Summer To September
A small-group summer programme for parents who want to understand the root of their child’s school anxiety and hatch a real plan ahead of September.
For sensitively wired children, the transition between schools
and school years isn’t just a change.
- it’s a full blown nervous system event!
We start June 12th
✳︎
We start June 12th ✳︎
So many parents arrive here with a heavy heart, internally beating themselves up. You feel like you should have been able to solve this on your own by now.
You’ve spoken their teacher, you’ve been in Dr Becky’s membership, you’ve saved every ‘school based anxiety’ post on Insta…
You’ve tried earlier bed times, rewards charts for getting dressed, being SUPER empathetic, shouting and everything in between!
You’re trying SO hard to support your child (and doing incredibly well- don’t forget that.)
And yet something about school still feels difficult for them.
By the end of the school year many sensitively wired children are running on absolute empty.
They’ve spent months navigating:
• Busy classrooms
• Social dynamics
• Sensory overwhelm
• Constant expectations
By summer, their nervous system is often exhausted and as the next school year approaches, uncertainty about what lies ahead can begin to build…
For some children this looks like:
Increasing anxiety about school
Emotional meltdowns/ attitude/ nothing being ‘right’ at home
Struggling to get through the school gates
Or beginning to refuse school altogether
For parents, it can feel confusing and frightening.
You might be finding yourself wondering:
What is actually going on for my child?
How can I support them without making things worse?
What if next year becomes even harder?
This small-group summer programme helps you understand what your child may not yet have the words to explain.
Together we explore:
✔️What your child’s behaviour may be communicating
✔️How their nervous system responds to school stress and what to do about it.
✔️What support they actually need moving forward
So that by the time September arrives, you feel:
Calmer, clearer and more confident supporting and advocating for your child.
When School Suddenly Becomes Hard
You might recognise your family in one of these…
School has suddenly become much harder for your child:
Maybe mornings have become increasingly difficult? Perhaps your child struggles to walk through the school gates? Or maybe they still attend school, but you’re seeing the fallout at home?
• Morning meltdowns
• Emotional collapse after school
• Anxiety about the next school day
• Withdrawing from activities they once enjoyed
Something has shifted and you can just sense your child is struggling.
School seems to see a different child than you do:
Many sensitively wired children work incredibly hard to hold themselves together during the school day.
They mask and manage their discomfort.
They push through situations that feel overwhelming.
So school may say:
"They seem fine when they’re here."
Meanwhile at home you’re seeing:
• Anger
• Tears
• Overwhelm
• Exhaustion
AND both experiences can be true at the same time (I explain this more in the programme and it’s not just that they’re ‘masking’). But that gap can leave parents feeling confused and unsure how to help.
Or maybe things aren’t that bad just now?:
There have been times (more regularly than you’d like to admit) where your child has really struggled with school. It’s been a real challenge to get them in or you’ve seen big feelings and poor behaviour at home, as the fallout.
And then things have got better…
…for a while.
But then again, there’s a constant niggling in the back of your mind.
"What if it happens again. What if it gets worse?”
It’s not like they’re overjoyed at the prospect of going to school, and how do you know when it really is time to get help?
Only you can answer that, my love.
But if your child is living out of alignment with their sensitive nature. If the school day leaves little capacity for anything else. If you know in your bones that some of the ‘stuff’ you’re seeing at home is linked to school based struggles. If the transition to a new year group ( or even a new school - feels nerve-wracking) There’s no time like the present (and the ‘right’ time almost never comes).
The ‘moment’ so many parents experience…
Most parents who come to this work are already incredibly thoughtful and well informed.
They’ve read about anxiety.
They’ve tried gentle parenting approaches.
They’ve spoken with school and tried different strategies.
Often they already have some of the right ideas.
But sometimes one small piece of the puzzle is slightly out of focus - and that tiny shift in perspective changes everything!
A child who keeps leaving their desk may not be avoiding work…
🩷 They might actually be seeking connection because their nervous system feels unsettled.
A child who says “nobody likes me”…
🩷 Might be experiencing deep rejection sensitivity, even if teachers see them as popular.
A child who fights you every morning may not be resisting the routine.
🩷 They might be just totally overwhelmed by what the school day holds.
A child who has long, repetitive rants about a teacher/ classmate/ friend that you feel you can never get to the bottom of - might not be looking for solutions…
🩷 It might be something called ‘autistic looping’ where a child is trying to resolve stuck emotions. The subject of the rant is often a ‘red herring’.
When parents begin seeing their child through a clearer lens,
I'll often hear them say…
“Oh… I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
And from that moment, things begin to make far more sense.
Understanding school refusal
One of the biggest fears many parents hold is:
"What if my child eventually refuses school altogether?"
School refusal rarely appears out of nowhere.
Usually it happens when a child has reached a point of burnout.
Their nervous system has been working so hard for so long that eventually their body and brain simply cannot keep going.
Before this point parents often notice:
• Increasing meltdowns at home
• Growing anxiety about school
• Withdrawing from activities
• Saying no to anything uncertain or unpredictable
When parents begin to understand this as a nervous system response, rather than defiance or avoidance, it completely changes how they support their child.
Supporting a child with school anxiety can feel incredibly isolating.
Friends are empathetic but it’s clear (from their ‘helpful advice’) that they don’t fully understand.
School conversations are feeling more and more tense as their efforts to ‘get your child in’ aren’t working.
Other children just seem to just breeze into school without a backwards glance and you wonder if you’re ‘just doing it wrong’ .
This programme is intentionally kept very small.
I want to allow space for every parent to be genuinely supported while also creating something many families deeply need:
A temporary village.
A place where you can share your experience, hear from others walking a similar path, and realise you are not alone.
You don’t have to navigate this alone
Why the summer months matter
By the end of the school year many sensitively wired children are totally exhausted.
Their nervous systems have been working incredibly hard for months.
And the new school year (or new school entirely) seems to feel like a looming presence.
The summer holidays give us something really valuable:
Space.
Space to observe.
Space to support regulation.
Space to understand what your child may need moving forward.
Using the summer well allows us to approach September with far more clarity and intention.
But don’t worry, I promise it won’t affect that ‘Summer-mode activation’ that everyone is craving by July.
In fact it will mean that you can genuinely put down school worries between sessions- phew!
Inside the Programme
This programme unfolds over four live sessions across the summer, giving you plenty of time between sessions to reflect and observe your child.
Alongside the sessions you’ll receive a Programme Guidebook - a supportive companion to help you notice behaviour patterns and nervous system signals across the summer and into the new school year.
How it will work…
Session 1 (mid June)
Uncovering what your child really struggles with at school
Using the ‘Zones of Resilience’ (comfort, stretch and overwhelm) we explore:
• Which parts of the school environment may feel hardest
• What your child’s behaviour might be communicating
• What support they may need at home and at school
(all in real time, together!)
We’re also going to spend a chunk of our time together exploring how to approach conversations with school so you feel like a team rather than feeling you’re going into battle.
You’ll leave with a simple plan for the remainder of the summer term and a longer term strategy (starting to formulate) for the next school year.
Session 2 (mid July)
Helping your child navigate the uncertainty of next year
Uncertainty often has a HUGE impact on your child’s feelings and behaviours. We explore how to gently reduce uncertainty about the next school year without the whole summer becoming about school preparation. I’ll help you cut through the noise and pin point what is actually going to help your child this summer.
We’ll look at:
• The ‘up and down’ nervous system states (and why intentionally training their system is one of the best things you can start to do)
• Why uncertainty triggers anxiety (and challenging behaviours).
• How to help your child to feel more in control internally so that anxiety isn’t running the show.
Session 3 (mid August)
Feeling Prepared (Not Scared)
Sensitively wired children are incredibly perceptive, they will pick up on any anxiety you’re feeling about the new school year (even when you’re doing your very best not to show it).
In this session we create a flexible plan of action for:
• The final week of the holidays
• The first weeks back at school
So that you (and your child) feel ready for that first week back, clear on what exactly how to support them and in control - come what may.
(We’ll also explore any possible challenges so that they start to feel manageable rather than just scary!)
Session 4 (mid September)
Our Back-to-School Check-In
After the school year begins we meet again to reflect and support each other.
You can bring the good, the bad and everything in-between
Together we celebrate what’s working and look to adjust anything that still needs support.
Your Programme Guidebook
Alongside the sessions you’ll receive a my programme guidebook.
This will follow the flow of our sessions and deepen your understanding of the insights gained and how they relate to your unique child.
Including reflections to help you notice:
• Behaviour patterns (and what lies beneath them)
• Nervous system signals (and how to used this information to help find more calm)
• What helps your child recover after school (and during the holidays)
• How to prepare for the new school year- what teachers need to know and how to talk to them.
So many parents I work with tell me that this sort of guided reflection process leads to a really powerful shift…
“I finally (really deeply) understand my child.”
Real Families (past clients)
Freddie (not his real name)
Freddie had always struggled with school but managed until Year 5. Then mornings suddenly became intense and aggressive.
Once he actually arrived at school he was reportedly “fine” - but at home things were really unravelling.
He became obsessed with screens after school, began picking fights with his sister (who he generally got on really well with), and resisted leaving the house.
Together we explored what parts of the school day were overwhelming and what support his nervous system needed.
His mum later wrote:
"Xxxxxx is in such a happy place right now and really enjoying secondary school. He is the happiest I’ve seen him in a very long time. We are so grateful to you!"
Martha (again not her real name)
Mornings with Martha were filled with worries about her hair, her socks and being late.
After school she experienced huge meltdowns and emotional collapse.
School saw a completely different child and described her as an “absolute angel.'‘
Her mum shared:
“Jenni is an absolute superstar. Calm, kind, non patronising. She really helped us understand our daughter and strategies we could implement to support her better. She helped us advocate for her and tell school what support she needed. Very quickly we had a child who refused to go to school walking into school calmly most days. From not wanting to go any day, this felt like a miracle.”
Once we understood how overloaded her nervous system had become, we worked to reduce the stressors both inside and outside school.
This programme is likely to be helpful if:
✔️ Your child has started struggling with school/ pre-school or showing signs of school anxiety
✔️ Mornings or school transitions have become increasingly difficult
✔️ Your child seems to hold things together at school but falls apart at home
✔️ You feel unsure how hard to push them to attend school
✔️ You want to better understand what their behaviour might be communicating and how to support them
This programme may not be the right fit if:
❤️🩹 Your child is currently in full school refusal and unable to attend school at all
❤️🩹 You are in crisis and need more intensive one-to-one support.
*This is where my 3 month 1:1 programme The Garden can really help.
Programme Details
Understanding Your Child’s School Anxiety
A small group summer programme for parents of sensitively wired children.
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• 4 live sessions
• Small group of supportive parents
• Programme guidebook
• Worksheets and tools
• Session recordings
Investment
£255
(or 3x monthly payments of £85)
If you’re unsure whether this programme is the right fit for your family, you’re very welcome to email me before enrolling.
I’m always happy to help parents think through whether this support would be helpful for their situation. Jenniferhoneyben@gmail.com
Why I created this programme...
I know this subject from the inside out. I’ve lived it myself and over the years I’ve worked with SO many families whose children were struggling with school too.
These parents were always thoughtful, deeply caring, and trying incredibly hard to support their child.
But they felt confused; either by the gap between what school was seeing and what they were experiencing at home or because nothing they were trying was working (in fact it often felt like it was making things worse).
Again and again I saw how powerful it was when parents began to understand their child’s behaviour through the lens of the sensitively wired nervous system and brain.
Through the lens of can’t not won’t.
When that understanding clicks into place, parents often say:
“I finally understand my child.”
This programme is designed to help more families experience more clarity before the new school year and before school based anxiety escalates any further.
A gentle invitation
Supporting a child with school anxiety can feel incredibly heavy.
You don’t have to carry it alone.
This programme offers a calm space to understand your child more deeply and approach the next school year with greater clarity.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have questions, feel free to drop me an email.
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This programme is designed for parents of primary school aged children (roughly ages 4 - 11) who are experiencing anxiety or increasing difficulty around school.
Many of the patterns we explore - masking, nervous system overwhelm, rejection sensitivity and after-school collapse - are particularly common in sensitively wired children during the primary years.
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If your child is currently in full school refusal and unable to attend school at all, you may need more intensive one-to-one support - like the support I offer in The Garden
However, if school attendance has become increasingly difficult or fragile, this programme can help you understand what may be driving that difficulty and how to support your child moving forward.
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Every child is unique - and that’s exactly why this programme focuses on helping you understand your specific child.
Rather than offering generic strategies, we explore the common patterns in sensitively wired children, nervous system signals and behaviours that are unique to your child, so you can create a plan that truly fits them.
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That’s completely understandable.
The group is intentionally kept very small so that it feels safe and supportive rather than overwhelming.
You are always welcome to share only what feels comfortable.
Many parents actually find the group experience deeply reassuring, as they realise how many other families are navigating similar challenges.
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Life with children can be unpredictable, so all sessions will be recorded and shared with participants.
You’ll still be able to watch the material and use the guidebook reflections.
However, attending live where possible is valuable, as the conversations and shared experiences within the group are often incredibly reassuring for parents.