Have you noticed children in your setting who find it hard to sit on the carpet and listen? Maybe they look quite awkward when they’re drawing, or something about the way their body is positioned just doesn’t look quite right? Their pencil grip might be good, but the pencil might keep breaking? You might have seen other children who seem to need to move a lot to stay sat in one position? Or others who struggle to negotiate their environment, so that everyday things like being able to hang their coat on their peg is tricky for them. They might seem to do everything at top speed or seem to be bumping and falling more than their peers? Maybe they’re a child who avoids climbing or dancing? Or they don’t notice when they hurt themselves? Perhaps they find it hard when other children talk loudly or shout, but then be really noisy themselves? You might notice that they see to be overwhelmed by the demands of the school day.
All of these things might be indicators that a child hasn’t yet got a good foundation of bodily regulation that will allow them to get the most out of being at school.
BUSS® in Education is a 3-year programme designed for children’s pre-school or first year in school. What BUSS® can helpfully offer, alongside the good relational and teaching practice already in place, is a way of first understanding where each child is developmentally, through the lens of foundation sensorimotor systems. BUSS® in Education combines a manualised programme of work, supported by a BUSS® Practitioner working with you in-school. This allows your team to develop the expertise in assessment of children’s foundation sensorimotor systems and differentiation of the programme to meet the needs of individual children and classes in order to build bodily regulation.
The programme incorporates a daily whole-class morning routine, enhanced provision in each classroom, and targeted work based on initial assessments. It is designed to develop foundation sensorimotor systems, building capacity and school readiness. We work by upskilling school staff in their ability to assess children’s developmental levels and support children to gain the skills that underpin engagement in education:
Our work in education settings has grown from the BUSS® clinical model. Every piece of work begins with a discussion, followed by a school visit, and if it feels as if it’s the right fit for your school, we’ll deliver training to your key staff before we get started.
Research conducted by the Population Health Sciences Institute Biostatistics Research Group at Newcastle University (2026) looked at outcome measures for 468 families who completed BUSS®. They concluded that building bodily regulation using this model improves emotional regulation, behaviour, relationships and daily functioning. Click here to read an Executive Summary of these findings.
For more information about bodily regulation, the structure of the programme and how it might look in school settings, please use the button links below to download an overview of the BUSS® in Education programme. The programme looks slightly different for schools local to our base, in the West Yorkshire area, than schools located further away due to distance and the logistics of travelling for visits. Therefore, there are two different documents available, so please select the one that best suits your location, or let us know if you need any help with this.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss whether the programme might be a good fit for your school, please get in touch with us: info@bussmodel.org
Louise Hill, Headteacher at Grimes Dyke Primary School:
Alex Clark, SENCO and Associate Headteacher at Meadowfield School:
Jancis Andrew, Head of the Virtual School at Leeds:
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