The Therapeutic Approach

The Therapeutic Approach at Brantridge

Since the start of the 2024/25 Academic Year, Brantridge embarked on a journey to becoming a trauma-informed and fully therapeutic provision. We felt that this was the best approach to continue to holistically meet the evolving needs of our school community. We acknowledge that the majority of our pupils join us following traumatic experiences in their previous school placements, and therefore suffer from low self-esteem, low confidence and a lack of trust in the adults designated to support them. Our Therapeutic approach is designed to provide an atmosphere that promotes a culture of safety, calmness and connection at all times.

We want to keep you updated with our approach to ensure it is as collaborative as possible. Please see below what has been implemented so far:

• • • Collaboration made with Beacon House trauma specialists and Teaching Positive Connections
  • • Training provided to all staff across 4 INSET days last Academic Year – 16 hours total training from Beacon House
  • • All staff now completing 6 module Therapeutic Teaching course online – to be completed by July 2026
  • • Staggered changes made to behavioural approach in the build-up to full change of policy – this started with removal of       consequences and rewards – replaced by restorative conversations and collaborative problem solving (CPS)
  • • Restorative conversations are used as an additional opportunity to teach key skills of: empathy, frustration tolerance, seeing the   perspective of others, emotional literacy
  • • Regulation/mindfulness sessions are now officially part of the whole school timetable after key transition points.
  • • Overhaul of all class environments and corridors to ensure they are full therapeutic spaces – see attached pictures
  • • Creation of break out rooms for connection and respite – not for seclusion, isolation or exclusion!
  • • Parents/Carers sent the new Policy to ensure all stakeholders were involved in the culture shift.
  • • Therapeutic language script and lanyard created to support all staff when addressing low-level behaviour

Therapeutic Classrooms and Break Out rooms

Therapeutic corridors

A vital part of the approach was for all of our staff to collectively adapt our view/lens when looking at behaviour. As a team we now look at any incident of dysregulation/negative behaviours as a “lack of skill” as opposed to a “lack of will”. This helps us to then focus on supporting the dysregulation therapeutically whilst also helping to build skills. Below is a link to a short video on this theory called “Collaborative Problem Solving”:

Changeable: How Collaborative Problem-Solving Changes Lives at Home, at School and at Work

If you have any questions or would simply like to know more about our therapeutic approach, please feel free to call the office or email me directly at anytime: r.chowns@brantridge-school.co.uk

Robert Chowns – Assistant Principal/DSL