Beachbrook Nursery School

Beachbrook is an innovative Therapeutic Program founded by Dr. Joan Prideaux, psychotherapist and educator, in 1988. Our teaching teams (head teacher and two assistants) are experienced and trained by Dr. Prideaux to integrate healing intervention into the developmental learning process of each child's classroom experience. At Beachbrook, teachers are considered the primary healing interveners in the life of each child since they have the maximum opportunity to provide healing intervention; however, therapists are also an essential part of the team effort to energize each child's growth potential, and are essential to each child's developmental process.

To facilitate the evolution of trusting, intimate and meaningful relationships, each teacher and assistant is given three children to primarily care and provide for. Young children particularly, respond well to the intimacy of small grouping, which is similar to family style living. The primary structure in a child's life at Beachbrook is the teacher-child relationship. Second to that is peer grouping, within a safe, secure containing environment. Teachers, therapists, aides and substitutes are supervised by the head teacher and Dr. Prideaux in intensive weekly, individual, teaching team, and school staff meetings.

There is a maximum of nine children in a classroom. Our focus at all times is the whole child's functioning and not the child's brain alone. The learning of " being in the world" skills and cognitive skills are integrated into every facet of our work. Our understanding of a child's behavior informs our choice of intervention in the moment. Intervention methods are determined by the behavior presented in the moment, what it is we want the child to gain, and where the child is developmentally. Within the matrix of meaningful relationships and a safe holding environment, interventions may consist of: mirroring, cognitive intervention, psycho-dynamic, motivational, holding, problem solving, self-empowering, behavioral-whatever is determined to be useful in the moment. However, all interventions must always enable the child to experience the intervener as allied with the child's needs and on the side of the child. Each teacher and her group of three children have their own consistent living/learning area as well as general area for larger group activities.

The intimacy of this grouping maximizes opportunities for the deepening of relationships to evolve, and the working through of conflicts and confusions within a child and with others. The ever deepening relationships between teacher and children provides the opportunity for profound and often inspiring transformations in children - and teachers/therapists.

Children who attend Beachbrook may have severe emotional/behavioral difficulties, may be developmentally delayed, unrelated, lack speech, may have PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Autism). While all of our children benefit notably from our work, our special innovation is with children who have PDD - since we are generally able to form meaningful social relationships with these children - whose inability to do this is often their main presenting concern. Through our ways of working, children with PDD often become significantly more related and some develop verbal skills of various capabilities. A few children have graduated Beachbrook without any remaining signs of autism. Beachbrook's full-time Therapeutic Program is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and half-time Program from 2:30p.m. to 5:00 p.m., five days a week.