Welcome to Belong Learning 

Belong Learning is a social enterprise that meets the unmet needs of children. Formed in 2013, Belong Learning delivers specialist education through our independent schools in Gloucestershire and Devon. 

Belong Learning works with secondary-school age students who have specific additional needs around their social, emotional and mental health, including Autism and ADHD. Belong Learning’s schools are built around an ethos of relational practice, a term commonly used in a variety of sectors including education, health, and social care. At Belong Schools, relational practice means placing relationships at the heart of all interactions. Strong relationships and personalised strategies are fundamental to the core belief that before a student can learn and achieve, they must feel safe and secure; they must feel that they belong. A key aspect of this relational practice involves understanding a student's behaviours as a means of communication. When incidents take place, staff work to understand what is being communicated, supporting students to rebuild and restore relationships and repair the harm caused. Trauma-informed understandings go hand-in hand with relational practice, recognising the importance of feeling safe for all students and staff. 

Students frequently begin their time at a Belong Learning school after a number of episodes of challenge and difficulty at previous educational placements, often causing feelings of rejection and resentment. The first mission for the schools is to build positive perceptions and attitudes through the hard work of Belong Learning's highly dedicated and skilled staff team. The commitment to belonging is not limited to the direct work with students; a close, trusting and honest relationship with parents, carers and family serves to hold and maintain a student’s provision. 

Belong Learning’s Schools combine small group learning and one-to-one support to enable academic, social and emotional development. The schools work with young people and their families to develop learning strategies to overcome individual challenges and meet Education Health and Care Plan goals. The school curriculum is designed to enable students to learn and to gain qualifications, build confidence and to make choices. Everything is geared towards allowing all to become thriving, successful adults in a modern world.