The Broadleaf Approach

Broadleaf holds relational, consent-based spaces that reconnect families to community, support and opportunity, ensuring no one is left without a place to belong.

We strive to host a space which nurtures:

  • Curiosity & Consent

  • Connection & Community

  • Culture & Creativity

What we are

When families fall outside the system, they shouldn’t fall through the gaps.

Broadleaf is a relational family hub for children and young people not in school, and their families.

We exist to rebuild what is often lost when school is no longer accessible—
connection, support, access to services, and a sense of belonging.

We are not an alternative school.
We are a bridge between families, community and wider systems.

Why we are needed

When children are unable to attend school, families often experience:

  • Sudden loss of peer community and daily structure

  • Reduced or fragmented access to health and support services

  • Limited access to enrichment, creativity and nature-based opportunities

  • A lack of clear pathways, trusted information and advocacy

  • Increased isolation at a point of crisis

Many of the families we support are neurodivergent, disabled, or experiencing mental health challenges. They often fall between mainstream and specialist provision, with neither system able to fully meet their needs.

Broadleaf exists to ensure these families are not left without support.

What we do

We create structured, relational spaces where families can:

  • Build trusted relationships over time

  • Access creative, social and nature-based opportunities

  • Reconnect with community and a sense of belonging

Alongside this, we act as a central access point, connecting families to:

  • Specialist knowledge and guidance

  • Health and wellbeing support (including partnerships with statutory services)

  • Research and collaboration opportunities

  • Information, signposting and advocacy

How we work

We shape the space around the child—not the child around the space.

Everything we do is grounded in three core principles:

  1. Consent-based practice - Participation is always invited, never forced. Young people and families have agency, voice and choice in how they engage.

  2. Neurodivergent-led and inclusive - Our approach is shaped by lived experience and deep understanding of neurodivergence. We design environments that reduce barriers, not create them.

  3. Trauma-informed - We recognise that many families arrive in a state of stress or crisis. We prioritise emotional safety, predictability, and attuned relationships. We prioritise safety, predictability and attuned relationships.

What this means in practice

On the ground, this looks like:

  • Families staying on site, building safety alongside their young person

  • Small, consistent groups that develop trust over time

  • Skilled facilitators who prioritise relationships over outcomes

  • Flexible engagement - young people can step in and out as needed

  • Activities used as vehicles for connection, not measures of success

  • Calm, predictable environments with reduced sensory and social pressure

  • Long-term support, rather than short-term intervention

We do not ask young people to “fit” the space; we shape the space around them.

Why Broadleaf is different

Broadleaf is uniquely positioned because we combine:

  • Deep, long-standing community trust (since 2010)

  • Highly skilled, values-led facilitators and volunteers

  • Strong partnerships with organisations, artists, and local services

  • Established links with research and policy

  • Experience contributing to national conversations and decision-making

This allows us to:

  • Bring external opportunities into our community

  • Act as a bridge between families and statutory services

  • Ensure that lived experience informs research, policy and practice

The difference we make

Through this approach:

  • Children and young people feel safe, seen and able to engage

  • Families feel less isolated and more confident

  • Strong, lasting peer networks are formed

  • Access to support becomes clearer and more navigable

  • Voices that are often unheard are amplified into wider systems