Here is a definition of the terminology used on this site.

• parent rights: Learn more
• parent-school relationships: Power dynamics between families and schools. Relationships are structured by institutional authority, professional hierarchy, and resource control. Schools position themselves as experts whilst treating parents as emotional, biased, or unqualified. Positive relationships require schools to share power, honour parent knowledge, and accept accountability, whilst adversarial relationships emerge when schools defend institutional interests over student welfare. Relationship quality shapes whether concerns are addressed or dismissed. Learn more
• partial days: Partial days occur when a student attends for only part of the school day, whether formally planned or informally expected. When caused by disability barriers, staffing limits, or lack of support, partial days can become a form of exclusion rather than accommodation. Learn more
• partial schedule: A partial schedule refers to a situation where a student attends school for only part of the day or week rather than participating in the full school schedule. Partial schedules may be introduced temporarily to support a student returning after illness, trauma, or prolonged absence. However, concerns arise when partial schedules continue indefinitely or occur without clear goals, supports, or plans for full participation. Learn more
• partial schedules: Learn more
• partial-schedules: Partial schedules are reduced attendance arrangements that limit when a student is allowed or expected to be at school. They require clear purpose, review dates, supports, and a plan to restore access, or they risk normalising exclusion. Learn more
• participation: Participation means a student is able to take part in the academic, social, routine, and community life of school. It includes field trips, recess, clubs, relationships, classroom learning, and ordinary experiences that define belonging. Learn more
• pathological demand avoidance: Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is a profile associated with autism that describes an extreme anxiety-driven need to avoid everyday demands and expectations. Individuals with this profile may resist requests in ways that appear oppositional but are often linked to underlying distress and a need for control. Support strategies typically focus on reducing pressure, offering choices, and building collaborative relationships rather than relying on strict behavioural expectations. Learn more
• Patience: Patience refers to the ability to tolerate delays, uncertainty, or difficulty without becoming overwhelmed. In education advocacy, families are often encouraged to be patient while institutions review concerns or implement changes. While patience can support collaborative problem-solving, it can also become problematic when delays prevent timely action on issues affecting a child’s safety or access to learning. Learn more
• pattern recognition: Pattern recognition refers to the ability to identify recurring themes or trends across multiple events. In advocacy contexts, families may begin to recognise patterns when similar incidents occur repeatedly over time, even if each event initially appears isolated. Recognising patterns can help clarify systemic issues and support more effective responses. Learn more
• PBIS: Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework used in many schools to encourage positive behaviour through structured expectations, reinforcement systems, and consistent responses. The model focuses on teaching behavioural expectations and recognising students for meeting them. While PBIS is intended to create supportive environments, critics note that some implementations rely heavily on reward systems or compliance frameworks that may not address underlying needs such as trauma, disability, or unmet learning supports. Learn more
• PDA: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a profile associated with autism that describes an extreme anxiety-driven need to resist everyday demands or expectations. Individuals with PDA may avoid requests through distraction, negotiation, or refusal when demands feel overwhelming or threatening to autonomy. Support approaches typically focus on reducing pressure, offering choice, and building collaborative relationships rather than relying on rigid behavioural expectations. Learn more
• peer harassment: Peer harassment refers to repeated harmful behaviour by students directed toward another student. This can include bullying, intimidation, verbal abuse, exclusion, or physical aggression. Peer harassment can significantly affect a student’s safety, emotional well-being, and ability to participate in school. Schools are responsible for responding appropriately to peer harassment and creating environments where students feel safe and supported. Learn more
• peer safety: Learn more
• peer support: Peer support refers to assistance, encouragement, or understanding provided by individuals who share similar experiences or identities. In school settings, peer support can involve students helping one another socially, emotionally, or academically. Peer support can also occur among parents or caregivers who share experiences navigating education systems, offering information, solidarity, and practical guidance. Learn more
• Performative Accessibility: Symbolic inclusion without material support. Schools announce commitments to accessibility, adopt progressive language, and create policies affirming inclusion whilst continuing to exclude disabled students through inadequate resources, untrained staff, hostile environments, and accommodation denial. Performative accessibility functions as institutional branding, allowing schools to claim progressive values whilst avoiding the resource redistribution, structural change, and accountability mechanisms that would actualise those commitments. Learn more
• performative empathy: Performative empathy refers to expressions of concern or understanding that appear compassionate but are not followed by meaningful action. In institutional contexts, empathy may be expressed through reassuring language or supportive statements while the underlying issue remains unaddressed. When empathy becomes performative, it can create the appearance of care without changing the conditions causing harm. Learn more
• performative inclusion: Claims of inclusion that mask exclusion. Schools describe themselves as inclusive whilst maintaining practices that remove disabled students from classrooms, ration support, and prioritise non-disabled students' comfort over disabled students' rights. Performative inclusion operates through rhetorical commitment to diversity alongside material abandonment, positioning exclusion as unfortunate necessity rather than policy choice. Performative inclusion allows schools to maintain legitimacy whilst enacting violence. Learn more
• personal care: Personal care refers to support with bodily, hygiene, toileting, feeding, mobility, or health-related needs during the school day. It must be provided in ways that protect dignity, privacy, safety, and access to education. Learn more
• persuasion versus accountability: Persuasion versus accountability describes two different approaches to addressing institutional problems. Persuasion focuses on convincing decision-makers to voluntarily change practices through dialogue or collaboration. Accountability involves using formal processes, legal frameworks, or oversight mechanisms to require change when persuasion alone is not effective. Learn more