Therapeutic
Supporting Every Child
At Romans Field we believe “once we learn to regulate ourselves and relate to others, we can learn anything!’ We use therapeutic principles at three levels the whole school, the whole class and the whole child. Each level contributes to allowing children to thrive academically and socially, form positive relationships, and become confident and helpful members of our school community. To meet this aim some of our children at Romans Field School require support from a range of specialist professionals. Depending on their needs, some of our children will have access to an onsite speech and language therapist, learning mentors, counsellors/psychotherapists.
The whole school level
Our whole school approach to mental health and regulation is underpinned by attachment and trauma theory (find out more here), whereby understanding each child’s current and previous experiences and relationships can help to shape their provision. We value the deep and lasting emotional bonds that children form and truly appreciate the relationships between our pupils, families and staff. From the moment your child arrives at Romans Field we want them to feel welcomed and cared for. We offer kindness and compassion with firm and consistent boundaries.
We support this whole school approach by running staff training on attachment, trauma, mental health and wellbeing, and provide staff with a biweekly reflective supervision space. This means that all staff who work at Romans Field have the skills and expertise needed to foster the whole school approach.
The whole class level
In each class we aim to create a happy and positive learning environment. A child’s bond with the class staff and fellow pupils is crucial to their long-term success at our school. In every class, everyday, children receive PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) lessons, these include an emotional check in and a short group activity based on Theraplay principles.
PSHE has its own page please see here for more information click here. During PSHE lessons, we discuss mental health and allow children to explore how their thinking, emotions, and behaviour all influence each other.
The emotional check in uses a ‘Zones of Regulation’ (find out more here) approach, which provides an open space for children to share how they are feeling. Daily, this allows the children to work on verbalising their thoughts and choosing actions that can help them to feel more settled.
Theraplay based activities are short and fun sessions that focus on developing attachment and class cohesion. They are based on therapeutic principles but are not counted as individual therapy.
The whole child level
At Romans Field, we view the whole child as important contributors to the relationships they have, where they influence and are influenced by their friends, families, environment, and professionals. We work with parents and carers to develop a deep understanding of each child so that we are able to support them at our school. Some children require a more individualised approach and if needed the signpost them to a range of internal and external therapeutic options.
Internal support
Learning Mentoring - At RFS, we have a team of learning mentors who support pupils learning. Class teams identify the barriers for pupils in specific subjects/areas and refer the pupil for learning support. The learning mentor will tailor and deliver an intervention to support the pupil within the area with a clear entry and exit point to support their progress.
Protective Behaviours - Protective Behaviours is a practical and clear approach to personal safety. It is a process that encourages self-empowerment and brings with it the skills to avoid feeling and being victimised. This is achieved by helping people recognise and trust their intuitive feelings (early warning signs) and to develop strategies for self-protection. The protective behaviours process encourages an adventurous approach to life which satisfies the need for fun and excitement without violence and fear.
Emotional Wellbeing - A bespoke intervention, running over an initial 8 sessions, which aims to work with individual pupils addressing issues such as anxiety, anger and resilience. Pupils are supported to understand their feelings, identify triggers to behaviours and discover strategies to support them both in and out of the classroom. The intervention may be extended as required on an individual basis.
We have a full time Counsellor/Psychotherapist who works with our children who are affected by mental health issues such as:
- Depression
- Aggression
- Anxiety
- Self-harm
- Behaviour
- Trauma
We are approved by the University of Northampton to host trainee placements, which means at different times of the year we also have a trainee counsellor/psychotherapist with us.
Speech and Language Therapy – We have a qualified speech and language therapist that works with us for three days a week. Their work includes all support and intervention that enable children to develop their speech or sound production, language or choice of words and communication. Many children struggle to communicate how they think and feel about a situation and our approach aims to develop the skills that are most useful for each child.
External agency working - We work collaboratively with a range of external agencies including the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Occupational Therapy and many others. This includes supporting or making referrals where needed, facilitating appointments and helping to deliver programmes in school.