Alpacas & Friends CIC

Student Nurturing

Helping children with poor mental health plays a important part of our services.
In 2022, 18% of children in England were struggling with their mental health, according to NHS Digital data – that’s around 5 children in every school class, we would presume this statistic is now much higher.

Parents and teachers tell us that pressures on children’s mental health are greater than ever.

Alpacas and Friends, child nurturing teams spend one day a week in each Partner School we support, working closely with school staff to identify children most in need and intervene early, before problems escalate. We work with a child for as long as needed, using animal-based sessions to help them come to terms with difficult feelings or experiences. Our staff would also work alongside parents and teachers to help to better understand and meet the child’s needs through our assessments of each child.
Our nurturing sessions are also proven to aid children who are none verbal, children suffering from behavioural issues, attendance problems and home situations.

To become a partner school please complete the online application form. Link