Welcome to
SCHOOL ANXIETY SUPPORT 360
PARENT INFORMATION
FIND OUT WHAT THE PROJECT INVOLVES
Your child's school has suggested that you and your child might want to be involved in this project.
Watch this short video to understand what School Anxiety Support 360 is all about and to help you decide if you'd like to be involved.
In summary
School Anxiety Support 360 (SAS 360) is a six-month project designed to support autistic young people who are experiencing school anxiety or difficulties with attendance. Young people do not need to have a formal autism diagnosis to take part.
The project brings together young people, families and school staff to develop a shared understanding of what is making school difficult and agree a plan to make school feel more manageable and less overwhelming.
As part of SAS 360:
- Your child will be supported to share their views about what they find difficult at school and what is already helping.
- You, your child and school staff will work together to agree a small number of goals and a personalised support plan.
- School staff will receive additional training and ongoing group supervision to help them develop their practice in supporting autistic young people experiencing school anxiety.
- You will receive free access to the School Anxiety Support online parent course, including practical resources and tools. You can find out more about this here.
- You will be invited to a monthly online parent group, where you can ask questions and explore ideas that might help your child.
- Your child will receive support in school, which may include support from an ELSA or other appropriate members of staff.
The aim isn't simply to improve attendance or get your child through the school gates. It is to understand why school feels difficult for them and what needs to change or be put in place to make it more manageable.
At the heart of SAS 360 is one simple idea:
Your child, your family and school working together to understand what's going on and create a plan that's right for your child.
SAS 360 is funded by the Sheila Coates Foundation. Because this is the first time the project has been run, we will also be evaluating how useful it is so that we can learn from the experience and explore whether the approach could help other young people and schools in the future.
Two Parents' Experiences of Joining
School Anxiety Support Online Course
Parent R
"The programme has helped us better understand our son, strengthen our communication with school, develop practical strategies and feel less alone."
Understanding what was happening
"One of the most significant discoveries that came from this was recognising the sheer extent of (child)'s anxiety. The card activities helped make something invisible feel tangible and gave us language to describe what we were seeing."
Practical and emotional support
"The programme provides both practical strategies and emotional support. It helps parents understand what may be driving their child's anxiety, offers tangible tools and ideas to try, and creates a sense of community with other families who genuinely understand the challenges."
High quality, flexible support
"The quality, depth and breadth of the content is exceptional and represents incredible value for money. What I particularly appreciate is that families can follow the parts most relevant to them whilst knowing there is a wealth of additional material available when they need it."
Offers hope
(The programme) "replaces hopelessness with understanding and uncertainty with confidence".
Parent C
"The clarity cards and preferences cards were really helpful...Using the cards made more progress with my son than asking questions... When he did a lot fell into place and it brought out things I never knew he was worried about."
"Having access to the materials for a year so I can go back to it is useful as well."
"The check ins (online meetings) were great.. I still do feel very isolated as literally I do not know anyone who has had the challenges my son has, so these sessions...were really supportive for me."
