Out of school activities and wider community links

 Students regularly attend sessions out of the school environment. This involves using local community facilities such as the sports centre, community farm and climbing wall. Students are also encouraged to undertake a volunteering award which may take place in other local schools.

There is also opportunity for some students to undertake residential courses such as a camping expedition as part of the Duke of Edinburgh and Adventure and Residential  awards

The curriculum aims to

• Provide diversity and challenge
• Enable access to nationally recognised accreditations
• Recognise and acknowledge all achievements
• Foster a positive and confident approach towards learning
• Encourage students to accept personal responsibility and to work co-operatively with others
• Enable students to make informed and positive choices about their next steps in education.

Partnership working

We believe that students are most likely to be successful when all the people closest and most important to them take an active role in their educational experience. The centre communicates and works closely with the students’ parents/carers as well as their home school to ensure that they receive the best support possible.

 All students are allocated a key worker when they start at the centre. The key worker acts as a ‘critical friend’ and mentor; they are responsible for ensuring that everybody is working together to support the student and that the student is receiving the assistance and encouragement that they need to make their placement a success.

Parents/carers and home schools are kept informed of the students progress and are invited to attend regular meetings, both formal and informal to see what the student is achieving in the centre.

We also run a parents group which aims to give parents ideas and information about their child and their education.

 Furthermore, the centre works closely with a range of child care agencies and voluntary support groups to ensure that the student can receive support in all aspects of their lives.