Percy Shurmer Academy, Birmingham

The school has worked hard in recent years to enhance provision for all children and to offer an enriching, creative and inspiring curriculum. There has been an ongoing focus to develop the professional practice of the ‘talented staff team’ and to create a whole school sense of community and belonging.

Percy Shurmer Academy works in collaboration with Montgomery Primary Academy with both schools having an overarching vision and shared values. The partnership has strengthened both schools and enabled them to offer a wide range of opportunities for the children and families, the staff and the wider community.

At Percy Shurmer Academy, there are high aspirations for all children, encapsulated in their values and objectives:

‘We foster a love of learning, nurture confidence, and provide a rich, ambitious curriculum that inspires every child.’

One of the important aspects of the school is the focus on relational and inclusive practice and this has been recognised through the achievement of the IQM National Inclusion Award. The school offers a specialist provision for deaf learners; its inclusive ethos is very much incorporated into the whole school and forms part of the celebratory nature of inclusivity and diversity across the whole school community. The school have achieved a range of accolades such as the Music Mark, being a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, and The Arts Mark, which demonstrates the school’s ethos and creative provision.

‘Education here is more than just academic success – it’s about preparing children for life. Through our inclusive ethos, high expectations, and strong community spirit, we empower our pupils with the knowledge, skills, and values to flourish in an ever-changing world.’

Percy Shurmer Academy joined the initial phase of the University of Bath Research Study and began implementing Hamish & Milo in the Autumn Term of 2022.

Jake Smith-Lawrence (Teaching Assistant), became the programme lead within the school and in collaboration with Marie Duffy (Head of School) and Gemma Yates (Deputy and previous SENCO), they were able to develop the approach to meet the needs of the children and to implement a range of intervention groups.

From the outset Jake showed dedication and care within his role and the children engaged and began to thrive through the group process. For many of the children they were able to feel safe to talk about their feelings, to make friends with other members of the group and to enjoy the activities.

For each group, Jake created a portfolio which celebrated each individual child’s experiences; showcasing the activities they had participated in, what the children had said which was captured in speech bubbles, a range of photos and examples of children’s work. These group portfolios enabled the Hamish & Milo work to be shared and celebrated with children across the school as well as the staff and with wider schools through the Supervision Hub sessions that were held to support practice across the Hamish & Milo Community.

Hamish & Milo has become a significant SEMH intervention that runs at key times during the week with different groups of children participating.

A lovely space has been created with a focus on helping the children feel nurtured, safe and able to interact as part of the group.

Some of the comments captured in discussion from the children

During discussions with Jane Knight (SENCO), Rachel (Teacher from the Deaf Resource Base), and colleagues Rosie, Jake, and Gemma, a number of insightful comments were shared regarding the impact and effectiveness of the Hamish & Milo provision:

“There is a sense of relief for some children in coming to the group.”

“You can really see a difference from when they start to the end.”

“There is a sense of relief for some children in coming to the group.”

“The children are learning an emotional language and being able to use the strategies to calm down.”

“The children are using emotional language and are starting to feel empowered to own their own feelings.”

“There is a wider aspect with other children becoming interested and the children helping each other.”

“The children are being empowered to transfer their skills from the group to the classroom and to the playground. It is really building confidence.”

“Hamish & Milo has changed the way I teach. I have become more aware of the children’s needs and have become more mindful of how I respond to them.”

“There hasn’t been objection from parents as with some other intervention. Hamish & Milo has been the complete opposite. The parents are seeing the differences at home. It has clicked for them, and they are relieved that it is helping.”

Using the Navigator Impact Reporting Dashboard platform was initiated as part of the University of Bath research project to help schools capture and present impact data for the children involved. The Percy Shurmer dashboard shows the range of groups that have been implemented within the school and identifies the experience and impact for groups as well as individual children. This information is significant for provision mapping, planning and review meetings such as IEPs, PEPs and EHCP’s.

Hamish & Milo is at the heart of wellbeing and pastoral support at Percy Shurmer. There is a lovely sense of belonging and community within the school with everyone being made to feel welcome and part of the whole. Hamish & Milo has supported the provision for developing the children’s social and emotional skills. It has given children a voice to share their experiences and feelings and to gain a sense of agency and empowerment.

Hamish and Milo will continue to be developed as a central intervention with more children being able to access the programmes. There are plans to introduce the Families Together Programme and enhance the partnership with families and the children.