School Partnership

Our core work is ideally carried out via a School Partnership. Each school has had their own highly qualified and experienced therapist who, over time, builds up a meaningful relationship with staff at that school.

This relationship is key in enabling honest and reflective conversations about the children and families mental health difficulties but also staff’s own experience and struggles in helping and teaching them. 

The therapist works closely with the SENCO and Head to identify the most vulnerable and appropriate children for therapy. This referral process is considered and comprehensive and can be helpful in identifying a need to refer onto other services, either for the individual child, their parents / carers or families as a whole. Often this can lead to referrals to our Parent / Carer Therapy Service. 

Therapists can also provide a reflective space for school staff to develop their understanding of the children and families they serve. This often involves in-depth professional consultation or training on relevant issues such as Attachment, Trauma or Grief and Loss and the impact of this on children’s experience of school and their access to learning. 

Therapists are based in the school for a period of time each week which enables them to be a regular face in the school. This allows the whole school community to engage and the therapists can be available to offer ad hoc advice for specific issues, often during those all important ‘corridor chats’!

All our therapists work in a systemic or holistic way which means they consider the child’s needs in their family, education and community systems. The therapist will then develop an individual, tailored therapeutic package for that child which may involve recommendations for supporting other aspects of that child’s world to effect the most meaningful change.