At an art gallery in Sydney’s inner west, a group of mostly neurodivergent children are staging their first exhibition – and for many of them, it is the first time they have felt seen.
On display at the Studio 551 gallery in Newtown are dozens of artworks ranging from brightly-coloured abstract paintings and intricate ceramic works, to collages reflecting on social issues.
Some of the artists are only six years old, but they all have one thing in common: they do not fit into the mainstream schooling system.
Diana Garcia is a parent of one of the young artists.
Her daughter Alba, who is neurodivergent, had a “horrible experience” in school and then switched to homeschooling.
“It is messy, but I think it’s the best solution. It’s the only thing that’s individualized for my children and can meet their best needs,” she said.
The exhibition entitled, Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable, is a culmination of a series of workshops hosted by KinHub – a not-for-profit run by volunteers for families navigating what is known as “school can’t” based in Marrickville.
It is a term many families prefer over “school refusal”, as it is not a deliberate choice of the child.
Mother-of-one Sinem Gul was referred to KinHub by a homeschool liaison officer, after her son Poyraz struggled to fit in at school.
“The experience of school was very daunting, like tears every morning, just not wanting to go, very tiring and too much pressure,” she said.
For months, the children have been trying their hand at street art, pottery, drawing, and even sound design in preparation for the exhibition.
Twelve-year-old Damien Farbman has even learned podcasting and video editing, but ultimately decided to exhibit some ceramics.
“It feels pretty cool seeing my artwork hang up there. I thought it was going to be like a private event,” he said.
His grandmother, Mabel Inganzou, said the process had given him the confidence to express himself and make friends.
“We started homeschooling over a year-and-a-half ago, after having problems not being able to fit at school, he was always the odd one out,” she said.
“So we pulled him out, and he’s a much happier person.”
Creating connections through ‘chaos’
The not-for-profit was founded in 2024 by Corinne Smith, whose own children became “reluctant homeschoolers”.
Unlike a growing number of other services for homeschooling families, the organization is not a drop-off group. Instead, parents join in on the workshops and other activities.
Ms Smith described it as a “very low pressure, low demand environment,” aimed at helping children build connections and a sense of belonging.
“Most people would walk in and think that it looks like chaos,” she said.
“In one corner you might see some kids playing pool, in another corner you might see some kids engaging with a mentor doing some street art.
“So, it looks chaotic, but it’s sort of a pretty well-programmed symphony which allows the kids to come in and access the program wherever they’re at.”
Navigating the ‘invisible territory’
Thousands of Australian parents have children who cannot go to school. At the same time, there has been a surge in homeschooling.
The Audit Office of NSW last year found the number of children being homeschooled in the state had doubled to nearly 13,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Smith said while some families participating in KinHub had since re-entered mainstream education, others have chosen to remain on a different path.
“The goal is never to push kids back into a system that’s not working for them,” she said.
Instead, Ms Smith said the aim was to provide children with a safe and supportive community, and to ensure disengagement doesn’t become entrenched.
“There are a lot of kids in our cohort who are traveling alternative learning pathways or ‘School can’t’, but once you travel those pathways, you sort of slip into this invisible territory,” she said.
“So to be able to provide a platform for these kids to be seen and heard, and show that they’re really doing amazing things, and they are unstoppable is pretty incredible.”
‘An issue of care, not compliance’
Australians for Mental Health executive director Chris Gambian said more non-clinical models of support were needed to help families struggling with school.
“But I think even before that, there needs to be a recognition of this as an issue of care, and not an issue of compliance,” he said.
“So I think when you start thinking about this as a question of care, and a question that needs to be problem-solved, you very quickly arrive at solutions like KinHub and other similar support services around the place.”
Ron Rapee, a professor of psychology at Macquarie University, said there had been growing recognition of the nuances around school refusal or non-attendance.
“I think in the early days, people would often put it down to the children being naughty or, you know, or being wilful, and they put it together with truanting,” he said.
“People are realizing that it’s not just that there are different sorts of kids. And there are certainly some who truant and don’t want to go to school, but there are others who simply can’t go to school because of a range of barriers that get in the way.”
