Horizon School Lowestoft, Suffolk

Our Hamish & Milo story

Horizon School is a Pupil Referral Unit offering short-term placements for children and young people from Key Stages 1–5 who are experiencing difficulties in their mainstream settings.

Many pupils arrive after encountering significant barriers to learning, including social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, prolonged absence, trauma, or the risk of permanent exclusion.

In response to these challenges, Horizon School’s approach is rooted in a relational practice where the priority is rebuilding trust, strengthening self-worth and developing the social and emotional skills that enable children to successfully transition back into mainstream education wherever possible.

Horizon School Logo banner

School mission

Horizon School exists to provide an inclusive community of learning with high expectations, where every pupil feels Safe, Loved, Valued, Respectful, Inspired, and that they Belong.

Primary pupils attend for a 24-week placement and secondary pupils attend for 12 weeks, unless they are in Year 11, in which case they remain to complete their GCSEs. All pupils retain a dual registration with their mainstream school. Collaborative working is central to the approach, ensuring best outcomes and a joined-up, supportive pathway for each child. Where appropriate, specialist placements are explored when a return to mainstream is not in the child’s best interest.

Class sizes are intentionally small (maximum of 8 pupils), supported by high adult-to-child ratios to ensure personalised care and provision.

Assessment, induction and personalised provision

Horizon School has a dedicated Intervention and Pastoral Team, led by Tina Stagg, Deputy Head and SENCo. Every child’s journey begins with a comprehensive induction process, which includes assessment and multi-agency collaboration. Meetings are held with the pupil’s dual mainstream school, parents and carers, the Headteacher, the SENCO, family support workers, and external professionals such as the Virtual School or Speech and Language Therapists.

Individual targets are set and recorded within a personalised action plan. Increasingly, this plan incorporates the Hamish & Milo Programme as a core therapeutic and social-emotional intervention.

“Our dedicated staff ensure that students are at the heart of everything we do. Our school is a Pupil Referral Unit for students experiencing difficulties at their mainstream school which may include being at risk of permanent exclusion. We offer a range of short-term placements to identify barriers to learning, deliver interventions and educate the children that need additional support for their Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs, so that they can move back to their mainstream school or in some cases onto an appropriate long-term specialist provision.”

Di Chester, Headteacher

Hamish & Milo and the Suffolk Delivering Better Value (DBV) Project

As part of Suffolk Local Authority’s Delivering Better Value (DBV) Project, Hamish & Milo was selected as the county’s wellbeing resource and made available to schools across Suffolk. In September 2024, Horizon School proudly joined the Hamish & Milo community via this project.

To ensure effective implementation, Tina Stagg led the programme rollout working alongside key pastoral staff. She attended Explorer training and collaborated in Supervision sessions to embed the approach into daily school life. What began as a targeted intervention has now become a core element of Horizon School’s social and emotional learning strategy, supporting pupils to thrive both emotionally and academically.

Suffolk County Council choose Hamish & Milo Wellbeing Intervention provider

Using Hamish & Milo

The Hamish & Milo SEMH intervention programme is considered for all primary pupils as part of their school induction. Depending on assessed need, children access the programme through small therapeutic groups, one-to-one intervention sessions or whole-class delivery.

The programmes delivered across whole classes initially focus on three core emotion themes;

  • Amazing Me – Supporting the development of self-esteem, initially embedded for all pupils

  • Resilient Me – Building resilience and coping strategies

Therapeutic group work remains targeted and carefully structured to ensure pupils feel safe to explore their feelings and experiences. Delivery is progressively expanding across Key Stages 1–3, with ongoing adaptations to meet the needs of older pupils.

Horizon School Hamish & Milo Amazing me
SEL Programmes Self esteem
SEL Programmes Angry Feelings
SEL Programmes Resilience
Horizon School Hamish & Milo Families Together Celebrating me Session 4a

“We are developing the programmes now for the older children and bringing them into our Growth Mindset work.”

Tina Stagg, Deputy Head and SENCo

Hamish & Milo as a complementary intervention

Horizon School’s ethos is deeply relational. Many pupils have experienced breakdowns in trust, trauma, exclusion or prolonged absence from school. Rebuilding relationships and creating a supportive community or care is fundamental to the school’s approach.

Alongside Hamish & Milo, Horizon School also uses ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) interventions and Thrive. While Thrive and ELSA frequently involve 1:1 attachment-based work with a key adult, Hamish & Milo adds an important group dimension.

“Some children have both ELSA and Thrive. Hamish & Milo is complementary to both but it is really different too. Thrive is more 1-1 building attachment. Hamish & Milo gives them a group experience, being with other children who have had similar experiences. They realise they are not alone and you are explicitly teaching them the social and emotional skills so they become more aware and more empowered.”

Emma Jackson, Lead Learning Support Assistant (LLSA) and Thrive practitioner

Hamish & Milo strengthens Horizon School’s relational practice by:

  • Creating shared experiences

  • Reducing isolation

  • Teaching explicit emotional literacy skills

  • Aligning with PSHE guidance

  • Promoting empowerment and self-awareness

Hamish & Milo Families Together sock puppets
Horizon School Hamish & Milo sock puppets
Horizon School Hamish & Milo Amazing me

Families Together programme

Following the successful implementation of the core programme, Horizon School extended its approach to include the Hamish & Milo Families Together Programme. The programme rollout was led by Tina Stagg, alongside Emma Jackson, Lead Learning Support Assistant (LLSA) and Thrive practitioner, and Lee Watson, Cover Supervisor, who all completed Families Together training in October 2025. Since then, the programme has become a transformative part of Horizon School’s provision.

The first sessions were held in The Beacon, a warm and welcoming space within the school designed for community activities. All new parents and carers are invited to participate as part of the induction process and encouraged to attend the full series of ten workshops to engage in discussion, practical activities, and dedicated special time with their children.

Emma and Tina reflect on how the programme has helped build bridges between families and mainstream schools, with Headteacher Di Chester participating weekly, strengthening trust and transparency;

Hamish & Milo Families Together Parent Programme

  • “What a journey… it has been amazing! One of the parents called it ‘Mental Health Monday’. They just really love it.”

Emma Jackson

  • “We are all about breaking down barriers for families. They haven’t felt judged or blamed. They have felt heard and valued.”

Tina Stagg

  • “For one child, their mainstream school is going to continue with the Families programme so when they go back, the mum will be included. The mum actually has the confidence now to go on and be involved in the mainstream school.”

Tina Stagg

  • “We are not a ‘forever school’ but we are an intervention. The Families Together programme has opened the door for more positive relationships.”

Tina Stagg

  • “There are often fears about sending their children to our school, a stigma attached as it is a PRU. But with the programme, it couldn’t be further from the truth. When they first start they really feel included and welcomed.”

Emma Jackson

  • Grandparents have also attended and benefited;

    “It has been great welcoming grandparents to the group too. They were already doing so much for their granddaughter and this has given them confidence. It has all been about the love they have for her. During the Exploding Me session, they were really talking and crying and they really grew from that.”

Emma Jackson

Celebrating success with AQA Unit Awards

Achievement and success are central to Horizon School’s ethos. To recognise participation and commitment, Horizon has developed an accredited AQA Unit Award for parents, carers and their children upon completion of the Families Together programme.

This formal accreditation provides:

  • Tangible recognition

  • Increased confidence

  • A sense of pride and achievement

  • Validation for families who may not previously have experienced formal success

Horizon School Hamish & Milo Amazing me AQA

“The AQA certification provides an actual accreditation and has been invaluable in building confidence and a real sense of achievement for parents and children who complete the Families Together programme.

Many of our families wouldn’t ever have had this opportunity. It’s a real feeling of success and it is wonderful for our parents too.”

Emma Jackson

Ongoing plans and future development

Hamish & Milo is now embedded at the heart of Horizon School’s wellbeing and SEMH strategy.

Future plans include:

  • Expanding delivery across additional key stages

  • Increasing access for more pupils

  • Continuing Families Together as a core part of induction

  • Extending the programme further across the provision

  • Developing a Hamish & Milo Network, hosted by Horizon School, to collaborate with local schools and build a community of best practice

Horizon School Pupil Referral Unit looks forward with optimism and pride as Hamish & Milo continues to grow and strengthen the relational, therapeutic and community-centred approach that defines their school.

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