Part Professional Development.
Part Culture Work.
This isn’t checkbox training.
It’s a practical, structured process that refines practice and culture together.
Let’s get education right
Safe House Schools is a long-term, structured process that helps school teams build psychologically safe school communities by embedding practices that are neurodiversity-affirming, relational, and trauma-informed.
Because here’s the truth: the education system wasn’t designed to support students who think, feel, and experience the world differently. And that places an unfair burden on them.
That burden shows up in their mental health, their sense of safety, and their capacity to learn.
But when we get the education piece right, we don’t just improve outcomes—we lighten the mental health load so many autistic students carry each day.
Autistic students are at the heart of this work.
But the ripple effect reaches the entire school community—because psychological safety isn’t an individual trait. It’s a collective culture. It’s about how we show up together. It’s how we speak. How we lead. How we respond to difference, to distress, and to each other.
That’s why Safe House Schools includes frameworks that support staff teams, not just students.
Because safety starts with the adults.
This is not surface-level work. It’s layered. Intentional. Meaningful.
It requires brave leadership, honest reflection, and the willingness to shift deeply embedded norms.
If you’re ready to guide your team through real, sustainable change, this process will meet you there. And we will walk beside you every step of the way.
Let’s do this together,
Valli – Founder
This is for you if
You’re a principal or school leader committed to building a school culture that supports wellbeing, inclusion, and relational trust for the whole school community.
You value safety and dignity for autistic students and want to strengthen support across the whole school.
You’re willing to make space for staff learning, reflection, and meaningful change.
You’re open to examining your own leadership patterns and assumptions as part of the work.
You’re ready to engage in a structured process that builds capacity and embeds sustainable, long-term practice.
This is not for you if
You’re looking for a quick or one-off PD session.
You want outcomes without leadership engagement or involvement.
You’re focused solely on student behaviour, without examining adult practice and system dynamics.
This work asks for patience, reflection, and the courage to lead with heart.
If you’re still reading, it’s probably because you already are that kind of leader.
the invitation
This Starts with You
Psychological safety begins with leadership. Not with a policy. Not with a PD day. It begins with how you show up — in conversations, decisions, and the space you hold for your team.
As a leader, you shape the conditions that shape your team — and in turn, those conditions shape how your school supports its most vulnerable students.
When you’re reflective and willing to name what needs to shift, you give your team permission to do the same, and that’s when real change becomes possible for the students who need it.
This work takes time. It requires openness and a steady commitment to building trust. It won’t always be smooth. It may bring habits, assumptions, and gaps to the surface. That’s not a failure — that’s where real change begins.
You’ll be supported. There’s a clear framework to guide you and your team, and space to think, reflect, and grow along the way. You don’t need all the answers, just the willingness to keep showing up.
If you’re ready to lead with clarity, curiosity, and care, Safe House Schools will help you stay steady in the process.
The Roadmap
You’re not meant to carry it all.
The Leadership Roadmap exists because real inclusion isn’t the job of one person, it’s a whole-school effort.
This program supports every member of your team through tailored education, aligned to their role and responsibilities.
It creates a shared language, builds staff capacity, and strengthens collaboration, so you can lead with confidence, knowing your team is supported too.
You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t already working toward this.
You’ve likely invested in professional learning, adjusted policies, shifted language, and supported students with complex needs. That matters. It’s a strong starting point.
This process builds on what’s already in motion — and gives it structure, clarity, and direction.
What’s Included
Every layer of the work is supported—from learning to implementation. Here’s what’s included in the Roadmap, at a glance.
Professional Development
Targeted learning for every member of your team, designed to build a shared language, deepen understanding, and support a school-wide approach to inclusion.
Thought Partnership
Dedicated space for reflective leadership, with strategic guidance, targeted learning, and support to help you lead meaningful change with clarity.
Alignment
Support to align your policies, systems, and day-to-day practices through a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming lens.
Practical Tools
Resources and frameworks that support implementation, consistency, and follow-through—so learning turns into lasting change.
This is not a fixed formula.
It’s a responsive process that adapts to your school’s unique situation while offering clear guidance and structure.
It allows space for depth, for discomfort, and for the kind of conversation that doesn’t always fit neatly into a PD session. The work isn’t always easy, but the support is there.
And when leadership is consistent, the impact is deep and lasting.
What Changes?
When you commit to this process, here’s what you can expect:
Staff will:
Develop a deeper understanding of autism, trauma, and nervous system regulation — and how it actually applies in classrooms.
Shift from reacting to student behaviour to recognising what drives it.
Gain language, tools, and confidence to support a diverse range of learners without relying on compliance or control.
Feel more connected to each other, and to the ‘why’ that brought them into education in the first place.
Know they’re part of a system where leadership is backing relational, values-led practice.
Students will:
Be understood and supported for who they are, not how they behave.
Build stronger relationships with adults who are attuned to their needs and communication.
Show greater presence, participation, and learning readiness when their nervous systems feel safe and supported in a stable, affirming environment.
Your whole school culture will:
Move from individual firefighting to shared responsibility.
Centre psychological safety — not as a buzzword, but as a felt experience for students and staff.
Become a place where difference is not just included, but woven into how you operate.
“This is the ideal standard, and has exceptional value for school teams genuinely interested in providing psychologically safe and inclusive learning environments”
Emily – School Psychologist
What makes this different?
This isn’t theory. And it’s not a program built at a distance.
Safe House Schools grew from the ground up—through years of work alongside autistic students, educators, and school communities navigating real-world challenges.
Developed by an autistic clinical psychologist, the Safe House Schools Framework draws on real-world experience supporting young people across school, clinic, and community settings.
It brings together evidence-based practice, clinical insight, lived experience, and a deep respect for the complexity of real school environments.
This work is grounded in a nuanced understanding of autism, trauma, and psychological safety; a deep appreciation of the importance of collaboration; and a practical grasp of what schools need to effectively support autistic students—while acknowledging the real-world demands they face.
This isn’t a silver bullet.
But if you’re willing to invest the time and lead the work, this process will create visible, measurable change, from the staffroom to the playground.
This is co-design
Safe House Schools isn’t a one-size-fits-all model.
It offers structured support, practical tools, and space for honest reflection—led with care, curiosity, and respect for where your team is starting from.
We don’t arrive with all the answers.
We walk alongside you as a thought partner—bringing deep insight into autism and a growing understanding of what it takes to make change within school environments.
Our role is to support you in building something strong, steady, and truly meaningful.
This is codesign in action.
You’ll be guided through a clear, structured process—one that makes room for critical thinking, honest conversation, and reflection, both personal and collective.
The work is layered.
It supports your team at the levels of mindset, language, and practice, while also creating space for leadership to examine the patterns, structures, and systems that shape your school culture.
You won’t be left to figure it out alone.
Throughout the year, you’ll have access to tools, group coaching, and targeted support tailored to where your team is, along with clarity on what comes next at every stage.
This isn’t an awareness campaign. It’s practical, actionable, and designed to stick.
The Process Overview
The Safe House Schools process runs over a full school year and is built to support gradual, sustainable change — not overwhelm.
There are three key phases:
Phase 1
Leadership Foundations
We begin by working with you as the school leader.
You’ll be supported to reflect on your current culture, capacity, and challenges.
You’ll receive a detailed orientation into the framework, expectations, and support available.
We clarify your goals and lay the groundwork for team buy-in.
Phase 2
Team Learning + Practice Shift
Your staff engage in a structured, sequenced professional learning series.
Each module builds knowledge, shifts mindset, and translates directly into practice.
Your team will explore autism, trauma, safety, relational regulation, and inclusive pedagogy.
Sessions are delivered in a way that acknowledges time pressure and supports internal integration.
Phase 3
Integration + System Alignment
We look at the bigger picture: policies, systems, team dynamics.
You’ll reflect on what’s shifted and where things need to evolve to stay consistent.
Strategic coaching supports deeper implementation and sustainability.
The goal here is alignment, so your team culture, practices, and structures are all supporting psychological safety.
Each phase includes:
Clear communication and session outlines
Tools and frameworks you can apply immediately
Ongoing leadership support via check-ins, planning templates, and decision-making guidance
This is a long-term, low-intensity process with a flexible structure.
You’ll have a clear path and steady support as you navigate the process with your team.
the detail
Time Commitment
Let’s be upfront: this is a 12-month process because anything less won’t stick.
You can’t shift culture, mindset, and practice in a single term.
This takes time, consistency, and space for real reflection.
Here’s what’s involved:
School Leadership
Attend initial leadership orientation and planning session (60 mins)
Join strategic check-ins each term (3–4 per year, 60 mins each)
Engage in reflective leadership tasks between sessions
Provide scheduling and support for staff engagement (we’ll guide this)
Be visible in the work — your presence matters
Staff Teams
Complete 10 on-demand modules (totalling 6 hours of video, 45 quiz questions, 5 cases studies, and workbook to consolidate learning)
Access support via monthly live check-ins and/or the online community throughout the year (optional)
Engage in team-based reflection tasks between modules
Trial new practices and report back in collaborative forums
Be open to shifting mindset, not just strategies
Whole School
A commitment to embedding the work, not treating it as a one-off event
A willingness to look inward as well as outward
Time protected for learning, reflection, and discussion
This isn’t something you “add on.”
It’s something you build into the way your school works—over time, with intention.
And yes, it may stretch capacity at times.
But it’s designed for real schools, with real constraints, and we’ll support you to roll it out in a way that’s steady, sustainable, and well-held.
If you’re after a quick fix, it doesn’t exist (sorry).
But if you’re ready to lead your school into something deeper, we’ll walk with you every step of the way.
F.A.Q.
Common Questions
(and honest answers)
It’s possible, and for some people, it’s part of the process.
This work invites reflection, and that can feel uncomfortable at first. But with clear leadership, safe facilitation, and well-sequenced learning, people tend to move from defensiveness to engagement.
We don’t push. We invite. And we help you build buy-in from your team from day one, for the whole year and beyond.
There is no perfect time.
But what’s the cost of not making time?
This process is designed to integrate with your school calendar. It won’t overwhelm, but it does require some planning.
We provide a recommended schedule and help you plan sessions in a way that fits your rhythm.
This isn’t a one-off.
It’s a layered framework, built to support behavioural and systemic change, not just awareness.
We focus on building staff capacity and shifting the systems that create (or block) safety in the first place.
Also, we go beyond generic inclusion. We centre autistic students and get specific.
You won’t. That’s not the point.
This work welcomes imperfection. It invites curiosity, not compliance.
Your staff don’t need to say the perfect thing — they need to stay in it.
We hold the process with you, without judgment. Progress over perfection, always.
That’s brilliant, and we’ll start there.
This isn’t about replacing what’s working. It’s about anchoring, refining, and expanding it, with consistent support.
We’ll help you align your existing efforts and take them deeper.
Ready to Lead Something Real?
If you’ve read this far, you already know: this work matters.
You’re here because you’re ready to lead something deeper. Something that lasts.
The Safe House Schools™ Preview gives you a clear window into how we support real, systemic change.
No fluff. Just a practical look at what’s possible.
