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school stayed open throughout, other than when forced to close due to outbreaks amongst pupils or staff, the very real trauma, caused by the unknown and unpredictable nature of the pandemic, has left its legacy. When the pandemic was deemed over, it was of course understandable that our school community was reluctant to do the many things that had, for the past two years, and still today, compromised the safety of those around us. This has made reinstating many of the normal “day-to-day” things at our school a challenge. However, with every passing day, we are continuing to adapt and overcome.


to encourage practitioners to recognise that surface-level behaviours often indicated a child’s more significant need. SEMH can manifest in different ways but typically results in a barrier to learning. Managing the emotions and behaviours of a child with SEMH often requires targeted interventions and a trauma-informed approach. At the Fen Rivers Academy, we operate several


therapeutic interventions, including sensory therapy, creative art therapy, rebound therapy, and forest schools. Sensory Therapy specialises in teaching


children how to adjust their level of stimulation to get into the best zone to learn. Sensory therapy techniques may also be beneficial for people experiencing feelings of anxiety. At The Fen Rivers Academy, the five senses are always involved in learning delivery; we notice and imagine how what we are feeling manifests in our bodies, helping regulate sensory processing. Creative Arts Therapies is a term for


healthcare professions that use the creative and expressive process of art-making to improve and enhance the psychological and social wellbeing of individuals. The artwork created in the presence of the art therapist can provide a focus for discussion, helping the child reflect and make sense of behaviours and emotions they may feel confusing and hard to put into words. Forest Schools are nature-based communities


where trained practitioners nurture exploration and discovery, creating meaningful experiences for positive lifelong impacts. Wellbeing is the foundation of our practice, and through recognising the social, emotional and physical needs of participants, we provide the guidance and facilitation for our time in nature. Rebound Therapy in our school has given


students a fun and exciting weekly intervention. Rebound Therapy, when correctly applied, describes a specific methodology, assessment and programme using trampolines to provide opportunities for enhanced movement patterns, therapeutic positioning, exercise and recreation for children and young people. The whole-body movement supports students' mental health and well-being as well as their ability to be calm and have self-confidence in their bodies.


How important is wellbeing at the Fen Rivers Academy? Mental wellbeing is a huge focus here at the Fen


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Rivers Academy. We implement several interventions to ensure the relational and emotional health of all. Our interventions are evidence based with the backing of over 1,000 research studies from psychology and neuroscience. Four of our staff have undertaken the Level 5


Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Practice and have practitioner status. Practitioners work with all staff to cascade their training and share this in-house. Our vision is to provide appropriate training for all staff so they work in a trauma informed way and so the school is a mentally healthy place for all. This means we aim to help children and teenagers before they get mental health problems – to catch them as they are falling not after they have fallen. Towards this aim we strongly endorse the


statement in the Government’s 2017 Green Paper titled Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision; “There is evidence that appropriately-trained and supported staff such as teachers, school nurses, counsellors, and teaching assistants can achieve results comparable to those achieved by trained therapists in delivering a number of interventions addressing mild to moderate mental health problems.” We are appropriately training school staff to take on this task. In fact, our staff have recently won an InsideOut mental health award for their work in supporting and championing mental health.


What are some of the biggest challenges your school faces right now? Some of the biggest challenges faced right now come from the social and emotional impact of the last two years of pandemic. Although our


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How will the Fen Rivers Academy develop its SEMH offering over the next few years? Children who are not in school or not having their needs fully understood in mainstream school become less and less able to manage their behaviours, which communicate their unmet needs. Often, this leads to further marginalisation from society and yet deeper disengagement from learning. Through our approaches, our students leave us ready to progress onto the next stage of their life as a positive member of society. Their needs have been understood and met, giving them a pathway on which to thrive. And shouldn’t this be the purpose of all young people’s education? This is not to say, however, that we won’t be


refining, developing and improving our approaches continually to ensure that the individual needs of our students are catered for. Some plans we have for the future, as the school grows in size and caters for students through to the age of 16, are to further expand our integrative therapy and counselling offer, as well as our access to nature through biophilia projects. This includes recognising the positive impact of time spent in nature and the outdoors, and widening our curriculum offer to feature additional outdoor learning opportunities such as Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Outdoor Adventurous Activity (OAA), swimming, sailing and links with the wider community to improve the social, emotional and mental health of all. Needless to say, at the Fen Rivers Academy we’re very excited for what’s to come.


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