In this powerful, wide-angle, and deeply grounding episode, I’m joined by Alicia Drummond, founder of The Wellbeing Hub and recent recipient of the BETT 2026 Award for Best Wellbeing Resources, dive inside the reality of what is really happening in schools right now and the pressure our children are carrying.

Alicia brings a rare panoramic view, drawn from supporting 170,000+ students across 300+ schools in 6 countries, and what she shares, confirms what so many parents are sensing but struggling to name: we are no longer dealing with isolated issues, we are facing a whole-system strain on children, families, and schools alike.

Together, we explore what teachers are seeing at every stage of development, from children arriving at school not ready to learn, to rising anxiety, emotional dysregulation, school avoidance, burnout, and distress.

This is not a conversation about blame. It’s a conversation about biology, nervous systems, belonging, and capacity and about how parents and schools can work with one another instead of breaking apart under pressure.

Key takeaways include:

• What schools are really seeing at all key, school ages

• Why many children are arriving at school without foundational regulation, motor, or social readiness

• How anxiety presents differently across ages, including fight, flight, freeze and fawn

• Why behaviour is so often biology, not defiance

• The role of belonging, safety, and co-regulation in learning and resilience

• Practical, realistic supports that help children regulate during the school day

• Why collaboration — not escalation — is the key to working with schools

• How parents can raise concerns in ways that build partnership rather than conflict

• What to watch for when “normal teenage behaviour” crosses into genuine distress

This is an episode about understanding, compassion, and shared responsibility.

Because children don’t develop — or heal — in isolation.

And when the adults around them feel more regulated, informed, and supported, children have a far better chance of doing the same.

Resources

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