Navigating the school environment can be challenging for some children, especially when emotional and physical well-being are impacted. As parents or guardians, it can be difficult to watch your child struggle, particularly when their difficulties feel invisible to others. This blog explores how we’re working together to support our daughter, a young student in secondary school who is facing a range of challenges, and the steps we’re taking to advocate for her needs.

Understanding Our Daughter’s Struggles

Our daughter’s journey has been complex. She has faced significant challenges adapting to her school’s immersion unit, where the fast pace of learning a new language, disruptive classroom behaviours, and a lack of movement throughout the day have made it hard for her to feel settled. Beyond academics, our daughter often masks her emotions at school, appearing to cope outwardly while internalising her struggles. This pattern is common at home, too, where emotions only surface after they’ve become overwhelming.

Her anxiety often manifests physically, in tummy aches, sleepless nights, and a reduced appetite. These signs serve as reminders of the significant toll school life can take on a child’s overall well-being when their needs go unmet.

A Collaborative Approach

Supporting our daughter requires a team effort, involving her family, school staff, and external professionals. Communication has been a cornerstone of this approach, with regular updates and a willingness from all parties to explore strategies that could make a meaningful difference.

One example of collaboration has been the recent email exchanges with her school. The staff have expressed their commitment to providing tailored support for our daughter, including:

• Access to a quiet area: This space allows our daughter to take breaks as needed, helping her manage feelings of overwhelm or discomfort.

• Opportunities for movement: Scheduled outdoor breaks and short, engaging carousel activities during afternoons ensure that our daughter isn’t confined to one task for too long.

• Check-ins with trusted adults: Our daughter has been encouraged to discreetly knock on the office door if she needs to talk or step away. Knowing this option is available has helped reduce her anxiety.

Empowering Our Daughter

An important step has been keeping our daughter informed about the support available to her. We recently shared an email detailing the new strategies the school has put in place, ensuring she knew what was available and how to access it. This small but significant action helped build her confidence and sense of control, showing her that she is supported by a network of people who care.

On the morning of her return to school, our daughter seemed pale and tired but didn’t resist going, which we took as a hopeful sign. To scaffold her day, we planned something special for her to look forward to after school. Small adjustments like this, introducing structure, predictability, and positive reinforcement, are key to helping our daughter feel supported and empowered.

Looking Ahead

While the immediate focus is on helping our daughter feel more settled and supported, longer-term goals are also on the horizon. For example, a potential school placement at an English medium school may offer an environment better suited to her needs. Discussions with the school’s Education and Health Wellbeing (EHW) team are ongoing, and we’re working to arrange a meeting to review progress and refine strategies in early January.

Reflections

Our daughters story highlights the importance of understanding a child’s unique challenges and building a tailored support plan through open communication and collaboration. By focusing on her emotional and physical needs alongside academic progress, we’re hopeful that our daughter will find a path forward where she feels confident, happy, and capable of thriving in her education.

If you’re supporting a child in a similar situation, remember that you’re not alone. Advocacy, patience, and a commitment to understanding their needs can make all the difference. Together, we can help children like our daughter overcome these challenges and achieve their potential.