Helping Children Through the Transition

This morning, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris Price, Headteacher of The Cherwell School in Oxford, and the remarkable team from AT The Bus – including joint CEOs Maggie Scott and Juli Beattie. I’ve known Juli for many years and have always admired her unwavering commitment to children’s wellbeing, so it was a joy to reconnect and hear about their next bold step.

We met to discuss a new pilot project that could make a real difference: using the AT The Bus model to support vulnerable children through the often daunting transition from primary to secondary school. It’s a critical moment in any child’s life, but for those already struggling, it can feel overwhelming. The emotional, social and psychological challenges can be profound – and too often go unseen.

The pilot, rooted in the Beattie Method – a carefully developed, trauma-informed approach to group art as therapy – has the potential to offer exactly the kind of safe, nurturing space that children need during that transition. You can read more about the method here: The Beattie Method. It’s structured, creative, compassionate – and most importantly, it works.

Chris and his team at Cherwell are eager to be part of the solution. The school is ready, the model is tested, the need is clear. All that’s missing is the funding required for staff.

As we talked, I was struck by how much goodwill and expertise was already in the room. It would take relatively little to get this pilot up and running – but the impact could be immense. Helping even a small group of children feel seen, supported and secure as they begin secondary school could alter the course of their lives.

If ever there was a case for a modest investment with a potentially transformational return, this is it. I’ll be doing what I can to help this project find the support it needs – and I’d encourage others to take a closer look at the work of AT The Bus. This is exactly the kind of upstream, preventative initiative our young people need more of.