Schools

We provide therapeutic and psycho-educational support to pupils/students and/or parents/carers in schools. Educational establishments are becoming increasingly more responsible for providing solutions to a myriad of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that arise on a daily basis and Brighter Futures South West provides evidence based interventions and solutions to support schools in meeting their requirements. We work with a whole host of issues and behaviours. Our work is innovative in the way that we engage children, young people and the parents/carers and our interventions are very effective. In many cases we work with the student and the parent to equip the parent to be able to meet their child’s needs at home and we support school staff in understanding the child’s needs in the learning environment. We have worked in a number of ‘Special Schools’ and our support includes working with special needs, the Autism spectrum, Asperger’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit and Hyper-Activity Disorder to name but a few. We provide skills and strategies to parents/carers as well as training to the teaching staff. Schools can buy support on an hourly basis or buy a half or full day of support. Most schools buy regular set times on a weekly basis. The more time you buy, the cheaper the support becomes. Some school use their Pupil Premium Funding to provide emotional and behavioural support to their pupils.

The pupil premium is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England. It’s designed to help disadvantaged pupils of all abilities perform better, and close the gap between them and their peers. This funding can be used for a variety of needs to support the child. If your child requires emotional and behavioural support for example, the school can use this funding to supply this support from either an ‘In House’ or external service. We would recommend that you talk to your child’s school about this. Education providers can also use Pupil Premium Plus to purchase special education services. Pupil Premium Plus for looked after children recognises the impact of trauma and loss in children’s lives and how schools have a key role in supporting children who have had this difficult start to their lives. Pupil Premium Plus is currently £2300 per child, per year. Early Years Pupil Premium is also available as additional funding within early years settings and this funding equates to £302.10 per year. Pupil Premium Plus is available to pupils from reception to Year 11 who are in local authority care and who have been adopted, left care under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) or left care under a Child Arrangements Order. This funding is available to all children who are adopted from the care system. How is funding accessed? In order for schools to access this funding parents and guardians must have declared their child’s adoptive, SGO or CAO status directly to the school. Parents and guardians must provide evidence for example, a copy of legal order for example should suffice.

Some pupils who are adopted and need additional emotional and behavioural support will be eligible to receive funding through the Adoption Support Fund (ASF). Below is the link to the government website which gives information about eligibility and how to apply.

We also work closely with the Pioneers Project in Plymouth.

 The Pioneers Project is a popular choice for schools and children’s services where children may be excluded or at risk of exclusion and a different approach is needed to delivering education and support to children and young people who struggle in a mainstream education setting. This project offers bespoke support which is suited to the individual’s needs but also meets the criterion and requirements of the statutory obligation of schools to provide an education. This support in offered ‘off site’ using a variety of innovative medium to meet the aims and objectives of the referrers. For more details, you can view their website here:

The Massage in Schools Programme (MISP) was first introduced into UK schools in 2001. It is a programme of positive touch and clothed peer massage for children aged 4 – 12 years and their parents. It is used in schools, child centred organisations and the home to improve children’s wellbeing.

A number of studies have been done in the UK using different methodologies. The outcomes from the studies in this overview of research show that the main benefits of the MISP are:

• Improved calmness and concentration
• Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
• Improved social skills with a greater number of relationships/friendships with peers and adults
• Children feel happier and more relaxed
• A reduction in aggressive behaviour and bullying
• A more positive attitude and greater engagement with learning
• Improved ability to work in groups and independently
• Greater creativity and problem solving • Increased awareness of the body and signs of stress and anxiety

If you would like to know more about this program, please contact us for further details.