18 January 2022
We were very proud and excited to see Grange School feature on BBC’s Newsround this January! Newsround is a BBC news programme specifically aimed at children and young people. The team visited Grange to film a feature based on the extra curricular offer, highlighting how working with animals can support young people with autism. The BBC team met with Grange pupils Kaylem, Asia’nae, Kyle, Cristian, Liam and Terrence who thoroughly enjoyed meeting the team and explained all about how they take care of the resident animals and how this makes them feel.
“The animals help me feel calm and happy”
Currently 3 alpacas, 5 pigs, 6 ducks, 2 therapy dogs, 3 tortoises, 3 rabbits, 1 gecko and a hedgehog are full time residents at Grange and are part of the school family. The animals provide pupils with comfort and support and help them to learn important life skills which they develop as they care for them. Pupils work with the animals each week in class, carrying out tasks such as feeding, cleaning, grooming and walking.
Grange School have achieved the Autism Specialist Award for 2022 from the National Autistic Society. Rachael Clifford, Headteacher, explained that socialising can be the biggest challenge for children with autism, but animals can help with this, "Research from across the world has found that interaction with animals is very beneficial in developing our pupils social skills by building confidence, showing empathy and discussing shared experiences."
Click here to view the Newsround feature, and to find out more about Grange School, please follow the link to their website: https://www.grange.manchester.sch.uk/
Newsround
