Therapeutic Schools Award
£5,000
Mental health leads can apply for a grant of up to £1,200 towards the cost of this award. Find out more below.
A Whole School Approach...
Our whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing changes practice, supports teacher development and empowers you to put wellbeing at the heart of your school. Create a culture where all teachers are confident at recognising the signs that children are struggling, and know how to respond. Create an environment where children are taught to understand their own mental health and are given the tools they need to flourish in the world.
This programme includes our signature Therapeutic Teaching course which is underpinned by neuroscience and trauma theory and will upskill you to become trauma-informed and attachment aware in a practical, tangible way.
We are skilled at closing the gap between theory and practice and give you step by step processes to help you initiate change. We will explore the impact of childhood trauma, how attachment disorder presents in school, therapeutic responses, cultivating emotional intelligence, creating calmer environments, and approaching challenging behaviour. All modules are all online and come with lifetime access, PDF reminders and additional resources to help you embed the approach so that the impact of the course continues long after you have completed the modules. This course will help improve behaviour, social, emotional, and academic outcomes, staff skillset, staff wellbeing, and children’s mental health.
In order to be eligible for the award, all schools must evidence that they are applying what they have learnt in the courses to their settings and must slowly embed therapeutic practices alongside the way. The programme also includes our wellbeing curriculum to support your PHSE with a specific focus on mental health and social/ emotional development.
Receive a grant of up to £1,200
The DFE have released a grant of up to £1,200 which is available to senior mental health leads in schools from September 2021 to March 2022.
The grant is to help develop the knowledge and skills needed for senior leadership to implement an effective whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in their settings.
Our Award
The training aspect of this award is open to all teachers and support staff and we encourage you to sign everybody up to the course modules. It is important to note that you cannot use the DFE grant to fund the place of anybody other than the Mental Health Leader. You may choose to give them access to the training hub before other members of staff, so they they can devise a self-initiated plan for the school. This is down to personal choice.
Which staff are eligible for the grant?
- Head teacher
- Deputy head
- SLT
- Appropriate member of staff who is empowered to develop and oversee the whole school approach
How to apply
A list of courses that meet the required quality standards will be published at the end of September 2021. We will publish the link here when it is available. You will need proof of purchase of this award in order to receive the grant. We will give you a specific order reference.
You can book now and apply for your grant later.
What is the process?
You Can Expect:
- An initial whole school assessment
- 24 hour, lifetime access to our online platform to allow for effective implementation and strategic planning both initially and long term
- Additional online wellbeing curriculum to enhance the approach
- Supporting resources
- Senior leadership area to address staff leadership and signposting
- Leaders will be paired with therapeutic school leads from schools who have completed the training who will act as mentors
- Regular check-ins to monitor progress
- Live workshop with staff to encourage discussion and to help relate theory to practice
Assessment:
- Assessment criteria checklist to ensure school meet all expectations
- Self-initiated plan for strategic change and feedback
- Feedback of the course modules will be gathered to monitor the impact
- Assessments after every module to ensure understanding
- 2 specific assessment tools are included to monitor change and evidence impact.
- Final whole school assessment and evaluation of outcomes + impact report
Completion:
- Awarded Therapeutic School Status
Ongoing Support:
- Ongoing support from TPC Therapy after the course has been implemented
- Peer support from other schools and leaders is ongoing through access to the therapeutic school forum.
Course Modules
Childhood Trauma and the Brain
Learn about childhood trauma and how it impacts a developing brain. Find out what happens when children are stressed or overwhelmed. Why they have ‘meltdowns’ and what the impact is on their behaviour and internal processing at school. Most importantly, learn what can you do to help. Underpinned by therapeutic approaches and full of advice and free resources. This session is vital for anyone working with vulnerable children or young people in an educational setting.
Attachment Disorder in the Context of the Classroom
Learn about attachment disorder and how it impacts a child or young person. Find out how to identify attachment disorder and how to support the children you work with by ensuring you are not triggering attachment style behaviours. Full of practical strategies and advice to help you figure out what is effective and what is not effective at school. You will have lots to take away and implement
Therapeutic Teaching Skills
Learn about how to develop therapeutic teaching skills with the children in your school. Find out how to adapt your responses to behavioural incidents and emotional outbursts to focus on connection and care. The lessons in this module will begin to create a therapeutic ethos amongst your staff and help guide everyone working with the children toward an approach that puts mental health and well-being first. A very popular session which will change perceptions and offer a lot of ‘ah-ha’ moments.
Creating A Therapeutic Environment
This module underpins the learning in other modules and should be taken following those sessions. Learn how to create a therapeutic environment throughout your school which puts well-being and mental health at its core. Find out how changing your classrooms, hallways and outdoor areas can increase feelings of safety and promote self-belief which in turn positively impact learning. Ensuring your school is meeting the needs of each child through its design.
Creating an Emotionally Intelligent Class
Learn about emotional intelligence and how focusing on developing EI in your children can predict better outcomes and life skills than academic achievements. This module links to the government guidelines on health, relationships and sex education and will inspire you to put wellbeing at the heart of your classroom. Find out how you can increase emotional intelligence in the children you work with and help them become more self-aware and empathetic by following the advice, resources, and support in this module.
Connection vs Disconnection When Approaching Behviour
working with vulnerable children. Find out how to approach behavioural incidents whilst still maintaining a therapeutic approach based on connection. With specific approaches and advice for you to begin to implement in your school. This session guides you toward alternative methods to time out and detention whilst still maintaining the boundaries many vulnerable children desperately need.
The Wellbeing Curriculum
What is included?
- Their mental health
- Self-belief
- Positive mindset
- Emotional intelligence
These lessons are:
- Understanding feelings
- Anger management (the brain)
- Self-concept
- Body image
- Social media and technology
- Mindset
- Success vs failure
- Stress buster
- Mindfulness
- Positive relationships
The curriculum includes:
- The wellbeing curriculum guide
- 10 online core happiness project lessons
- Additional activities to complement the core lessons
- Daily practices
- Online calming stories read by Shahana Knight
- Lower year lesson plans
- Seasonal additions such as Christmas and world book day related resources and videos
- The impact assessment paperwork
- Observation forms
- Self-assessment form
Linking to DFE
Frameworks
This award helps you meet the expectations laid out in the following DFE frameworks:
- The government’s Green Paper – Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision.
- DFE Mental health and behaviour in schools November 2018
- DFE Mental health and wellbeing provision in schools 2018
- DFE Relationships, sex and health education 2019
- DFE EEF improving behaviour in schools
- DFE reading framework 2021
Meeting the DFE
learning outcomes
The DFE state that the mental health lead is intended to be a strategic leadership role with oversight of the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in their setting. They state that whole school approaches should develop senior leads by increasing knowledge and giving them practical skills and tools to be able to plan for a whole-school approach.
They have outlined specific learning outcomes which course providers are expected to meet. Leaders are expected to enrol in courses that meet one or more of these outcomes.
The Therapeutic School Approach meets the following outcomes:
That promotes respect and values diversity.
To support their own mental wellbeing and that of pupils and students
Impact
- Improved outcomes, socially, emotionally, and academically
- Improved staff wellbeing
- Clear whole school approach can be evidenced with specific examples of where changes have been made and how this will be maintained
- Increased staff skillset and confidence to support children
- Children will be more emotionally intelligent and understand their feelings
- Children will have specific strategies to manage their own mental health and wellbeing needs and will be confident to use them in their day-to-day practices.
- The school environment will cultivate inspired learners
- Teachers feel confident to build positive relationships with students
As Seen on the BBC!
Cost
- Access for the whole school training
- Access includes TA’S, Support staff, office staff, and lunchtime organisers
- Lifetime access for the whole school, so you can add new users as they join your school at no additional cost
- All course modules, resources, and support
- Ongoing support from TPC Therapy that continues long after you have completed the award
It is really important that after all of your hard work you do not lose momentum or dip in standards. In order to continue to have access to the wellbeing curriculum and renew your therapeutic school status each year for £400 a year.
This covers the cost of resubmission, assessment, a new banner, and relevant award badges.
Speak to us
It all sounds brilliant but you want a bit more info before you book? No problem! Contact us to book a live demo and we will talk you through how it all works and show you the training platform.
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