CASE STUDIES
CASE STUDY 1: PARTNERSHIP WITH A SPECIALIST SECONDARY SCHOOL
St Marylebone CE Bridge School is a specialist secondary school for children with speech, language and communication needs. The school has 70 pupils across five years. It’s a wonderful school that cares deeply for the needs of the children and young people, all of whom have an Education, Health and Care Plan and many who have language and communication challenges, including Autism, hearing impairments, ADHD and elective mutism.
AT The Bus has been delivering Beattie Method sessions at St Marylebone CE Bridge School since January 2023. We run small and shorter sessions of 50 minutes which allows us to cater to the additional needs of the children and young people.
“By accessing AT The Bus, our pupils benefit from being able to communicate and express themselves in a wide variety of ways. [Since we began working together in 2003 we]... have seen the positive impact the sessions have had on our pupils.…The programme has been so successful with some of our Key Stage 4 students that they are engaging in longer afternoon sessions exploring ideas around qualifications, change and moving onto their post-16 provision.”
Kate Miller, Head Teacher Marylebone Bridge CE
The projects and art time have been incredibly well received. The students appreciate the independence the sessions allow them. One student said "I love how we can squeeze the paint out by ourselves". The groups have made clocks, flags, painted trays and tie dye shirts. The standard of the work is amazing and the positive responses that we see validate their sense of accomplishment and pride. We saw a boy in the corridor showing his teacher his work after his session. He was smiling from ear-to-ear.
“A recent Yayoi Kusama inspired project has been so enjoyed by the group. It has facilitated discussion around mental health, disability, resilience and art… we’ve taken a journey to Japan, explored pumpkins and squash and been immersed in dots!"
AT The Bus facilitator
SEE WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT OUR WORK
CASE STUDY 2: SUPPORTING CHILD WITH BEREAVEMENT - PRIMARY SCHOOL
“I really miss my mum. But I think you can help me with that in here”.
(Child A) was referred following the sudden death of their mother to help them to understand and process their grief. The child was experiencing a range of emotions that they did not recognise. AT The Bus provided a weekly, consistent, safe, quiet space for the child to begin to process and manage some of those feelings. Important elements of our work included acknowledging the child’s loss and feelings, helping them to name those feelings, honestly answering their questions in a factual and appropriate way with context and reassurance, and providing the opportunity for the child to talk and remember.
The art-making provided a purpose and a focus, helping the child make simple choices when everything else felt out of control. We spent time as a group thinking about how different colours might represent different feelings, developing emotional vocabulary while having fun mixing paint to make and share new colours. By working in a small, carefully constructed group we supported the bereaved child and their friendship group, enabling age-appropriate, honest conversations about death and grief.
CASE STUDY 3: BUILDING FRIENDSHIPS - SECONDARY SCHOOL
“At the Bus I’ve learnt how to make friends”
Students can be referred by the school when they are struggling socially and in this case, the school had noticed that two students were isolated in school, struggling to maintain friendships, and were often alone at break times. In small group sessions on the bus, they had the opportunity to share their worries, hear their peers discuss the challenges of making friends at secondary school and feel supported by one another.
A group art project supported the students to develop friendships, to practise working together and build a feeling of belonging by working on projects together and alongside others. The two students have spoken about how they now meet up to go for lunch together and one commented: ‘I like working around a table all together, I feel less isolated.’
AT The Bus can be a place where students meet others, helping them to feel more part of the school community, feel happier, and are more motivated to come into school, meaning attendance improves. Friendships can be scaffolded by facilitators who then step back to allow students to develop and take those friendships forward in sessions and then step off the bus together.
