18/08/2025
"Back to school tomorrow 🥳"
How many times have you read this today and your heart just sinks because back to school, for you, isn't a celebration.
I started this group because, as a working mum, I used to have to drop my child off at secondary school, in floods of tears (and that was after a battle to get there in the first place). I was already exhausted and overwhelmed and that was before my shift at work began. Then, I'd receive countless messages during the day from my child, pleading with me to help them. They felt sick. They had a headache, they had a million reasons for just wanting out of there. They don't know why, they just know that this place is making them feel disregulated. They are facing burnout. Meanwhile, I'd be receiving these messages and feeling helpless. It was a continuous cycle and it isn't sustainable, neither for me or my child.
The trouble is, societal norms and the lack of support will continue piling on the overwhelm, even when your child may not be attending regularly, if at all. This group is a place where we get it. A place you will feel seen - we can't remove any of the barriers to education, but we do try. We are a proactive and passionate group about these matters, but mostly, we just are there for each other when it can feel like no one else is.
This is open to any parent/carer of secondary school aged child, who is struggling to attend school, for whatever reason.
We meet this Saturday and fortnightly thereafter. 10.30am Round 0 Five O building, 16 Barbers Croft, Arbroath