Engage
A behaviour-assessed companion dog helps lower the pressure and creates a reason to take the first step.
Est. flagship intervention · 100+ schools
Early intervention
begins with trust.
The Baxter Project helps children who may struggle with traditional support build trust, communicate safely and reconnect with learning alongside a carefully assessed companion dog.
This page is a short overview of The Baxter Project. For full delivery detail, referral information and evidence, visit our dedicated site.
Works with
AnxietyAdversityBereavementNeurodiversitySchool avoidanceExclusion riskCare experienceDisadvantageWider SEMH needs
Format
One-to-one, animal-assisted early intervention
Delivery
School-embedded, alongside existing pastoral and SEND provision — 100+ partner schools
Framework
Trauma-informed practice drawing on TRM, DNA-V, PACE and motivational interviewing (MI)
Next step
Refer a school or discuss delivery capacity
THE PURPOSE
Reach the child before the problem becomes the story.
The Baxter Project creates a safe route into support for pupils facing trauma, anxiety, bereavement, neurodiversity, school avoidance and barriers to learning.
Understand
Skilled practitioners use relationship-led, trauma-informed work to understand what sits beneath behaviour.
Re-engage
One-to-one sessions build regulation, communication and achievable routes back into learning and relationships.
Who we work with
Children who may not respond
to traditional support.
We work with children experiencing anxiety, adversity, bereavement, neurodiversity, school avoidance, exclusion risk, care experience, socio-economic disadvantage and wider social, emotional and mental health needs. Our approach is practical and relational — it helps children begin to trust, communicate, regulate and re-engage.
Anxiety
Bereavement
Neurodiversity
School avoidance
Exclusion risk
Care experienceDisadvantageSEMH needs
Our approach
Trust. Communicate.
Regulate. Re-engage.
Grounded in the Trauma Recovery Model developed by Dr Tricia Skuse and Jonny Matthew, every session is built around the same progression — met with patience, skill and trust.
01
Trust
The companion dog gives children a non-judgemental presence to build safety and trust before anything else is asked of them.
02
Communicate
Once safety is established, children begin to find language — verbal or otherwise — for what they are experiencing.
03
Regulate
Practitioners support children to recognise and manage their emotional and physiological state in the moment.
04
Re-engage
With trust and regulation established, children are supported back into classroom life and peer relationships.
What supports the approach
Evidence-informed and school-embedded.
01
Evidence-informed
Delivery is grounded in the Trauma Recovery Model and informed by established research into trauma, relationships and recovery.
02
School-embedded
Practitioners work alongside existing pastoral and SEND provision, with clear consent, safeguarding and reporting arrangements.
03
Measured through ODISSYS
Session records, wellbeing and resilience measures, attendance, engagement and practitioner observations support termly reporting and review.
Practical questions
What schools and families usually ask.
What happens in a session?
Sessions are usually one-to-one and often use an outdoor walk-and-talk format. The dog creates a lower-pressure route into engagement while the practitioner works toward agreed goals.
How long is a session?
A typical session lasts around 45–60 minutes, shaped around the child, the setting and the agreed support plan.
What about allergies or fear of dogs?
Schools and families share relevant information before delivery begins. Participation is voluntary and arrangements are planned around allergies, phobias, cultural considerations and individual need.
How are practitioners checked?
Practitioners work within TAG safeguarding, supervision, consent, risk-assessment and safer-working procedures, including enhanced DBS checks where required for the role.
How are pupils referred?
The school identifies pupils who may benefit, secures the appropriate consent and agrees priorities with TAG before sessions begin.
What evidence does the school receive?
Progress is reviewed using structured measures, attendance and engagement information, practitioner records and feedback, with reporting through ODISSYS.
Evidence behind every placement
Support schools can see, understand and report.
ODISSYS brings session evidence, safeguarding notes, validated wellbeing measures and termly reporting into one clear system.
1:1relationship-led sessions
35,000+sessions delivered since 2019
100+schools and organisations
ODISSYSoutcomes and reporting platform
Community roots
Schools are community hubs.
The service is place-based because schools are where need, relationships and early warning signs already sit. Sessions are deliberately informal — "walking a dog" — but underpinned by serious, evidence-informed practice. The relationship with the practitioner is the intervention; the dog creates the conditions for connection.
Read verified case studies ↗The Baxter Project, in pictures
Real sessions, real schools.
Photographed at partner schools including Cardiff West Community High School, Roath Park Primary and Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive — framed, as always, to protect pupils' privacy wherever possible.
Next step
Bring trusted early intervention into your school.
Talk to TAG about referrals, delivery capacity, safeguarding and what a Baxter Project cohort could look like in your setting.