When School Doesn't Fit: The RISE Skool Approach

About this episode

This episode discusses the RISE Skool approach to education for neurodivergent children, focusing on safety and emotional regulation over traditional academic pressures.

In this episode, Rachel from the PDA Society is joined by Lyndsey Stokes and Keighly Murphy from Rise Skool, an alternative education provision supporting neurodivergent children and young people who have struggled in mainstream settings. Together, they explore what can happen when education is rebuilt around safety, trust and emotional regulation rather than compliance and rigid expectations. Lyndsey and Keighly share how many of the young people who come to Rise Skool have experienced repeated school trauma, exclusions, anxiety or long-term disengagement. The conversation focuses on creating environments where children feel safe enough to learn. Rather than prioritising academic targets from the outset, Rise Skool centres relationship-building, predictability and co-regulation. Lyndsey and Keighly explain how reducing demands, observing communication patterns and tuning into nervous system responses helps students begin to re-engage. Part 1 explores how traditional education models can inadvertently escalate anxiety for PDA learners, and how alternative settings can shift from control to collaboration. The discussion highlights the importance of dignity, flexibility and truly…

People in this episode

Host: Rachel

Guests: Lyndsey Stokes, Keighly Murphy

Topics covered

• alternative education
• neurodivergent support
• school trauma
• relationship-building
• emotional regulation
• PDA learners

Keywords

• PDA
• neurodivergent
• education
• school trauma
• emotional safety
• relationship-led learning
• co-regulation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PDA Society, Rise Skool

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