Parenting Off-Script

Parenting Off-Script Episode 4 - The Schools White Paper | AKA parenting from the cupboard

Bewildered by SEND rules? Worried about upcoming changes? This is Parenting Off Script where I - Kate Gresswell-Pettitt - discuss my experience of trying to cast off the expectations and parent my own way. In this episode, I'm joined again by my co-parent Arlen, this time we're at home and chatting through the Government's Schools White Paper and proposed SEND provision reforms. You can read the new White Paper here [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving], and you can respond to the consultation here [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first]until 18th May 2026.

Parenting Off-Script EP3 - Tony Addison | “Will power is a finite resource…”

Tired of explaining things to older relatives? Having to mute the #blessed parents group chat? This is Parenting Off Script where I - Kate Gresswell-Pettitt - discuss my experience of trying to cast off the expectations and parent my own way. In Episode 3 I speak to Tony Addison. Tony helps organisations create sustainable high-performance environments by working with business leaders who are parents of children with neurodiversity or disability. He’s an executive coach, consultant and speaker, and has held senior roles in the Civil Service and Macmillan Cancer Support. We talk about his lived experience as a parent of a child with SEN, and growing up and forging a career with Upper Limb Difference. We also discuss masking, psychological safety and the ‘inauthenticity tax’ that comes with not being able to be yourself in a work setting. You can find out more about Tony and his work on his website [http://tonyaddison.com] or via his LinkedIn [http://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-addison].

Parenting Off-Script EP2 - Arlen Gresswell-Pettitt | Imperial Death March School Run

Read every parenting book but none of it applies to you? Tired of social media accounts making it all sound so easy? I’m Kate Gresswell-Pettitt and this is Parenting Off Script, where I discuss my experience of parenting with neurodiversity in the house! In Episode 2, I’m joined by my partner Arlen and Producer Heywood to talk about education, and how traditional settings often just don’t work for children with special educational needs or disabilities. When he’s not on my podcast or doing the school run, Arlen is a writer, researcher and policy expert, and in our discussion he talks about his research into the use of suspensions in primary schools and the shocking statistic that more than 80% suspensions go to SEN pupils. You can read that research here [https://www.arlenpettitt.co.uk/s/Set-Up-To-Fail-SEN-Suspensions-Research-Paper-Sept-25.pdf] and find out more about Arlen’s work in his newsletter [http://worroom.substack.com].

Parenting Off-Script EP1 - Heywood Similon | "What do you mean you're 'touched out'?!"

Have you read every parenting book and never found something useful? Ever feel like all the advice just doesn’t apply? Is there neurodiversity in the house?! Well, this is the podcast for you - this is Episode 1 of Parenting Off-Script. I’m Kate Gresswell-Pettitt, and in this series I’ll be discussing my experience of life as a mother. I’ll be talking about work, sense of self, mental and physical health and everything else that life throws at you…all while parenting a child with Special Educational Needs. In this first episode I speak to my podcast producer Heywood Similon who - like me - is a neurodiverse parent. We talk about growing up in the 90s, when conditions like ADHD and autism were even less recognised than they are now, and he explains the ethos he and his partner have when parenting their home schooled daughter.