Our blog: useful articles and resources

School Exclusion Reform: What SEND Families and Schools Need

Understand proposed school exclusion reforms, SEND reintegration and practical safeguards. Explore what needs to change for safer returns.

Adapting Classrooms: When We Change the Environment, Children Thrive

Create calmer, more inclusive classrooms with practical adaptations that support attention, regulation and independence. Explore the guide.

Two Years Is Too Long: SEND Health Waiting Times at School

Discover how SEND health waiting times affect children at school and what meaningful support should include while families wait.

Developmental Language Disorder: The Hidden SEND Need

Understand Developmental Language Disorder, spot key signs and use practical DLD support strategies in school. Read the guide.

Support Before Diagnosis: What the New ADHD and Autism Review Means for SEND Families

Understand the ADHD and autism review in England: needs-led support plus diagnosis, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what to ask next.

Could It Be DLD? The Hidden Language Difficulty Affecting Children in Every Classroom

Learn signs of DLD at school, how it’s misread as behaviour, and classroom strategies to help. Read and support DLD Awareness Day.

Waiting for an Autism or ADHD Assessment: What Support Can Your Child Receive Now?

Waiting lists are long. Learn SEN support, reasonable adjustments and next steps you can request now—without a diagnosis. Read the guide.

Nearly 56,000 Children With SEND May Miss School: What the Evidence Says Can Actually Help

Nearly 56,000 SEND pupils may miss school. Learn evidence-backed school–family communication strategies to improve attendance. Read now.

School Avoidance Is a Crisis of Connection, Not a Behaviour Problem

New research from teachers, families and health professionals suggests that school avoidance is often rooted in lost safety, trust and belonging—not poor behaviour.

School Avoidance: Behind Every Attendance Figure Is a Child

This blog looks beyond school attendance figures to explore what may be happening in the lives of children and families experiencing school avoidance. Drawing on Sunshine Support’s 2026 research involving 1,103 children’s experiences and comparing those findings with national attendance statistics, it highlights the importance of recognising distress early, understanding the barriers that can make education difficult to access, and responding with curiosity rather than judgement. Above all, it argues that while attendance matters, meaningful and sustainable access to education begins by listening to the child behind the number.

Sip of Sunshine Season 3: The Conversations We Need to Be Having

This blog reflects on the first half of Sip of Sunshine Season 3, exploring the powerful conversations around neurodivergence, home education, communication, parental burnout, and inclusion that are helping to challenge assumptions and deepen understanding across the SEND community.

When Summer Holidays Make School Anxiety Worse for Parents

A compassionate look at why many SEND families begin carrying worries about the new school year long before September arrives.

126,000 Children Are Now Home Educated. But What Story Is That Statistic Really Telling Us?

With more than 126,000 children now recorded as home educated, this blog explores the stories behind the figures and asks what they reveal about children's experiences of education today.

1 in 5 Children Are Persistently Absent. But Are We Asking the Right Questions?

This blog explores the latest school attendance statistics, looking beyond the numbers to examine why so many children are struggling to access education and why understanding the reasons behind absence matters more than ever.

Blog Two: Behaviour and Challenging Behaviour in Schools Today

Blog One: Behaviour in English Schools in the 1990s – A SEND and SEMH Blind Spot

This blog explores how behaviour was understood in English schools during the 1990s, examining how many children with SEND and SEMH needs were viewed through a lens of compliance and discipline rather than support, understanding, and inclusion.

PMOS: The Condition Women Were Told to Ignore

This blog explores the real-life impact of PMOS, examining how years of misunderstanding, delayed diagnosis, and dismissed symptoms have affected the physical and emotional wellbeing of millions of women and girls.

When Everyday Life Starts to Feel Like a Battle: Understanding PDA Beyond the Behaviour

This blog explores PDA beyond the behaviour, helping parents understand how anxiety, autonomy, and nervous system overwhelm can shape everyday experiences for children.

When Things Don’t Seem to Work: Making Sense of the Struggles

This blog explores the challenges many families face when usual approaches don’t work, helping make sense of why children may struggle in ways that aren’t always immediately understood.

When Thoughts Don’t Feel Like Your Own: Understanding OCD in Children

This blog explores how OCD presents in children, helping parents understand the role of intrusive thoughts, behaviours, and the importance of flexible, individual support.

It’s Not “Just Attendance”

This blog explores school avoidance beyond attendance figures, looking at the emotional, sensory, physical, and educational reasons why some children struggle to access school.

When the World Feels Big: How to Talk to Your Child About Difficult Events

This blog explores how to talk to children about difficult world events with honesty, reassurance, and emotional support.

Does This Feel Familiar? Understanding Neurodivergence in Everyday Life

This blog explores the early signs of neurodivergence in everyday life, helping parents recognise experiences that may not yet have clear explanations.

When School Isn’t Possible: Understanding Section 19 and Your Child’s Right to Education

This blog explains Section 19 of the Education Act, helping parents understand their child’s right to education when school is no longer accessible and what steps can be taken next.

When Education Looks Different: Understanding EOTIS (and EOTAS)

This blog explores EOTIS (Education Otherwise Than In School), helping parents understand how education can be shaped around a child’s individual needs outside of a traditional school setting.

When Everything Feels Personal: Understanding Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

This blog explores Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) and why some children experience intense emotional reactions to perceived rejection or criticism.

The Evenings Are the Hardest: Why After School Can Feel Like a Collapse

Evenings can be the hardest part of the day for SEND families — this blog explores why children often “hold it together” at school and what happens when they finally feel safe to let go.

Supporting the Whole Journey: Why One Approach Is Never Enough

Supporting children with SEND isn’t about one solution — it’s about understanding the whole picture and finding the right support at the right time.

School Refusal vs School Avoidance: Understanding What Children Are Really Telling Us

This blog explores the difference between school refusal and school avoidance, helping parents understand that attendance difficulties are often linked to anxiety and overwhelm rather than choice.

Dyslexia and School Fatigue: Why Children Often Come Home Exhausted

This blog explores why children with dyslexia often come home exhausted from school and how understanding the hidden effort behind learning can help parents support their child with empathy and confidence.

The Growing Demand for EHCPs - What’s Driving It?

Why are more children receiving EHCPs than ever before? This blog explores the reasons behind the growing demand and how families can better understand the system that supports their children.

When Support Starts With Being Heard

A reflective look at why many SEND parents feel they have to “fight the system”, and how those journeys often begin simply with a parent recognising their child is struggling and asking for help.

SEND Reform: What’s Actually Changing — and What Isn’t (Yet)

This blog offers a steady, straightforward overview of the new SEND White Paper, explaining what is actually changing and, importantly, what is not changing yet for families. It breaks down proposals around EHCPs, early intervention, inclusion standards, and specialist provision, helping parents understand their current rights while making sense of future reforms without unnecessary panic.

The Week of SEND: A New Chapter, A Bigger Conversation

An overview of the Week of SEND, a live webinar series supporting parents to navigate EHCPs, appeals, and SEND processes with clarity and confidence.

SEND Funding at a Crunch Point: What Families Are Feeling First

This blog explores the SEND funding crunch point, explaining why families often feel the pressure first and how funding strain impacts children, parents, and schools in everyday life.

SEND Reform and Teacher Training: Holding Steady While the System Shifts

This blog explores SEND reform and teacher training, examining how system changes may affect support for children with special educational needs and the families and teachers navigating that uncertainty.

Understanding PDA in 2026: Moving Beyond Misconceptions in School

This blog explores PDA as a profile associated with autism, challenging common misconceptions and looking at what genuinely helps children feel safe and supported in school.

When Inclusion Stops Feeling Inclusive: Listening to the Child

This blog explores what happens when inclusion stops feeling inclusive, highlighting the importance of listening to children and sharing responsibility across families, schools, and systems.

Phase Transfers: What They Are and Why They Matter for Children with an EHCP

This blog explains Phase Transfers for children with an EHCP, outlining what they are, why they matter, and how parents can navigate education transitions with confidence.

Returning to School After Christmas: Supporting SEND Children Through Excitement and Overwhelm

This blog explores the return to school after Christmas for SEND children, focusing on the balance between festive excitement and post-Christmas overwhelm. It offers a supportive reflection on rebuilding routines, managing anxiety, and helping neurodivergent children adjust gently back into school and everyday life.

Why the School Holidays Aren’t Always a Break for SEND Families

A reflective look at why school holidays aren’t always a break for SEND families, and the unseen work that goes into making them manageable.

Supporting Siblings in a SEND Household: The Hidden Story We Don’t Talk About Enough

This blog explores the often unseen experiences of siblings in SEND households, acknowledging both the challenges they face and the strengths they quietly develop. It offers an honest and supportive reflection on how families can recognise, value, and nurture these siblings while balancing complex daily needs.

When Christmas Changes: Navigating the Season as a SEND Family

A gentle reflection on how Christmas can feel different for SEND families, and why creating a version of the holidays that works for your child is not only okay, but important.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: Sunshine Academy’s Autumn Highlights

This blog looks back at an inspiring season of creativity at Sunshine Academy, sharing the projects, stories, and collaborations that shaped our Autumn Showreel — and a glimpse at the exciting new ideas we’re working on for the months ahead.

What if Every Challenge in a Project Was Actually Part of the Process?

Every creative project begins with an idea, but the real magic lies in the problem-solving that follows. In this blog, we explore how challenges are not roadblocks but essential parts of the journey. From early concepts and storyboarding to 3D animation and course creation, every setback at Sunshine Academy becomes an opportunity to learn, adapt and discover something new. Whether we are building a scene, designing a course or finding better ways to communicate ideas, each challenge teaches us something valuable — and that process is what truly shapes the final result.

I Used to Think Doing Everything Myself Was a Strength. I Was Wrong.

The lessons learned from trying to do everything alone. It explores how letting go, trusting others, and sharing the creative process can lead to stronger work, better leadership, and a deeper sense of collaboration, both within teams and across the SEND community.