SCHOOL REFUSAL CLINIC · GOSFORD, CENTRAL COAST
When school feels too hard, understanding why is the first step.
Specialist assessment and support for children and young people experiencing school refusal, school avoidance or increasing difficulty attending school.
When getting to school becomes a daily struggle, it can affect the whole family.
You might recognise some of these experiences:
Mornings have become increasingly difficult.
There may be tears, shutdowns, distress, physical symptoms, arguments or an overwhelming sense that your child simply can't go.
Your child wants to attend — but can't seem to get there.
They may feel confused or frustrated themselves about why something that seems straightforward has become so difficult.
Attendance has gradually reduced.
It might have started with occasional days at home, arriving late or leaving early — and slowly become harder to turn around.
You've tried encouragement, rewards, consequences or firmer boundaries.
Nothing seems to be helping, and pushing harder may actually be increasing your child's distress.
There may be more going on underneath.
Anxiety, neurodivergence, sensory overwhelm, learning difficulties, bullying, social demands, exhaustion, perfectionism or previous experiences at school can all contribute.
The question becomes less “How do we make them go?” and more “What is making school feel so hard — and what might help?”
“School refusal isn't simply a child refusing to go. Often, it's a sign that something about school has become too difficult to manage.”
Couples therapy can help you understand the cycle you are caught in, communicate with more safety, and rebuild emotional closeness over time.
School Refusal Support in 3 Steps
1. Understand what's happening
We begin by meeting with you to understand your child's history, their experience of school, what has changed, and what happens before, during and after attempts to attend.
2. Look beneath the behaviour
We explore the factors that may be contributing to school avoidance — including emotional wellbeing, anxiety, neurodivergence, learning needs, sensory experiences, relationships, school environment and other pressures.
Together, we develop practical recommendations and a support plan based on your child's individual needs. Where appropriate, this may include working collaboratively with their school and other professionals involved in their care.
3. Build a way forward
Our Approach: Understand Before We Push
At The Heart & Mind Collective, we don't approach school refusal as defiance, laziness or a behaviour that simply needs to be corrected.
When a child or young person is struggling to attend school, there is usually a reason.
Sometimes that reason is obvious. Often, it isn't.
Our approach is neurodiversity-affirming, regulation-first and collaborative. We take the time to understand what may be driving the difficulty before deciding what needs to change.
That can mean looking beyond attendance itself and considering the whole young person — their nervous system, developmental profile, relationships, learning environment, strengths, stressors and experience of school.
The goal isn't attendance at any cost.
The goal is to understand what's getting in the way and help create a pathway back toward safety, participation, learning and connection.
How We Can Help
Understand the "why"
School refusal can have many contributing factors. We help families make sense of what may be sitting underneath the difficulty rather than focusing only on the behaviour we can see.
Develop a practical plan
Families often arrive feeling as though they have tried everything. We help identify realistic next steps and strategies tailored to the individual child rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all return-to-school approach.
Work collaboratively
School refusal rarely sits neatly within one part of a child's life. Where appropriate and with consent, support can involve collaboration with parents, schools and other professionals so everyone is working toward a shared understanding.
Support sustainable re-engagement
Progress may be gradual. Our focus is on helping children and young people reconnect with education in ways that consider their capacity, regulation and individual circumstances — rather than simply pushing through distress.
Ready to take the next step?
Complete the form below and our team will be in touch to help you get started.
Meet Leanne Brooke
Registered Psychologist & Teacher
Leanne is a Registered Psychologist with a background in teaching and school psychology and extensive experience supporting children, young people, families and educators.
She has a particular interest in emotion-based school avoidance, sometimes described as School Can't or School Refusal.
Leanne also has extensive experience working with neurodivergent young people, including those with Autism, ADHD, giftedness and learning difficulties.
Her approach is warm, curious and practical. Rather than beginning with the assumption that a child simply needs to attend more consistently, Leanne works with families to understand what is making school difficult in the first place and what may need to change to make participation more manageable.
Leanne's approach
Neurodiversity-affirming and regulation-first
Understanding the underlying drivers of school avoidance
Exploring emotional, developmental, learning and environmental factors
Working collaboratively with parents and schools
Developing practical, individualised recommendations
Supporting gradual and sustainable reconnection with school and learning
Currently accepting referrals for School Refusal support
Not sure whether your child's difficulties are "serious enough"?
School avoidance can look very different from one young person to another.
It might be frequent requests to stay home, increasing sick days, distress on Sunday evenings, difficulty getting out of the car, regularly arriving late, leaving school early, spending increasing time in the sick bay, attending but struggling to participate, or holding everything together at school and falling apart once they get home.
Sometimes attendance remains relatively high while the emotional cost of maintaining it becomes enormous.
Early support gives us an opportunity to understand what's happening before patterns become more entrenched.
And if you're already at the point where your child has stopped attending altogether, you haven't missed the opportunity to help.
We can begin from where things are now.
You don't need to know exactly why your child can't go to school before reaching out.
Helping you understand that is part of the process.
You don't need to wait until your child has stopped attending school completely.
What School Refusal Support May Look Like
Every child and family is different, so support is tailored rather than following a rigid program.
It may include:
Initial parent consultation
A detailed conversation about your child's development, wellbeing, school experience, attendance patterns and what you've noticed changing.
Assessment and formulation
Exploring the factors that may be contributing to your child's difficulty attending or participating in school.
Individual sessions
Supporting your child or young person to better understand their experiences, build regulation and coping strategies, and have their perspective heard.
Parent support
Helping caregivers understand what may be happening and how to respond in ways that support both regulation and gradual progress.
School collaboration
Where appropriate and with consent, working with the school to develop practical adjustments and a shared approach to supporting re-engagement.
A plan forward
Clear recommendations tailored to your child's individual needs, circumstances and capacity.
Hear more about Leanne about school refusal
When your child is struggling to attend school, it can be difficult to know whether to push, step back, seek help — or all three.
These short videos are designed to help parents better understand school refusal and the principles that guide Leanne's approach.
Should I force my child to go to school when they are avoiding it?
What are the first steps to take if my child is avoiding school?
What to expect from the school avoidance clinic?
Leanne combines 3 perspectives to support your child - Parent, teacher, and psychologist.
Understanding some of the reasons why your child might be experiencing school avoidance.
Neurodivergence and school avoidance.
Message to parents of children experiencing school avoidance.