It has been a “momentous” 2025 for an east Belfast special school, named one of the most nurturing in the UK.
Mitchell House school has more than 100 pupils aged from three to 19 with a range of needs and disabilities.
The school was awarded a UK-wide National Nurturing Schools Award in 2025 for the quality of care it provides for pupils.
According to the school principal Miriam Donnan, “there’s so much more to education, so much more to our school, than just the academic”.
“It’s really looking at how happy, how safe the children feel in school, and really concentrating on their wellbeing,” she told BBC News NI.
So classes in Mitchell House often begin with breathing and stretching exercises, or singing, getting the children relaxed and ready to learn.
Lana, 12, told BBC News NI that Mitchell House was “really nice” and she especially enjoyed singing and being in the school choir.
“You learn and you’re going to have fun,” she said.
“We’re all so unique and we learn differently,” she added.
Lana enjoys exercise so it’s fitting that PE is her favourite subject.
The school also has a therapy dog called Raia.
And according to 12-year-old pupil Cayden, Raia has changed how he feels about coming to school.
“She likes to come up and say hi to everyone,” he said.
“She has made a really big difference to me,” he said.
“I wasn’t really keen on everything in school but now that she’s here it’s made everything a lot better. I love dogs.
“She is really kind and really supportive.”
Opportunities
For Ms Donnan, that children enjoy coming to school is crucial, and the process to get a nurture award was rigorous.
“We had to demonstrate what we do on a day and daily basis with our children,” she said.
“We had to demonstrate the physical aspects of our classroom, how we overcome the challenges of being in an old building that was never designed to be a school.”
She said, while education is the core purpose, it’s “really, really important that our children have a wide variety of experiences”.
“Our pupils are social and love new people coming into school,” she explained.
“For us, it’s giving them as many opportunities as we possibly can.
“It’s making sure than they have the full range of experiences during the school day.”
Ms Donnan said that receiving the National Nurturing Schools Award had made it “a really momentous time” for Mitchell House.
“It’s a real celebration for our school,” she added.