What do parents say?
”The Harbour provides a safe, supportive, progressive nurturing space for young people, where the focus is not on traditional curriculum, but on relationships, personal growth, community understanding, knowing oneself, knowing each other, boundaries, self direction, project work, planning and doing, stopping and starting. It is the most inspirational place I have encountered for young people. It is based on consent principles, so young people and facilitators alike can participate in the space and the community just as they need to and want to, just as they are.”
- A parent
”Our neurodivergent child never thrived or fitted into the narrow lines of the mainstream education system and left mainstream education midway through Primary school. It is the greatest honour and privilege to watch a space like the Harbour, with the important work it is doing, develop and grow, and we are so lucky our young person gets to be a part of it. A fair and just future for us all begins in spaces like this.”
- A parent
”When a child has experienced trauma and feels they have little to no voice watching them learn to say ‘NO’ is amazing. Watching them learn and understand that ‘no’ is a whole sentence and they do not need to explain, flex or bend is breathtaking. The harbour has given my child the confidence to say no, and be heard, which in a funny way means they now say yes to much more as they feel heard, in control and are acting with their own consent.”
- A parent
”When our son joined the Harbour two and a half years ago he had been out of school for some time and was just beginning to emerge from burnout. He had tried other alternative provisions but sooner or later the placements broke down. The Harbour was and is something completely different. The facilitators were so patient and allowed him to go at his own pace, they genuinely seemed to want to get to know him rather than trying change him and celebrated his contributions, however small. In the early days there were many occasions when he struggled to attend and quite a few bumps in the road when things got tricky…. but somehow, unlike our previous experiences, he kept going back, maybe because he knew it really was HIS choice and there was no judgement.”
- A parent
”Unlike other APs he was genuinely part of a community. Now he attends every session, has made friends with other young people like him and is open to exploring learning again in his own way and own time. He has changed and grown up so much and the Harbour has been a massive part of that - thank you!”
- A parent
”Our son has been attending The Harbour for a year now. It has become an integral part of his week and he feels a valued member of the community.
Being neurodiverse, he tends to struggle with forming peer group relationships and many general life demands. However, Harbour gives him a safe and supportive space to grow and challenge himself as he moves through adolescence. School, or even the home education community, can’t meet his needs in this way. I’m so grateful we have found this for him.
We are also planning for our daughter to attend when she is old enough. While she doesn’t have any additional support needs, because The Harbour is designed to flexibly meet the needs of individuals, I know that she will equally be supported to thrive in the same way as our son has.”
- A parent
”My child has attended The Harbour now for over two years and I’m astounded at the change in her. She has gone from someone who was completely shut down and couldn’t even hear the word “learning” without having a meltdown to someone who is thriving, confident and excited about learning subjects that they are interested in. The school system didn’t work for her but realising we needed to adapt to her needs and let her learn in a self directed way has been the best decision we made and The Harbour has been central to that. I couldn’t recommend them enough.”
- A parent
”The Harbour has provided a safe space, trusting relationships, an inclusive community and a positive identity for our young person at a difficult time. As parents we could not be more grateful and relieved to have found a place where she is always valued, celebrated and encouraged to be herself and do things in her own time.”
- A parent
”Not only has our young person gained a lot from attending but we have also learned more about self-directed education, how to best support our young person and the progress that is possible when we focus on her skills and interests. School burnout recovery has been hard but we can now see a confident and happy individual emerging from the storm- full of ideas, self belief and hope for the future. When we ask her what she likes about The Harbour she says she enjoys the learning group, she appreciates the kind facilitators (especially her learning group mentor) and she admires the authenticity of the other young people and how they are all given space and autonomy to be themselves.”
- A parent