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This blog post reflects on our podcast , a research study that combines outdoor learning, youth work, and digital creativity through . Funded by a , the project team supported 30 neurodivergent young people from a mainstream secondary school in Plymouth across two school terms. The project is led by Tracy and Adam, supported by Liz and Rob, working in partnership with Plymouth City Council (PCC) (Jane and Tom) and PCC Youth Service (Rachel).

Neurodivergent pupils are pathologised

Mainstream education is under increasing pressure to provide inclusive environments where all young people can thrive. Neurodivergent young people – those whose ways of thinking, learning and processing differ from what is perceived as the norms – continue to face systemic barriers. According to the Department for Education, around in the UK are neurodivergent – a significant proportion of pupils – impacting families and educators. Many schools, however, still focus on remediation or conformity rather than celebrating the strengths neurodivergent learners bring (Dwyer, 2022).

‘Mainstream schooling often emphasises standardisation, rewarding compliance and penalising difference – as a result, neurodivergent young people are disproportionately represented in exclusion statistics.’

refers to the differences between how people think, process information, behave and communicate. The neurodiversity paradigm reframes these differences as valuable facets of human diversity, not as deficits (Milton et al., 2020). Mainstream schooling often emphasises standardisation, rewarding compliance and penalising difference – as a result, neurodivergent young people are disproportionately represented in exclusion statistics, often reporting feeling misunderstood or unsupported in school (Day, 2025).

Rigid systems rarely accommodate diverse sensory, social and cognitive needs:

I find it hard to learn in a lesson, sat writing and listening … you’re trying to focus on the board, you’ve got everyone else around you … you can hear them whispering and people fiddling with things … Whereas if I’m doing something active I feel like I learn more then.

Young Person, Bridging Worlds Group 1

Overwhelming classroom environments, strict behaviour policies and performative accountability cultures undermine inclusive practices, leaving neurodivergent pupils pathologised rather than supported (Kinnear et al., 2019; Gillies, 2011). Alternatively, creative, participatory approaches allow for multiple ways of engaging, learning, and expressing understanding (McNally & de Andrade, 2022).

Youth work and schools

In contrast to more rigid classroom environments, youth work – with the four cornerstones of education, empowerment, equality and participation as set out by the – provides spaces where young people can develop identity, belonging and voice, especially those marginalised within formal education (Burke et al., 2018; Hayes et al., 2022). Youth work is relational, flexible and rooted in young people’s lived experiences. Through play, dialogue and creativity, youth workers support young people to build skills, confidence and agency. These methods are particularly effective for neurodivergent young people, supporting them to explore interests, regulate emotions and contribute in ways that may not be possible in school classrooms (Jones, 2021).

Through Bridging Worlds, young people from a secondary school took part in activities both outdoors at Poole Farm, and indoors within a digitally recreated version of the farm in Minecraft. Activities included surveying wildlife, designing custom virtual animals (beavers, gulls, badgers), and working collaboratively to solve environmental challenges. Importantly, young people were valued as co-researchers, contributing reflections, design note, and feedback both in person and through digital tools embedded in gameplay.

Findings highlight several key insights:

• Choice and flexibility matter – Young people engaged differently depending on the day, the setting and their needs. Having both digital and outdoor environments created meaningful options.
• Play supports learning – Games like Minecraft enabled young people to explore identity, humour and disruption alongside collaboration and creativity.
• Neurodivergent strengths emerge – Participants showed creative problem-solving, emotional investment and advocacy skills when given space to do so.

The lessons from Bridging Worlds extend beyond youth work and into mainstream classrooms, including:

1. Flexibility enables inclusion. Schools can offer multiple pathways to participation – through outdoor learning, creative digital tools or project-based approaches.
2. Cocreation builds ownership. When neurodivergent young people shape resources or activities, they become advocates for themselves and others.
3. Play has pedagogical value. Playful, creative methods can address serious topics while making space for joy, humour and experimentation.
4. Relationships are central. Success depends on trust, care and recognition of diverse strengths – values embedded in youth work practice.
5. Bridging formal and informal learning enriches education. When youth work approaches are integrated into schools, the risk of disengagement or exclusion is reduced.

Supporting neurodivergent young people in mainstream education requires practices that celebrate diversity, foster inclusion and create belonging – so that young people feel they matter.

This blog post is based on a ½¿É«µ¼º½-Kusuma Trust award-funded project.

References

Burke, M., Ockwell, D., & Whitmarsh, L. (2018). Participatory arts and affective engagement with climate change: The missing link in achieving climate compatible behaviour change? Global Environmental Change, 49, 95–105.

Day, A. M. (2025). Kids ‘at risk’ of school exclusion and youth justice involvement? Or neurodivergent children and families in need of trauma-informed support? Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 30(3), 196–211.

Dwyer, P. (2022). The neurodiversity approach(es): what are they and what do they mean for researchers? Human Development, 66(2), 73–92.

Gillies, V. (2011). Social and emotional pedagogies: Critiquing the new orthodoxy of emotion in classroom behaviour management. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(2), 185–202.

Hayes, T., Walker, C., Parsons, K., Arya, D., Bowman, B., Germaine, C., … Thew, H. (2023). In it together! Cultivating space for intergenerational dialogue, empathy and hope in a climate of uncertainty. Children’s Geographies, 21(5), 803–818.

Jones, S. C. (2021). Let’s talk about autistic autism researchers. Autism in Adulthood, 3(3).

Kinnear, S. H., Link, B. G., Ballan, M. S., & Fischbach, R. L. (2016). Understanding the experience of stigma for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and the role stigma plays in families’ lives. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46, 942–953

McNally, B., & de Andrade, B. (2022). Altered spaces: New ways of seeing and envisioning nature with Minecraft. Visual Studies, 37(3), 175–182.

Milton, D., Ridout, S., Kourti, M., Loomes, G., & Martin, N. (2020). The neurodiversity reader. Pavilion Publishing.