The School Can't Experience

Permaculture designer Cecilia Macaulay joins host Leisa Reichelt for a surprising but genuinely practical conversation about how the design of our home environments can either add to or reduce the nervous system burden on School Can't families.
Drawing on 34 years of permaculture design, and on Japanese cultural practices she's studied over decades, Cecilia introduces the idea that home can be designed to work for us rather than against us, without requiring willpower, discipline, or a big cleanup effort. Her approach, which she calls Togetherness Design, starts from the principle that order is natural, and that small, well-placed design choices can create a sense of competence, calm and belonging for both children and parents.
Cecilia shares practical, immediately usable ideas: why the kitchen sink is the single best place to start, how "floordrobe islands" can transform an overwhelming room into a liveable one, what perpendicular shoes at the front door have to do with nervous system regulation, and why design, not rules, is the key to creating lasting change in a household under pressure.
This episode is also a reminder that the young people in our community who have found their way out of conventional schooling can build meaningful, even remarkable lives on their own terms, Cecilia's own career is a case in point.
Special Offer for Listeners:
The Home That Loves You Back: 9-Month Guided Home Harmonising Project starting June 28: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-home-that-loves-you-back-9-month-guided-home-harmonising-project-tickets-1981827693982
Use the code: SchoolCant200 for a $200 discount (limited to the first six to sign up)
Other Resources:
Cecilia’s Website and Blog to sign up for stories and events: https://www.ceciliamacaulay.com.au
Cecilia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cecilia_macaulay/
Cecilia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cecilia.macaulay.australia
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Support the show
School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia
If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.
If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you
You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on schoolcantpodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Tiffany Westphal, director of School Can't Australia, joins host Leisa Reichelt to discuss a common stressful experience facing School Can't families: the school attendance plan.
Drawing on recent survey research conducted with the School Can't Australia community, Tiffany reveals some genuinely shocking findings, including that 46% of families were presented with an attendance plan with no prior consultation, 29% were never consulted at all, and 73% felt pressured to agree to a plan they didn't think would work. Only 20% said their plan reflected the advice of their young person's allied health or medical team.
Tiffany and Leisa explore why attendance plans so often fail. From the absence of child and family input, to the mismatch between what schools are measuring (attendance) and what actually needs to be addressed (the barriers and stressors making school feel unsafe). They discuss the difference between attendance plans and exposure plans, why a distressed child in the late stages of School Can't needs a fundamentally different approach, and what genuine collaborative problem-solving can look like in practice, including how Leisa used a "hypothesis" framing to shift responsibility back to the school.
There's also practical guidance for families who are right in the middle of this: red flags to watch for, when to ask for a different contact at the school, when to bring an advocate, and why it's okay to say "I disagree."
Relevant resources:

Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia
If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.
If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you
You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on schoolcantpodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Rachel, a parent from southern Tasmania, joins host Leisa Reichelt to share her lived experience supporting her son, now in Year 11 and engaged with school, through what has been anything but a straightforward journey.
Rachel's son is autistic with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance, or Pervasive Demand for Autonomy), ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia and a high IQ. That combination created enormous challenges in settings that weren't designed to accommodate his needs. But also enormous possibilities when the right supports were finally in place.
Rachel walks us through the early warning signs from daycare onwards, a primary school experience marked by suspensions, bullying and the gradual removal of the very accommodations that were keeping her son engaged/ Then the 19-month battle to get him into a school better suited to his needs, which was ultimately resolved in eight days once an advocate got involved.
She shares the specific, practical accommodations that have made the difference: running when overwhelmed, frozen peas and corn for sensory regulation, a safe space during substitute teacher lessons, dropping subjects that created knock-on dysregulation, and a highly modified timetable built around his strengths. She also talks about the role of a positive behaviour support practitioner in shifting the whole school culture, and why that kind of whole-school investment pays off for every student.
Rachel also shares her perspective on what's at stake with the proposed NDIS reforms, and points to resources for families who want to stay informed and take action.
Relevant resources:
The Growing Space (NDIS information and advocacy) - https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) - https://www.dpacaustralia.net/
Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA) - https://www.thisisanpa.org/
Regional Autistic Engagement Network Tasmania - https://www.raentasmania.com.au/
Association for Children with Disability (national, state branches) - https://acd.org.au/
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia
If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.
If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you
You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on schoolcantpodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Consulting nurse Laura Hellfeld joins host Leisa Reichelt to explore one of the least-talked-about challenges facing School Can't families - hygiene and self-care.

When young people are in burnout, the capacity for everyday self-care tasks like showering, brushing teeth and eating can quietly disappear, often leaving parents feeling confused, worried, and like they're somehow failing.

Laura explains why this happens, drawing on nervous system science, interoception, sensory processing and the body's response to trauma and chronic stress. She offers a compassionate, practical framework for understanding what's really going on and how to respond.

This episode covers why declining self-care is a signal worth paying attention to (not a behaviour problem to push through), why centering the person rather than the task makes all the difference, and how joy, self-expression and identity can be unexpected but powerful pathways back to body connection and care.

Laura also shares her perspective on burnout as a medical condition, the unrecognised physical health needs that often sit underneath it, and why protecting your relationship with your young person is the most important thing you can do right now.

If this podcast or the School Can't Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help.  https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

Resources & support

Laura’s Resources:
 Laura’s Resources and Newsletter on Substack - https://laurahellfeld.substack.com/
ND Nurse Consulting Webpage - https://laurahellfeld.co.uk/
Laura on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hellfeld-nd-nurse-consulting/
Laura on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LauratheNeurodivergentNurse
Book - Flush Forward!: A Friendly Toileting Guide for Parents Supporting Disabled and Neurodivergent Young People - https://www.amazon.com.au/Flush-Forward-Toileting-Supporting-Neurodivergent/dp/1399830864
Book- Creating Safe Spaces for Autistic People - https://www.amazon.com.au/Colour-Reduced-Version-Creating-Autistic/dp/B0D12TZ8M3
Book - Gabby’s Glimmers : An Affirming Story of an Autistic Child and their Favourite Food - https://www.amazon.com.au/Gabbys-Glimmers-Alice-McSweeney/dp/1399997858

Mentioned in the episode:
Katie Munday - https://autisticltd.co.uk/
Autistic Burnout Network Conference, June 5-6 2026 - https://www.autisticadvocate.co.uk/autistic-burnout-conference
Book: How to keep house while drowning, KC Davis - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QMRTK1C/
Book: The Autism Friendly Guide to Periods, Robyn Steward  - https://www.amazon.com.au/Autism-Friendly-Guide-Periods-Robyn-Steward/dp/1785923242
Book: The growing up book - An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body - Rachel Greener and Clare Owen - https://www.amazon.com.au/Growing-Up-Inclusive-Puberty-Changing/dp/1839947004/
Book: The Everybody Book of Consent - An LGBTQIA-Inclusive Guide to Respecting Boundaries, Bodies, and Beyond by Rachel E. Simon, https://www.amazon.com.au/Every-Body-Book-Consent-LGBTQIA-Inclusive/dp/1839976837/
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia
If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.
If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you
You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on schoolcantpodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Corinne Smith describes herself as a "reluctant homeschooler". Someone who never planned to be home educating, but who found herself there after her child experienced School Can't from preschool onwards, through multiple school settings, including Montessori.

Rather than retreat, Corinne founded KinHub,  a registered charity in Sydney's Inner West. Kinhub is a a community built specifically for kids who don't fit into mainstream school and the families who are holding it all together alongside them. In this episode, Corinne shares:

What School Can't looked like for her family, from difficult goodbyes at preschool to being carried through the school gate
The role PDA played in their journey through mainstream and Montessori settings
How they approached deschooling and why she thinks it matters more for parents than for kids
The financial realities of stepping back from work to homeschool, and supports that may be available
What KinHub actually looks like — and why it's built the way it is
The Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable art exhibition that gave 35 kids a public voice

This one will resonate with families who are weighing up homeschooling and feel like they're about to lose everything that came with school. And it will inspire anyone who has wondered whether they could do something useful with a very hard situation.

About Corinne and KinHub
Email Corinne: hello@kinhub.org.au
KinHub website: kinhub.org.au
KinHub on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KinHubAu/
KinHub Art Exhibition in the News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-20/sydney-school-cant-children-exibit-artwork-part-of-kinhub-scheme/106576750

Government Benefits for Home Education and Distance Education

Assistance for Isolated Children Payment (NSW) - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assistance-for-isolated-children-scheme
Jobseeker Payment, Exemptions for Principal Carers (Home Education and Distance Education) - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/exemptions-from-mutual-obligation-requirements-for-principal-carers?context=60097#homeschooling

Challenging the Education Orthodoxy

Video: Do schools kill creativity? (Sir Ken Robinson, TED talk) - https://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY
John Taylor Gatto, (Book) Weapons of Mass Instruction https://www.amazon.com.au/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory/dp/0865716692
John Taylor Gatto, (Book) Dumbing Us Down https://www.amazon.com.au/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/dp/0865718547/
Sir Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica (Book) Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education https://www.amazon.com.au/Creative-Schools-Grassroots-Revolution-Transforming/dp/0143108069 
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia
If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.
If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you
You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on schoolcantpodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...