories, practical examples and creative ideas from those who know these challenges best. That’s why we’re inviting young people, parents, carers and professionals to contribute case studies, lived experiences and examples of good practice for our community.

By bringing these voices together, we can highlight what really works, inspire others facing similar struggles and build a resource full of warmth, empathy and hope. Whether it’s a small adjustment that made a big difference, a professional approach that helped unlock barriers, or your personal journey through education, we would love to hear from you.

Your contribution could help others feel less alone and give schools, families and young people the confidence to try new ways of supporting one another.

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Voices of Experience

Real experiences from young people and parents, sharing what they tried, what has helped and what has been hard.

Case Studies

Examples of good practice from professionals and families showing approaches that make a difference.

Ideas Bank

Practical tips and creative actions anyone can try to bring warmth, empathy, and understanding into education.
“Change of environment, cultural differences in education settings, enthusiastic staff who recognised strengths and potential and used these to build trust.”

Parent

“Time and energy invested by the school along with EP support. The whole staff team received training which helped them think about the ways in which they could all do their bit.”

Parent

“When my daughter finally got 1 to 1 tuition that focussed on her emotional needs and anxiety it helped her to attend for 2 hrs a week.”

Parent

“My Head of Year in my final year and my Drama Teacher through GCSE’S were extremely helpful, they both gave support where it was needed and had an understanding of how I felt, my Drama teacher provided me with a safe space to go to when I was not doing great and my Head of Year always was available to chat and listen.”

Young Person

“The SENCO works closely with us as parents and we keep in touch regularly about how our son is feeling and coping. If he has had a bad weekend or evening they catch up with him as soon as he gets to school & likewise we get an update if he has had a bad day at school.”

Parent

“A history teacher and an English teacher, because they took the time to understand me as an individual rather than acting as if I learned and reacted the same as everyone else.”

Young Person

“Finding a specialist placement that understands his needs that doesn’t feel like a ‘school’.“

Parent

“I got a kind of 1-1 worker at high school who is nice, she’s the only person I know and trust.”

Young Person

“My best friend. She is a good friend. My favourite teacher had a banjo, he was really nice teacher. He played songs on his banjo. He was more cheerful than some other teachers. He tried to make things interesting.”

Young Person

“If my child says she feels uncomfortable in school and wants to go home, school let her come home to me. They no longer tell her there is no option to go home and she has to stay there. That helps her feel like she’s not trapped there. She’s now got an ehcp so she has more support which includes one to one time and she has developed trust in this person.”

Parent

“Teachers being nice to me and trying to understand me. Asking me what will help. Letting me do what I need to to not feel anxious like using fiddle toys or wearing ear defenders or not having to look at their face.”

Young Person

“Low demand approach, allowing the child a lot of time to recover by supporting them to follow their interests (completely removing the demand to attend school).”

Parent

“Animals in school have really helped me to open up and to feel comfortable. Having someone who you can always go to no matter what has happened.”

Young Person

“In primary school I found it helpful that everyone was genuinely allowed to be themselves. There was no uniform, barely any rules and you were encouraged to learn how you wanted to.”

Young Person

“The best thing seems to be less demands and more empathetic listening to help solve problems.”

Parent

“His key worker who really cared, believed in him and fought for support for him. Changes that have made a difference have been mainly around reducing stress – reduced timetable, one to one sessions in the unit, tuition at home, online learning.”

Parent

“No pressure from parents or school. Choice about the kind of school and the actual school to go to. A school that could meet his needs in terms of class size, academic curriculum and therapies.”

Parent

“A clear predictable plan that people follow, an understanding that some days are easier than others. Staff understanding autism. A daily schedule that incorporates sensory and movement breaks.”

Parent

“What works well is when schools take parental concerns on board, and work with the child and family to address why the child feels anxious to attend school without parent blame.”

Parent

“Allowing time to recover, demand free. Sometimes it’s a long time, but the more you push when they’re burnt out, the longer it’s going to take for you to get them back into school if attendance is the aim. For both of my older two, it’s been 2-3 years each. Let them follow their own interests and they’ll excel.”

Parent

“My new school make plans very clear and stick to their plans, take time to listen to me and try to make changes if things aren’t working, they are understanding.”

Young Person

“When he was matched with a TA that understood his presentation, with the right personality, given a space outside the classroom to regulate, a low demand approach. Allowed to do work around his interests, predictable time table, flexible with what he could do at any time.”

Parent

“Building safe and familiar relationships for the child, and staff deeply understanding neurodivergence.”

Parent

“A sensory room was introduced which my daughter has access to at any time.”

Parent

“In my current school I talked to my teachers about not wanting to be around people. They understood and tried to help me not have to have my personal space invaded but not be isolated for the duration of the entire term.”

Young Person

“I have a teacher right now called Mr X who understands everything and I can tell him everything I need to and he just understands and tries to help me. He does well in keeping his distance from me but also being there when I need him which is what I want.”

Young Person

“My history teacher is understanding and laid back, he makes it fun and he understands me more like he doesn’t draw attention to me. I don’t like attention at school.”

Young Person

“Complete removal of all demands including the demand to go to school. EITIS package that is focused on mental health and following interests. Removal of all busy, crowded, noisy environments. Removal of adult imposed direction, focus on collaboration with the child.”

Parent

“Sixth form has been a really positive experience as they have an amazing pastoral manager who will always answer phone calls/emails. And work to make things better for my child. I think if you have someone in post who understands and has empathy it really helps.”

Parent

“Relationships and trust are key. They need that ‘go-to’ person/couple of people at school they feel they can trust and who they believe have their best interests at heart. Listening to the child when it comes to what makes them overwhelmed and what they think could help. Collaboration. Working with the child when it comes to sensory difficulties in the school environment and being educated on how different nervous systems experience things. Being educated on masking.”

Parent

“Yes they reduced focus on learning /achievement and instead tried to focus on friendships and feeling safe, to help reduce barriers to him attending.”

Parent

“The main difference comes from the attitude of the staff to my child’s needs. They genuinely want to know and understand what is needed and they always include my child in discussions.”

Parent

“I go to lunch 5 minutes early so it is not as busy.”

Young Person

“In secondary school, my biology teacher helped me get back into my classes when I couldn’t attend and would cater to my needs without question, he also wouldn’t blame me for needing these changes. He is the only teacher that made me want to learn again.”

Young Person

“Being around people that understand me, both teachers and students.”

Young Person

“Having access to the medical needs hospital education service has been invaluable. Education in core subjects has been delivered initially on a 1:1 basis and slowly increased to small group support. Being taken completely out of mainstream to rest and reset and evaluate options for future education.”

Parent

“I had a counsellor that I spoke to every Tuesday and it was a place I could open up about my feelings.”

Young Person

“One of teachers and I had an issue where she didn’t understand how I was communicating, which caused me a lot of distress however afterwards we were able to talk and she actually listened to me and took what I said and adapted her behaviour as did I to better understand each other because of this she ended up being one of my favourite teachers at that school.”

Young Person

“Changed to a primary school where they stopped focusing on him being a naughty kid and focused on him as a person. They addressed his needs.”

Parent

“When school organised an educational program based on her needs and she had one rest day per week, the meltdowns at home decreased enormously, she was a happy kid again and she showed a lot of improvement regarding social interaction with her peers.”

Parent

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Share your idea, experience or resource to help inspire change, support others and show what really works in breaking down barriers to education.
Unfortunately we are unable to give advice/support on individual cases.