School Can’t Hub · Free tool · about 10 minutes
Clinician Bridge
School Can’t: advocating for support
Check what you might have missed, choose practical adjustments, and approach the school in a respectful, collaborative way, with a ready-to-edit letter.
School Can't: Advocating for Support
A quick reflection and advocacy tool for clinicians
When school feels too much, there's often more happening beneath the surface. This tool helps you check what you might have missed, choose practical adjustments, and approach the school in a respectful, collaborative way.
- Sensory environment
- Social & masking load
- Demands & autonomy
- Learning & executive function
- Predictability & change
- Energy & capacity
- Safety & belonging
How it works
- ReflectWork through 28 short statements across seven areas, drawing on what the young person, family and school have shared.
- CheckSee what might have been missed, and which areas could use support at school.
- AdvocatePick adjustments to discuss with the school, with tips for a respectful conversation and a summary for your own notes.
A few things to know
- This is a reflection and advocacy tool, not an assessment, screening or diagnostic measure. It doesn't produce scores or establish causes.
- You don't need all the answers. “Not yet explored” is always okay, and is never treated as “not a problem”.
- Recommendations should be developed with the young person and family. Obtain appropriate consent before sharing anything with a school.
What to take to school
Worth a closer look
Areas to support at school
Other areas
Advocating with the school
Schools respond best when they feel like partners, not targets. A respectful approach keeps the focus on the young person.
Helpful things to say
Your conversation summary
Your selections will be brought together in a PDF, including the areas you’ve identified, suggested adjustments, the young person’s perspective and a review timeframe. Use it to guide conversations with the young person, family and school. It’s a starting point for discussion, not a formal clinical report.
Adjustments to discuss
Before sharing anything with the school, make sure you have consent (or other lawful authority), and that what you share reflects your own clinical understanding of the young person. Recommendations work best when they’re developed together with the young person and family.
The PDF opens in a print window. Choose Save as PDF as the printer.
Pocket Psych · pocketpsych.com.au. This tool supports clinical reflection and school advocacy. It is not a standardised assessment, diagnostic measure or substitute for individual clinical judgement, and it does not establish causes or severity. Recommendations should be developed with the young person and family. Obtain appropriate consent before sharing information with schools. If a young person may be unsafe or at risk of harm, follow your professional and safeguarding obligations.
Pocket Psych · Last reviewed November 2026
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Support the parents you’re working with…
When a young person can’t get to school, their parents are often carrying the most and getting the least guidance. Setting the Compass is our interactive guide for parents and carers navigating School Can’t. It helps them understand what’s happening for their child, notice their own stress, and map out a values-led way forward.
It fits neatly between sessions. Parents can work through it at their own pace, then bring what they noticed back to you so your sessions can build on it.
Two easy ways to get it to a family:
Purchase it on a family’s behalf and pass the access details on to the parent or carer you’re working with.
Families can buy their own access. Copy the link for an email, a text or your session notes.
Pocket Psych resources offer general information and education. They aren’t a substitute for individual advice, diagnosis or therapy.
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