ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Building trust and connection through Relational Practice Gretton School in Girton creates a secure, supportive environment for autistic young people – headteacher Beth Elkins explains
A HELPING HAND Forest school (left) and music lessons (above) are popular at Gretton
This focus on preparing learners for adulthood and fostering self-belief has been transformative. Many learners come from backgrounds of emotional and educational trauma, where even words like ‘school’ or hearing their own names can feel triggering. Now, two or three years on, Gretton is seeing fewer incidents among its growing cohort and is looking at how it can expand its Relational Practice to the wider school and local community. The power of Relational Practice lies in making these authentic connections between staff and learners, creating an environment where learners can flourish in all aspects of their education. “Our mission is to empower every learner to be a proud and valued member of the Gretton community,” adds Beth. “By celebrating each unique experience with autism, we aim to instil a sense of pride and self- understanding. When learners graduate from Gretton, they do so with a deeper awareness of their own autism, its impact on themselves and others, a readiness to celebrate their differences and the ability to confidently navigate life’s complexities.”
R ecently awarded the National Association of Special Schools (NASS) award for outstanding impact, Gretton School’s Relational Practice is a testament to its commitment to providing support for autistic children and young people. This follows the school’s ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating in February 2024 under the leadership of headteacher Beth Elkins, who has shaped the school’s approach for over four years. Gretton School, a specialist provision for autistic learners aged 5-19 in Girton, Cambridge, welcomes both day learners and weekly boarders. The school’s understanding of autism goes beyond just support. Its recent NASS accolade highlights how its Relational Practice approach creates a secure, encouraging environment in which learners can thrive academically, socially and emotionally. “Relational Practice pervades all interactions at the school,” says Beth. “It’s the underpinning culture, the thread that runs through everything we do.” This approach means each staff member is part of a community that’s fully committed to
learners’ wellbeing and growth. Whether it’s helping learners manage a particularly tough day, their emotional responses to unexpected changes or supporting them in social interactions, Relational Practice is at the core of everything Gretton does to help learners gain a more regulated mindset. According to Beth, the approach “enables us to serve a common purpose: we’re here purely to support learners in developing the skills they’ll need long into the future.” Holding children in positive regard Relational Practice at Gretton began by rethinking how staff considered the behaviour of learners – a powerful shift away from holding leaders accountable to enabling learners to understand and express their emotional states in more positive ways. Reflecting on a colleague’s advice to “hold the learner in positive regard, no matter what,” Beth notes that this concept became the foundation for everything else. Solution circles now guide the team’s approach, prompting them to ask: “What are we seeing? What do we want to achieve? What’s the goal?”
To find out more about Gretton’s practices or get in touch with the staff, visit the school’s website at grettonschool.com
Powered by FlippingBook