Navigating School - Belongside Families

A Practical Guide For Families

Supporting your child at school can feel confusing and overwhelming, especially when you are trying to understand how the system works while also making sure your child feels safe, included and supported.

That’s why we created Navigating School, a free practical guide to help families understand what to expect, how schools work and how they can support their child along the way.

The guide explores:

how schools support students with disability
how decisions about support are made
how to prepare for conversations and meetings
ways to work in partnership with your child’s school
what to do if things are not working or you have concerns
where to find further support and advocacy

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Digital Toolkit

The digital toolkit sits alongside the Navigating School guide and gives you 11 practical templates, scripts, worksheets and AI prompts. To help you with things like:

helping the school understand your child
preparing for important meetings
working out what to say during conversations
emailing the school
planning to advocate for your child

Explore the Toolkit

Upcoming Workshops

Find out more about the free online workshops currently open for registration.

These are live session via zoom, just for parents and carers. To protect the privacy of families who may want to share their experiences, workshops are not recorded.

Spaces are limited, register to secure your spot.

* All times based on NSW / AEST

Advocating for your child at school can feel hard, especially when you are already doing everything you can.

You might be having conversations with the school, trying to explain your child’s needs, or raising concerns, but still finding it difficult. This workshop will give you practical strategies to help you speak up for your child and feel more confident when working with their school.

Together we will explore:

Strategies to communicate clearly with your child’s school.
How to prepare for meetings and feel more confident going in.
What to try when things are not working.
How to stay focused on what matters most for your child without getting caught up in conflict.
What to do and where to go for extra help if you need it.

Advocating for your child at school can feel hard, especially when you are already doing everything you can.

Together we will explore:

Strategies to communicate clearly with your child’s school.
How to prepare for meetings and feel more confident going in.
What to try when things are not working.
How to stay focused on what matters most for your child without getting caught up in conflict.
What to do and where to go for extra help if you need it.

A strong partnership with your child’s school can make a real difference to how your child feels, learns, and is supported. But it’s not always easy to know where to start.

This workshop will give you practical tools and strategies to help you feel more confident working with teachers and school staff.

Together we will explore:

Ways to create a strong, positive relationship with your child’s school.
How to work out what matters most for your child and share these priorities.
Understanding school roles and how to connect with the right people for support.
How to work out what’s causing challenges and what you can do about it.
What adjustments and supports you can ask for and when advocacy might be needed.

A strong partnership with your child’s school can make a real difference to how your child feels, learns, and is supported. But it’s not always easy to know where to start.

This workshop will give you practical tools and strategies to help you feel more confident working with teachers and school staff.

Together we will explore:

Ways to create a strong, positive relationship with your child’s school.
How to work out what matters most for your child and share these priorities.
Understanding school roles and how to connect with the right people for support.
How to work out what’s causing challenges and what you can do about it.
What adjustments and supports you can ask for and when advocacy might be needed.

Upcoming Webinars

Don’t miss our upcoming live webinars. You can join from the comfort of your home, hear from parents and professionals, and get practical strategies you can use straight away.

Register to attend live or be emailed a replay.

* All times based on NSW / AEST

School can be hard for Autistic children with a PDA profile (sometimes called Pathological Demand Avoidance or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy).

When school feels unsafe or overwhelming, children may respond with distress, avoidance, or resistance. These responses are often misunderstood, especially at school.

Joining us for this webinar is Raelene Dundon from Okey Dokey Psychology. Raelene will help families better understand PDA at school, including why children may struggle and what support can help.

In this webinar we’ll explore:

What PDA can look like at school
The link between PDA and school can’t
Why punishment can increase anxiety and make school feel less safe
What supports and adjustments can help

When your child feels anxious or distressed about going to school, it can be a lot to carry.

There is the worry about their wellbeing. The school meetings and advocacy. And the ongoing search for support that will actually help. With so much energy going into helping your child, your own needs can slip to the bottom of the list.

We’re joined by Bec Steele, a counsellor from Living in the Know, to talk about how School Can’t can affect parents and carers too, and realistic ways to support yourself.

In this webinar we’ll explore:

Why traditional self-care strategies often don’t work
Realistic ways to support yourself during high-demand parenting
How to recognise the signs of burnout before crisis point
Knowing when and where to seek support

What parents are saying

A woman in a black jacket smiles while holding a young boy wearing a gray shirt and blue shoes. They are outdoors, surrounded by green plants, colorful flowers, and a stone wall in the background.

Belongside Families' workshops have been practical and specific. The fact that the team are all parents with a disabled child themselves makes them a unique organisation. They create a culture of acceptance and acknowledgement, by sharing their experience with disability and valuing ours. It’s this sense of community that has helped me normalise and acknowledge the challenges. They are knowledgeable and connected and have helped connect me with other services.

Parent

A joyful young boy with Down syndrome smiles as a woman hugs and kisses him on the cheek in a bright living room.

The advocacy workshop was helpful for to me to shift my view of myself as the expert on my child’s abilities and to embrace the pressure that comes with advocating for my son.

Parent

A smiling man wearing sunglasses and a black shirt with a rainbow infinity symbol holds a boy in a blue soccer jersey outdoors on a sunny day. Trees and people are visible in the background.

It’s changed the way I think. I have become more confident in advocating for my son. As well as connecting to like-minded people who understand.

Parent

Free support for navigating school

A Practical Guide For Families

Digital Toolkit

Upcoming Workshops

Advocacy at School | Wed, 12 Aug, 8:00pm

Advocacy at School | Mon, 17 Aug 12:00pm

Partnering With Your Child's School | Wed, 2 Sep, 8:00pm

Partnering With Your Child's School | Wed, 9 Sep, 12:00pm

Upcoming Webinars

PDA at School | Mon 3 Aug, 8:00pm

Supporting Yourself During School Can't | Mon, 10 Aug, 8:00pm

What parents are saying