Have a look at our DESTY Champion Schools…

  • "I have been completing the DESTY with a new year 7 student who has experienced trauma in her young life. Although at first she was reluctant to talk about her feelings, over time she has been able to which is so rewarding. She loves attending her weekly sessions and likes to have the DESTY teddy with her and be able to print out her certificates. We always put the DESTY time poster on the door so we are not disturbed and she takes great pride in doing this herself-she knows that her DESTY time is hers and hers alone."

    Sam Nash , Home School Liaison/Deputy Safeguarding Lead - St. Nicholas School, Essex, UK.

  • "I would just like to say my children have not long started on the DESTY programme but they are fully immersed in it for the whole of their session. It has taught me some new things and a different way of looking at some things. It was an amazing course and I really enjoyed my journey on it. I look forward to taking part with the children every session. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this outstanding programme."

    Kate mead, Pastoral Learning Mentor - Milton Hall , Southend-On-Sea, UK.

  • “DESTY has proved to be an enjoyable and popular intervention for our children. It is engaging and interactive, giving the chance to connect 1:1 with both DESTY and the mentor delivering the sessions. Our children from Reception through to Year 6 are engaged and invested throughout, they are keen to visit DESTY Island and thoughtfully explore their core emotions in a safe and secure way”

    Sarah Geraghty, Family Support Worker & Emotional, Support and Literacy Assistant - The Brow Community Primary School, Runcorn, UK.

  • "DESTY is a really powerful program; it works really well to support children with their emotional regulation. It helps to build connection with the children and get to know them; for them to learn about themselves. The child is really at the centre of this discovery. Progression is clearly seen for the children and this creates great opportunities for success and further self-discovery."

    Lorraine Riddell - St. Martin De Porres National School, Dublin, Ireland.

Lets hear from our DESTY Mentors…

Maria Holmes-Lockwood - John Bramston Primary School, Essex, UK.

Helen Spencer, Parent support adviser - West Winch Primary School, Norfolk, UK.

Val Fillingham, Deputy Child Protection Officer - St. John Fisher Primary School, Knowsley, UK.

Read What Some of Our Partners Have to Say

“In Suffolk, we offer DESTY to schools and carers, funded via the pupil premium; feedback is invariably positive and we have found it to be an invaluable programme.  The combination of a training package with an intervention, means that the adult using the programme is very quickly upskilled and the impact for the child is equally immediate and significant.  The regular contact with Stephanie Fitzgerald has been very beneficial, through providing virtual training sessions to DTs, as well as all the administrative and back up support for the programme.  Stephanie has also adapted the package in response to the new duties (and is developing a secondary phase version, DESTY GOALS) and this flexibility reflects how well she understands the work of the Virtual School and the impact of our role for children with care experience. We really value the quality of our working relationship and the difference this makes for our young people and the adults who support them.

 Ro Harte, Deputy Virtual School Head, Suffolk County Council

“The Desty Programme provides the time and safe space for children to identify and articulate their feelings and emotions, alongside building their self-esteem and emotional resilience. The mentors have also found it extremely useful in understanding why a child might be behaving in a certain way. One mentor recently told me that the attachment training provided through the programme is the best training she has received so far. It is a fantastic programme and my vision is to ensure that all the schools I work with have access to the programme.”

Dawn Mahoon, Primary Phase leader, The Hounslow Virtual College for vulnerable children and young people with care experience