​About Wyatt

Wyatt is a year 6 boy who is in Foster Care. He has been excluded from mainstream school and attends an alternative provision where he struggles to regulate his feelings and can display challenging and sometimes verbally and physically aggressive behaviour to peers and staff. He was referred to Stable and Wild for support with dealing with his difficult feelings and emotions, possibly due to his fears of moving to a new school.

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At Stable and Wild

Wyatt presented as articulate and mature and shared that he was excited to start his programme. He appeared aware of his need to deal with his feelings better, sharing that he sometimes felt overwhelmed by his emotions and the prospect of change.

 

Wyatt found it easier to talk about his feelings whilst completing activities, so we practiced declaring feelings whilst completing practical tasks. He was able to relate the horse’s feelings and behaviours to his own which helped him to explore his own feelings. Worksheets enabled Wyatt to identify physical symptoms of worry and strategies for coping and to reflect on the challenging behaviour he displayed in school. This supported him to understand how his feelings impact his behaviours and how he could use the feeling of calmness he has when with horses to help him in school.

 

Wyatt engaged in written work and took pride in reflecting on what he had learnt. He enjoyed having input into session planning and often requested the opportunity to practice or repeat any activity that he found difficult, ‘so he could get better.’

 

To build self-esteem and confidence, we reflected on his achievement throughout the session, using scaling 1-10 for him to monitor his own improvement. He particularly enjoyed collecting ‘nature treasure’ on a mindfulness walk, giving this activity 10/10.

 

Impact Measures and Outcomes

• Wyatt has identified that his confidence has increased since being at Stable and Wild

• Wyatt understands how his own feelings and emotions impact his behaviour

• Wyatt is more able to share his feelings with others

• Wyatt feels more prepared to deal with the change of moving to a new school and is focussing on the positive new challenges this will bring