Alternative Provisions
We work across a wide range of alternative provisions supporting young people with social, emotional, behavioural and academic needs.
Many young people who are facing complex issues in their lives benefit from the therapeutic environment created by our specialist canine and practitioner teams who work on a one-to-one basis, focusing on specific strategies for the individual to provide a safe and non-judgemental space.
Case study – Elliot
Elliot is a year 5 boy with a very difficult home life. As a result, in school he finds it difficult to conform to school rules, is disruptive in class and often refuses to participate in class activities. He spends time out of the classroom and has attempted to abscond from campus on several occasions. He can also become aggressive towards peers and teachers.
Challenge
- To learn to manage his anger and outbursts, especially in the classroom environment. This would then enable him to take part in class activities and enhance his learning.
- To increase the amount of time spent in the classroom
Strategy
Elliot often feels overwhelmed in class with the work and requests being made of him. This then triggers his anger. He can’t easily verbalise this but over the course of the CAL sessions we have worked on recognising this trigger and offered strategies to help him cope. We developed a set of coping techniques together and used the CAL strategy cards as something tangible for him to refer to.
Outcome
- Elliot’s attendance in class is starting to improve. When he feels overwhelmed and feels like he needs to leave, he is verbalising this through prompt cards – he is now going to his agreed safe space rather than attempting to abscond.
- Elliot is also now much less disruptive in class and is engaged with more activities on a daily basis. He is starting to be able to control his anger by implementing the strategies we have worked on.
We provide both Consultancy School Dog Services and Affiliate School Dog Services for this setting.
Consultancy School Dog Services is where one of our team of a trained school assistance dog and practitioner can visit your school for one-to-one sessions and Affiliate School Dog Services is where we can offer a training and support programme for your own school dog for this setting.
“Thank you again for working magic on X last week. We have been trying to integrate her into STARS for a number of weeks and have only managed to get her to the reception desk. Wednesday was the first time she had fully entered the building and the fact she stayed with Lilly for 30 minutes was incredible. The next day she came to a maths lesson for 10 minutes! Lilly has also worked wonders on X during her English mock exam, calming her down enough to re-enter the exam and complete the paper.”
