Specialised tuition beyond the classroom.
Ruby provides flexible one-to-one tuition and coaching for children experiencing school attendance difficulties, including a child who is not currently managing to attend school consistently. Parents may describe these experiences as school anxiety, school avoidance or difficulty attending school. Where attendance difficulties are driven by emotional distress, the term emotionally based school avoidance, or EBSA, may be used. Attendance can become difficult for many connected reasons, including anxiety, sensory overwhelm, unmet learning needs, neurodivergence, difficult relationships or experiences, and periods of transition.
Personalised education for children learning outside mainstream school.
- London Teacher of the Year Award 2021
- BSc Psychology
- Qualified Teacher Status
- Assistant Psychologist & Psychological Research Experience
- In person across North London and online worldwide
What this support can offer
School attendance difficulties are rarely resolved by simply asking a child to try harder. Their behaviour may be communicating that something about school feels overwhelming, unsafe or unmanageable for them.
Ruby can provide flexible educational support so learning can continue, alongside coaching that helps the child understand what is making attendance or learning difficult and develop practical strategies around confidence, regulation and communication.
Ruby does not provide mental-health treatment or medical advice, and she cannot guarantee that a child will return to school. Where a learning difference is part of the picture, there is more on SEN and neurodivergent tuition.
When school isn't the right place, learning shouldn't stop.
There are many reasons why children learn outside a traditional classroom. Some families choose home education because it better suits their child's needs. Others are navigating school avoidance (EBSA), supporting a child with medical needs, or waiting for the right educational setting after leaving mainstream school.
Some children attend an online school, follow a reduced timetable, or access alternative provision while they rebuild confidence. Every journey is different.
Ruby’s role is not to replace school. Her role is to help children continue learning in a way that feels safe, personalised and meaningful.
Who this is for
- Children experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
- Children struggling with school avoidance or anxiety around attending school
- Home educated children
- Children attending an online school
- Children learning through alternative provision
- Children on reduced timetables
- Children with medical needs affecting school attendance
- Families choosing flexi-schooling
How Ruby’s support works
- Flexible daytime sessions online across the UK or in person across North London
- Personalised education and coaching
- Support alongside home education programmes
- Support that complements an online school curriculum
- Confidence-building for children experiencing school avoidance
- Learning support during periods of alternative provision
- Continuity while children are awaiting placement
- Adaptations for children with medical needs
- Flexible scheduling around reduced timetables and flexi-schooling
What Ruby works towards
- A child who feels safe and settled enough to learn again
- Steady academic progress, whatever the setting looks like
- Confidence rebuilt at a pace that suits your child
- Structure and routine that fit around your family's arrangement
- A calmer, more hopeful experience of education for everyone at home
Qualified teacher, psychology graduate, and award-winning specialist educator.
Ruby Cole is a qualified teacher with Qualified Teacher Status and a BSc Psychology (Hons), and winner of the London Teacher of the Year Award 2021. With 10+ years working with children and young people across the UK and internationally, she supports both how a child learns and how a child feels.
Qualified teaching background
Classroom and specialist experience across London schools brings clear knowledge of progression, assessment, school expectations, and age-appropriate teaching.
Psychology and child development
A background in psychology supports careful attention to motivation, confidence, emotional regulation, and how each child feels safest and most ready to learn.
Additional needs and neurodiversity
Sessions are adapted for neurodivergent learners and children with additional needs, without lowering expectations or making a child feel singled out.
Frequently asked questions
Do you support children experiencing school avoidance?
Yes. Ruby works with children experiencing school avoidance and school anxiety, sometimes called EBSA or emotionally based school avoidance, helping them rebuild confidence while continuing to learn.
Do you work with home educated children?
Absolutely. Ruby provides personalised coaching and specialist education for home educating families across the UK.
Can you support children attending online school?
Yes. Sessions complement your child's online curriculum while supporting confidence, organisation and wellbeing.
Can you work with children on reduced timetables?
Yes. Ruby regularly supports children attending school part-time or following a reduced timetable.
Do you work with children in alternative provision?
Yes. Ruby’s sessions can sit alongside alternative provision to provide additional personalised learning and coaching.
Can you support children with medical needs?
Yes. Ruby works with children whose medical needs affect school attendance, providing flexible learning that adapts to their circumstances.
Do you support flexi-schooling?
Yes. Ruby can provide specialist coaching and education that fits around a flexi-schooling arrangement.
What this is
Personalised one-to-one education and coaching for children learning outside mainstream school. Some children are home educated by choice. Some are unable to attend school because of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) or anxiety. Others are learning through an online school, attending on a reduced timetable, accessing alternative provision, or temporarily out of school while awaiting a suitable placement. Some are unable to attend because of medical needs, while others thrive through flexi-schooling. Wherever your child is learning, they deserve education that fits them.
What this is not
This is not therapy, counselling, clinical treatment, or a replacement for school, and it is not an assessment service. If Ruby believes a child would benefit from clinical support, she will always say so.
Talk it through with Ruby.
A free 15-minute discovery call, no pressure and no obligation.