What changes when we understand what is underneath behaviour

A free, volunteer-led project created to give families of neurodivergent children and children with SEMH needs somewhere to turn before things reached crisis.

There was no referral, no waiting list and no threshold to meet — just regular, accessible support, practical help and connection.

Monthly online coffee mornings were capped at twenty people so everyone had space to talk, alongside live workshops for families and professionals.

In 2021 alone, 168 families attended the coffee mornings and 295 families and professionals joined the workshops — with more than 700 people supported across the year.

“A lifesaver for me — just to know I am not the only one struggling.”Katie MacGregor

What we learnt: families often need someone to listen, practical support and connection much earlier — not another referral pathway to navigate.

A funded regulation project exploring whether a short, daily grounding practice could improve children’s readiness to learn and help staff respond earlier to signs of dysregulation.

A five-minute grounding practice was embedded into the school day each morning, alongside staff development. Teachers assessed 36 children with SEMH needs; 29 across Years 1 to 6, including every child in care, took part. After two terms the same assessment was repeated and totals had fallen for most of them.

“I believe it has helped both children to settle in the class first thing in the morning, to calm them before their learning begins… There was nothing I didn’t like about it.”Learning support assistant, Year 4

What we learnt: short, predictable regulation practices can become part of everyday school life — supporting children before they reach crisis, rather than only responding afterwards.

A funded sensory project exploring whether simple, parent-led regulation strategies could reduce distress around clothing, touch and everyday contact — including school uniform.

Eight families were shown practical somatic and sensory strategies to use at home over a short period. Two thirds reported a clear reduction in distress.

“Tracy is passionate about helping children and sharing her wealth of information and range of techniques with parents so they can begin to help their own children. We have already had great success in a short period of time using her easy techniques to tackle tactile defensiveness. We are excited to keep going with this and learn how similar techniques can help with other difficulties.”Jo & David Wainewright

What we learnt: when adults understood the distress as a nervous-system response rather than a child “making a fuss”, their response changed too. That learning was then turned into resources in the Learning Portal so more families and professionals could use it.

A subsidised wellbeing project for parents, carers and professionals, exploring whether short, structured sessions could help reduce stress and support the adults caring for children with emotional needs.

Sessions focused on helping adults notice and release some of the tension they were carrying. 94 people took part.

“Child Therapy Services were recommended to me by my local NHS Child Development Team for resources and support for my son. I thoroughly recommend Tracy’s training courses, they’ve given me some great tips for helping my son regulate his emotions. I also gave M Method a go last week to try and help myself for a change. I wasn’t sure what to expect but was surprised how much tension and emotion I was holding in and the relief in letting it go was amazing. The membership is well worth it and I look forward to seeing what else Tracy has to offer.”Sarah Howe

What we learnt: supporting a child also means supporting the adults around them. Making that support affordable and accessible matters too.

We continue to offer family coaching at a reduced cost so support is more accessible to families who may not be able to afford longer private sessions.

Sessions are kept to 30 minutes so they remain focused and affordable, with further discounts available to members. Each session is shaped around the child’s regulation, sensory and emotional needs, with practical ideas families can use at home and share with school.

“My daughter and I both have ADHD, and we have undertaken numerous courses and seminars on ADHD… However, we have learned more from Tracy’s coaching and her online courses than anything we have done before… My daughter described her sessions with Tracy as ‘being understood and accepted for the first time in her life’.”Parent, family coaching

What we learnt: sometimes a small amount of focused support can change how an adult understands what is happening — and that can change the environment around the child too.

The Practitioner Programme was developed in response to settings wanting to build knowledge within their own teams, rather than relying on external training each time support was needed.

Part-funded places helped professionals embed The BOUNCE Approach® within nurture spaces, classrooms and outreach roles.

“This is a brilliant course. It has helped me so much with my job as an INA, but also as a parent and an autistic myself. There are many more courses I am going to do to help reinforce this and install what I have learnt here. Highly recommend this course!”Jo, individual practitioner

What we learnt: practitioners needed more than knowledge — they needed a way to apply it, reflect on it and know where to start. In response, we deepened the programme with reflective assignments and built in BOUNCE Snapshots, helping practitioners turn their learning into practice, identify areas of need and quickly see what support or provision may need to be put in place.

We also introduced a six-month membership option, making it more affordable for professionals and settings to access the Learning Portal, build confidence and put BOUNCE into practice.

Throughout 2025, we worked with individual professionals and schools to understand how Snapshots were being used in practice — what was useful, what was missing, and what would make the information easier to act on.

Their feedback helped us move beyond a single assessment tool and develop a more complete system for assessing need, planning support and reviewing change.

“Snapshots are easy to do and are clear. It helps with early intervention and also allows adjustments when needed.”Amanda Dalton

What we learnt: professionals did not just need a score. They needed a clearer way to turn what they noticed into action.

That learning led to the development of Snapshot reports and Provision Mapping, helping settings see what may need support, plan provision more quickly and review what changes over time.

In 2026, we focused on one of the gaps we kept seeing in practice: professionals could often identify a child’s needs, but turning that information into clear targets, provision and day-to-day support was much harder.

We developed tools that allow professionals to upload an EHCP and link identified needs and Section F provision directly to relevant resources in the Learning Portal.

We also introduced an “I can” target system for children and young people on the SEND register, helping settings create clear, practical short-term targets that can be used within SEN Support, provision planning and review.

“I can now see a clear line from what was written in the EHCP to what we could actually put in place. It has made the next steps much clearer.”Sarah Clarke

What we learnt: identifying need is only useful if it leads somewhere.

That learning has helped us build a more connected system — linking need, targets, provision and practical resources, so professionals can move more quickly from understanding what a child needs to knowing what support they can put in place.

We know children do not all learn, communicate or make sense of themselves in the same way. For some, talking or completing a worksheet is not the best way in.

That learning led us to develop KidZone and the Professional Studio — using technology to create fun, visual and creative tools that help make complex topics such as emotions, regulation, sensory needs and identity easier to explore.

We also wanted KidZone to be free and accessible to all, so children, families and professionals can use the tools without needing an account, referral or paid membership.

Children can draw, create, build, choose and interact — giving them different ways to understand themselves and show adults what their experience is like.

“The Professional Studio gives me a way to take quite complex ideas and make them accessible for the child in front of me. Instead of just talking, we can explore things visually and creatively.”Emma

What we learnt: giving children a voice means giving them more than one way to communicate. Technology can help us turn complex ideas into accessible experiences, and some of those tools should be available to every child who may benefit from them.

Working with alternative provisions highlighted a recurring problem: many students had missed significant amounts of PSHE, but simply repeating traditional lessons was not always the answer.

Some young people already carried shame around their behaviour, emotions or experiences. They needed a different starting point — one that helped them understand themselves without feeling judged, corrected or told what they should be feeling.

That learning shaped our PSHE Learning Journeys: practical, creative lesson plans that explore regulation, emotions, sensory differences, communication and identity through a shame-free, neurodivergent-affirming lens.

The lessons begin with the body and build understanding gradually, helping young people make sense of their own experiences rather than simply learning the “right” emotional vocabulary.

What we learnt: young people who have disengaged from traditional PSHE do not necessarily need more of the same. They may need a different way in — one that starts with curiosity, safety and self-understanding.

A university research partnership exploring a question we kept coming back to: can one assessment really tell us enough about a child’s SEMH needs?

The Accelerated Industry Placement is exploring the earliest signs of difficulty, what adults notice first, and how different needs can show up in different ways.

What we learnt: one assessment system is not enough. Regulation, wellbeing, engagement, social skills and transition can each tell us something different about what a child may be experiencing.

That learning helped us develop a range of focused Snapshots, so adults can choose the right starting point, notice need earlier and match support more quickly.

Six-week implementation partnerships exploring how one focused change can be embedded in a real setting, measured, and kept once the project ends.

Settings choose a single area of need, access funded training and resources, put it into practice for six weeks, and use Snapshots to measure what changed. Two cohorts are open.

What we are learning: what helps a small, focused change last after the project ends.