Schools, SENCos & Local Authorities

Who we are

Pets on the Green Ltd is an animal-assisted therapy and alternative provision business based in Warlingham, Surrey. We work with mainstream schools, special schools and local authorities to deliver curriculum-aligned enrichment and SEND-specific therapeutic intervention. Our work is grounded in the regulating power of human-animal contact, structured around clear educational outcomes, and delivered to the standards set by KCSIE 2025 and the SEND Code of Practice.

Director and lead practitioner: Ciera O’Rourke. Registered company 16721467, VAT registered, Animal Activities Licence 014153.

Why animal-assisted activity

Animals provide non-judgemental, predictable contact that supports emotional regulation.
Many children — including those with attachment trauma, autism, ADHD, anxiety or school refusal — engage with animals when they cannot or will not engage with adults.
Animal contact creates the conditions for learning. Once a child is regulated, curriculum content lands.
Children who care for animals develop empathy, observation and responsibility — outcomes that translate across the curriculum and into adult life.

What we offer

1. Curriculum enrichment

In-school visits delivering hands-on workshops aligned to the National Curriculum.

KS1 — habitats, life cycles, simple animal classification, caring for living things.
KS2 — adaptation, food chains, classification, evolution and inheritance, ethical relationships with animals.
KS3 — biology curriculum tie-ins, careers in animal welfare and conservation.
Workbooks and teacher resources accompany each session.

2. SEND therapeutic intervention

One-to-one and small-group sessions delivered at our Warlingham site, in school, or at the child’s regular educational setting. Tailored to EHCP outcomes, in a sensory-aware environment, with animal-led co-regulation and progress reporting back to the school or local authority.

3. Alternative provision

Sustained placement for children at risk of permanent exclusion, in receipt of EHCP-funded AP, or otherwise needing structured time outside the mainstream classroom. Block placements, typically 6–12 weeks, with clear outcomes agreed with the placing school or local authority, documented session-by-session progress, and reintegration support where appropriate.

4. Family sessions

Where the placing school or local authority agrees, the parent attends sessions with the child. This is a deliberate strengthening of the family system around the child.

How we work

Safeguarding

KCSIE 2025-aligned safeguarding architecture. The Director is the DSL with relevant accredited training. Single Central Record of all staff and volunteer checks. Enhanced DBS with barred-list check for all child-facing personnel. Clear reporting routes to Surrey C-SPA and the Surrey LADO. No physical intervention model.

Animal welfare

Licensed and inspected under our Animal Activities Licence. Registered vet. Quarterly per-animal welfare assessments. Full animal welfare documentation.

Health and safety

Our full risk assessment library is published on this site — per activity, venue type and species group. Public and employer’s liability insurance. First aid trained on every session. Infection control and zoonosis policy.

Outcomes — what to expect

We measure and report on engagement, regulation, communication, confidence and, where applicable, curriculum gains aligned to placement aims. Reports are written in a form usable in EHCP annual review meetings, on commissioning paperwork and in child progress reviews.

Outcomes — what not to expect

We are honest about what animal-assisted activity is and is not:

It is not a substitute for clinical mental-health intervention.
It does not replace specialist SEND teaching.
It does not produce instant change.
It does not work for every child.

We are clear with referrers about what we can offer, and recommend alternatives where another route would serve the child better.

SEND provision statement

Our provision is written against the Children and Families Act 2014 Part 3, the SEND Code of Practice 2015, the Equality Act 2010, the Education Act 1996, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for young people aged 16+, and Working Together to Safeguard Children.

We work across all four broad areas of SEND identified in the Code: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and sensory or physical needs. Children often have needs across more than one area.

The full SEND Provision Statement, EHCP outcomes mapping and example templates — sensory profile, communication passport, session plan, progress reporting and annual review contribution — are in the Schools and SEND pack, available on request.

How to commission us

Initial enquiry — email, our contact form, or a text or WhatsApp. Having it in writing means we can look back at the details.
A 30-minute discovery conversation — what’s the child or cohort, what’s the goal.
Site visit or school visit — we meet the child, observe the setting, and agree the right intervention.
Quotation and service description.
Booking confirmed and the session booking agreement signed.
Sessions begin.
Mid-placement and end-of-placement reports.

Fees are provided on request. Curriculum enrichment is charged at half-day and full-day rates; SEND therapeutic sessions per session, with block-of-6 and block-of-12 discounts; alternative provision agreed per placement and billed monthly in arrears. VAT applies to all fees. Schools, local authorities and care homes are invoiced against a purchase order.

PawSteps — for your staff, not just the child

Alongside the sessions we run, we build PawSteps — an animal-based learning and wellbeing platform, built around the animals we look after here. Schools and SENCos can use it independently of booking us.

Why us

Our Director has direct lived experience of the SEND system, and brings practitioner-grade understanding to commissioning conversations.
Our writing — policies, reports, communications — is at a level schools recognise.
Our animal welfare standards are visible, documented and inspectable.
Our safeguarding architecture is rigorous and current.
We are local, in Warlingham, Surrey, and our work is rooted in the community.

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Schools, SENCos and local authorities