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NeonDaisy is an alternative community of kinship for big-thinking girls feeling marginalised at mainstream school.

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In our spaces, young people have the freedom to discover themselves and connect with like-minded peers. They can have fun, break the rules and explore their sense of self, boundaries, autonomy and sensory preferences, supported by neurodivergent role models.

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​​​We give young people a greater sense of belonging, improved wellbeing, better connectedness and more confidence in expressing their wants and needs - paving the way for a safer transition into adulthood.

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What we provide:

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​Creative spaces for young people

• ​In-person social groups to build self-acceptance and self-advocacy skills - led by our 'big sister' role models. Based in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Banes.

• Youth-made arts magazines & digital content to connect and inspire young people isolated at home

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Daisy-powered design

• Young people as co-creators

• Led by specially-trained neurodivergent mentors with lived experience

• Evidence-led: shaped by real local & national need + what we know works

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Transforming the conditions 

• Local online parent community for peer support and resources

• National Emotionally-Based School Avoidance (EBSA) training for schools, co-developed with educators & young people

• System-level influence through our insights and amplifying the voices of Daisies

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What makes you a Daisy? 

Our Daisies are girls and gender non-conforming young people aged 8 to 18, but they don't need any kind of diagnosis or to identify as neurodivergent. The young people who will feel most at home in our community are likely to feel several of these things below, a lot of the time. They often:

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• ​Feel exhausted and overwhelmed at school, but hold this on the inside until they come home or are with their most trusted people
   

• Struggle to go to school sometimes, or maybe are at home all the time and now find it hard to do things they used to enjoy and do easily
   

• ​Love getting into things deeply - thinking, making, imagining, noticing, asking the questions no one else does
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• Like connecting with others, but without pressure to talk or be a certain way
   

• Are most comfy when expectations are clear but flexible, and they don't have to guess what the unspoken 'rules' are
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• Thrive in places they can be themselves; they put a lot of pressure on themselves to 'fit in' 

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• ​​Enjoy places where they are free to do things in their own way and at their own pace; and where it feels easy to say 'no thanks'
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• ​​Put pressure on themselves to meet other people's expectations and to get things 'right' - and can get very upset if they feel they've 'messed up'
   

• Absorb other people's moods and energy deeply, even if no words are said - and sometimes take responsibility for them
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• Care about things being fair, equitable and making logical sense, and notice when they aren't

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• Sometimes find it hard to do things, even if they want to

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• Can find it overwhelming to get started on or finish some things that feel boring - but when it's something they love, can find it hard to stop :-)

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Who are we?

​NeonDaisy is a female-led, Bristol-based Community Interest Company founded in 2021. It was built from the simple wish of one of our founding directors: to find a joyful, creative space where her daughter felt free to connect with others as her true self. It seemed she wasn't alone - a small Facebook group set up to arrange a quick playdate grew to 85 Bristol families in two days, and the seeds of NeonDaisy were sown.

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Today our private online community is purpose-built for more than 1,500 local families who rely on us and each other for connection, belonging and affirming resources. Everything we do is shaped by our specialist team of adults with lived experience and youth work expertise, co‑designed with the young people we work, and guided by a neurodiverse board who bring a wide range of professional and lived experience.

 

We work creatively and positively with system partners - including multi‑year commissions from the NHS and local authority - always keeping the voice, wants and needs of our Daisies at the heart of every decision. Over the past five years, NeonDaisy has grown into a trusted partner in the local landscape, relied on by hundreds of families across Bristol and beyond.