Enhanced Support Model Case Study - Larne High School

When his Statement of Educational Needs was finally in place, it included the option of access to an autism unit. His current school did not have that capacity, and we were advised to consider a transfer. A friend mentioned that Larne High School had a reputation for being flexible and genuinely supportive with children who had additional needs. Acting on that, I made an appointment to meet the SENCO.

I want to be honest: I went to that meeting expecting nothing. After more than a year out of school, I had almost no belief that my son would ever attend regularly again. I just needed him to be registered somewhere.

We arrived just as assembly was ending. The foyer was busy and noisy. My son stood with his face almost against the wall, visibly shaking. I thought for a moment we should just leave.

When the SENCO appeared, everything changed. She did not rush to solutions or judge the past. She was warm, welcoming, and immediately reassuring, and there was none of the sense that they would be doing us a favour by taking him. The tone she set from that first moment was: you are very welcome here, how can we help? She spoke directly to my son, put him at ease, and made clear that nothing would be forced, nothing would happen without his say-so, and that everything would go at his pace. She listened, really listened, and in that moment we felt seen, heard and safe. Her approach set the tone for everything that followed.

While the autism unit was named in his Statement, after speaking with us she felt she might have another option that would be a better fit for him: the school's Emotional Wellbeing Room.

The key to this model is something that, to my knowledge, very few schools in Northern Ireland are doing. Larne High School is able to convert the classroom assistant hours allocated through a child's Statement of Educational Needs into full-time teaching hours within the Wellbeing Room. This means a fully qualified teacher is present in that space, working with children at their own pace, through the same curriculum as their year group.

This is not a withdrawal unit. It is not a holding space. It is a genuine learning environment designed to allow children to build trust and stability before they are ready to access mainstream classes.

My son joined the school in May. For those first weeks, there was no academic focus at all. He was invited in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but only if he felt well enough to come. He wore navy joggers and a hoodie rather than full uniform, matching the school colours so he felt like he belonged without the pressure of formal dress.

He spent those first weeks in the Wellbeing Room getting to know a small, consistent team of staff, playing Xbox, making his own drinks and snacks in the small kitchen, and slowly beginning to feel safe. No one ever pressured him to stay longer or do more. The staff there genuinely cared about him, earned his trust, and made school feel safe again. Slowly, school became somewhere he did not dread. Somewhere he could breathe.

There was no pressure to move straight into mainstream classes. There was never shame, punishment, or any sense of you should be doing more. Only patience and belief in him.

By the time September came, there was something we had not had in a very long time: hope.

In September he began accessing maths and English in the Wellbeing Room, working through the same content as his year group but at a pace that suited him. He continued on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday pattern for the full year. Alongside the academic work, the classroom assistant supporting him noticed when he needed movement or a reset and offered breaks without fuss, whether that was a short game of football, a walk, or simply a chance to decompress. That attunement made school manageable again.

I will be honest: I worried at times that he was falling behind. But I kept coming back to what I could see in front of me. His mental health was improving, his confidence was growing, and he was going to school. I chose to trust the process.

One of the most significant things that happened that year was the work Empower to Transform did with him and a small group of other young people. They are a youth work charity who came into the school and worked with the children in a completely different way, making learning feel engaging and relevant. My son went on his first ever school trip in post-primary, a visit to the Peace Walls in Belfast to learn about the Troubles. He was captivated. It opened something up in him.

His History teacher also reached out proactively during this year, simply to learn about him and make him feel welcome before he had ever set foot in her classroom. That kindness, and her genuine interest in him as a person, meant that History became his favourite subject. He wanted to try for her, because he felt valued by her.

When he began accessing mainstream classes the following September, I was nervous it would be too much too soon. But because the foundations were so solid, because there was a base in the Wellbeing Room he could always return to, it worked. The Wellbeing Room remained his anchor, giving him the freedom to join lessons when he felt able, or step back when he needed to. He goes out to History, RE, Science, English, and Maths without a classroom assistant, independently. He walks into those rooms himself.

His History teacher has been exceptional throughout. His RE class, with its smaller and more inclusive environment, also helped him feel settled and confident. Every teacher he has encountered has gone out of their way to make him feel genuinely part of the school.

He recently sat his first GCSE Maths paper. He had not done formal Maths since primary school and expected to do very badly. He got top marks. He could not believe it. Neither could I. It showed something important: the gaps in his attendance had not defined what he was capable of. He had not fallen as far behind as either of us feared.

My son attends until lunchtime at the longest. If you looked only at his attendance figures, it would look like he was failing. He is not failing. He is thriving. Attendance numbers do not capture mental health, confidence, reconnection with learning, or academic progress. They are one factor among many, and when a child has EBSNA, treating attendance as the primary measure can actively prevent the approaches that actually work.

At the heart of everything Larne High School has done is relationships. Relationships came first, before any expectation around learning or attendance. That is not a soft or incidental thing. It is the foundation on which everything else has been built. What Larne did was more than accommodate my son. They helped him reconnect with learning, with other people, and with himself.

That culture does not happen by accident. It is nurtured. Dr Reid, the headmaster, has created a school that is warm, calm, and welcoming for all children, and that ethos runs through every interaction we have had there. It comes from the top, and it shows at every level, from the SENCO to the classroom assistants to the subject teachers. Everyone has asked the same question: what does this child need? Are they happy? That question has come first, consistently.

The flexibility of the model has been essential. But flexibility alone is not enough. What Larne has done is find a way to create real flexibility within a system that increasingly does not allow for it. They found a way to make the Statement work differently. That took creativity, commitment, and a leadership culture that supports staff to think outside the box. This is what a relationship-first, child-centred approach can achieve.

I want to recognise the SENCO and SEN staff specifically. They are the people at the coalface, trying to find human solutions inside a system that grows more rigid. They deserve recognition, support, and the resources to keep doing what they do.

I want to close with something that goes beyond my son's story, because I think it is relevant to how the EA considers this model.

The approach at Larne works because Statement hours have been repurposed into something more flexible and more effective. But there are many children with EBSNA across Northern Ireland who cannot yet get through the school door at all. Those children often have Statement hours sitting unused in a school they are unable to attend. No work is being sent home. No support is reaching them. They are in limbo, exactly where my son was for a year and a half.

If Larne can repurpose those hours within school, the same logic could apply to children who are not yet in school. Converting unused Statement hours into home tuition, remote teaching, or outreach support could have made an enormous difference to my son during that period of absence. It could make a difference to many children right now.

I hope the EA will look at what Larne High School has built not just as a model for within-school support, but as a starting point for thinking differently about how Statement provision can reach children wherever they are.

1. Leadership and culture start at the top

A child-centred, needs-led philosophy only works when it is modelled from the very top. At Larne High School, the Headmaster and leadership team champion this approach, and it shows at every level, including reception and administrative staff. Whole-school consistency in warmth, flexibility and compassion is not incidental. It is essential.

2. The SENCO sets the first foundation of trust

The first interaction a family has with a school can determine everything that follows. A SENCO who listens, collaborates, and co-designs support with families rather than presenting ready-made solutions sets a powerful tone for the entire school journey.

3. A dedicated wellbeing space with consistent, skilled staff

A safe, consistent base staffed by one or two familiar adults provides the stability and trust that children with EBSNA need. It allows flexible reintegration while ensuring the child always has somewhere secure to return to. The repurposing of Statement classroom assistant hours into qualified teaching hours within this space is a model that other schools could explore.

4. Relationships before academics

Building trust and emotional safety must come before attendance targets or academic catch-up. When a child feels connected, understood, and genuinely welcomed, motivation to learn follows naturally. Reversing this order rarely works.

5. Flexible, student-led reintegration

Progression into mainstream classes should be gradual and entirely at the student’s pace. A no-pressure approach, with a secure base always available, reduces anxiety and increases long-term success. Shame, urgency, and attendance targets during this phase are counterproductive.

6. Teachers who take time to know the student make a lasting impact

A teacher who shows genuine interest, adapts their expectations, and creates an inclusive atmosphere can unlock engagement that no intervention programme can replicate. One caring teacher can be the reason a child wants to attend. This costs nothing except intention.

7. Small, inclusive class environments help rebuild confidence

Where possible, smaller groups, gentle encouragement, and discussion-based learning help students feel valued and able to participate. The transition from a small, safe space to a mainstream classroom is significantly easier when some classes offer a middle ground.

8. Holistic experiences rebuild a positive association with school

Trips, small group projects, and activities that feel relevant and enjoyable help children associate school with belonging and success rather than stress and failure. For a child who has been out of school for a long time, a first school trip is not a small thing. It is a milestone.