A MUM has said thanks to an unusual school in Moretonhampstead for turning her son’s life around.

Morwenna Mead said she wanted to thank the staff at Running Deer School for going ‘above and beyond’ for son Jude.

Jude, now 16, has been at the school for two years.

He has high functioning autism, which has prevented him benefiting from school before.

Mum Morwenna and dad Paul, who have three other children, said they were at their wits’ end before finding this school, where his place has been paid for by education authority Devon County Council.

Based in Butterdon Woods, the school focuses on one-to-one support, one teacher to each child.

Children learn many subjects including Maths and English — Jude has taken GCSEs and ASDAN qualifications— but also vocational work in bushcraft, woodwork and working with the school’s heavy horses. Jude has particularly enjoyed spending time doing bushcraft and fishing.

During the Covid-19 restrictions, Morwenna and Paul, from Plympton, said the school had kept working with him in remote lessons while Adam Baxter, who is head of pastoral care called Jude every day.

Now Jude is going onto a further education college in the autumn, something Morwenna would not have believed possible before.

Morwenna said: ‘I particularly want to say thank you to Rachael Knight, who is the acting head of the school, and Adam Baxter. They have been the two people who we could not have done without over the last 18 months. The pastoral care has been phenomenal. We would also like to thank the rest of the team, in particular Craig and Ellie, for all their hard work with Jude.’

She said that as parents of an autistic youngster, she really valued how well the school communicated with them.

Communication is key when you have an autistic child, you can’t function without it,’ said Morwenna.

‘They have been so good about coming back to us. They are such a close-knit team. They meet in a small area in the woods and they have little pods in the woods there and they have given Jude the passion to learn.’

She said she did not underestimate the challenges of working with autistic children.

‘It is often hard because a lot of autistic children with complex needs can be quite difficult, so to find someone with the heart and passion to keep reaching through to them and seeing past their difficulties means the world as a parent.

‘Jude is pretty bright, it is his behaviour that hinders his ability to learn, and that is what they work with, that understanding.’

Jude himself said he had gained so much out of attending the school.

‘Everything we do is learning, but in different ways,’ he said ‘It has built me up to be who I am. It is like going to see family. It means so much being there.’

Morwenna, Paul and Jude would also like to say thank you to Adam and Fay from Bovey Taxies for their flexibility with providing transport to and from Running Deer.