Special needs · Anxiety

A calm, safe place to learn, one small step at a time

Pencil Spaces helps anxious students learn online with predictable lessons, private ways to ask for help, control over camera and background, and no surprises.

데모 체험하기 Pencil Spaces 체험해 보기

Share it with your child’s tutor Teaching at home? Try it

모든 유료 요금제에서 2주간 무료로 이용하실 수 있습니다. 신용카드 정보가 필요하지 않습니다.

Area

Social, emotional and mental health

Who it helps

Students with anxiety, including school-related anxiety, tutors, schools, wellbeing teams and families

What lessons need

Predictability, low pressure, privacy, safe ways to ask, gentle endings

In Pencil Spaces

6 features available today, 1 coming soon

Customer story

Love2Learn 교육

Part of

Special needs, need by need

What do anxious students need from an online lesson?

Anxiety can make learning feel risky: the fear of getting it wrong, of being seen, of not knowing what comes next. Online lessons can lower that risk, as long as they stay predictable and give the student control.

No surprisesPermanent Links · AvailableThe same link and the same Space every week, so getting to the lesson is never a new thing to worry about.
Tech sorted before the lessonTech Check · AvailableCamera, microphone and connection are tested before the lesson, so problems get fixed before they cause stress.
Home stays privateVirtual Backgrounds · AvailableBlur or replace what’s behind you at any point in the lesson, so cameras can stay on without showing home.
Ask quietlyChat · AvailablePrivate messages to the teacher let a student ask for help without anyone else knowing.
Mistakes that disappearEraser · AvailableRub out ink like on a real board, and undo brings it back, so mistakes feel safe to make.
How they’re feeling todayWellbeing Check-ins · Coming soonWellbeing Check-ins will ask each student how they feel with one tap as they join, so the teacher sees the room before teaching.
Progress they can seeProgress Review · AvailableA summary across many lessons shows students how far they’ve come, so one hard week doesn’t feel like failure.

Customer story

Love2Learn EducationCustomer storyA Birmingham team of 40+ educators teaching children with SEND online

The features behind it

Why can online lessons be hard for anxious students?

Live lessons are full of small exposures: the camera, the waiting, the question asked in front of others. For an anxious student, each one can tip into avoidance.

Uncertainty feeds anxiety. A new link, a tech problem at the start or an unexpected test can undo weeks of progress.

What does a lesson look like in Pencil Spaces?

The Tech Check runs before the lesson, so the student knows their camera works. They join the same Space as always, background blurred.

The tutor starts with something easy. When the student gets stuck, they send a private message rather than saying it out loud, and the tutor helps.

How do therapists use Pencil Spaces with anxious students?

School counselors and therapists use Pencil Spaces for 1:1 counseling and small groups that teach coping skills. The Waiting Room keeps each student out until the counselor is ready, so nobody walks in on another student’s time.

Recording Policies let a program turn recording off for counseling. Worry scales, feelings charts and coping plans stay on the student’s board, and private messages give a quieter way to say how they feel.

Tips for teaching anxious students online

Keep the structure the same every lesson, and say what’s coming.
Start with something the student can do easily.
Let the student control their camera and background.
Normalize mistakes: make your own, rub them out and carry on.
Notice and praise brave steps, however small.

Good to know

Wellbeing Check-ins are coming soon. Pencil Spaces supports anxious learners but doesn’t assess or treat anxiety, so follow your safeguarding and wellbeing policies.

Questions people ask

Is online tutoring good for anxious children?

It can be, since learning from home removes some of the pressures of a classroom. Pencil Spaces adds predictability with the same Space each week and a Tech Check before lessons. Students get private ways to ask for help and control over camera and background.

Can an anxious student keep their camera off?

The teacher and family decide. Students can also blur or replace their background whenever they like, which lets many keep the camera on without showing their home.

How can a student ask for help without others knowing?

Chat includes private one-to-one messages. A student can message the teacher directly, and the teacher can reply privately without stopping the class. Raise Hand is there too, for when a student is ready to ask in front of others.

Can Pencil Spaces show how a student is feeling?

Wellbeing Check-ins are coming soon. They will ask each student how they feel with one tap as they join, and flag patterns over time to the staff you choose.