| Alternative Provision |
Our Alternative Provision service is for children who are not able to attend school or who are attending school but at risk of exclusion or EBSA. Alternative Provision is usually funded via an EOTAS package or Personal Budget from your Local Authority or directly by the school your child is on roll at (although unable to attend).
Our Alternative Provision caters for children in Years 1 to 8 and sessions are in-person and 1-to-1 although we will be starting small group sessions in the near future. The 1-to-1 sessions can either take place at your home or at our new Hub in Beaconsfield. We also take children out in the community and to local places of interest if they are happy to do so. The children we work with tend to be highly verbal, academically able but unable to access mainstream education. Many of our students experience one or more of the following:
- Demand avoidant profile (including PDA)
- Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
- High anxiety levels
- School-based trauma
Our Alternative Provision sessions are categorised as either mentoring or learning facilitation with all our mentors being neurodivergent themselves and all our tutors being qualified teachers. Our staff members know how important it is to take the time needed to build a strong connection with your child and for any learning to take place, your child must trust them implicitly. We never rush this stage and only move onto the next stage when your child is ready. We gently guide students to develop their strengths which, in turn, builds their confidence and self-esteem and if they are open to it, we focus on topics that have a practical use for your child now and in the future.
All our staff receive regular training on how to effectively engage and support our students. This training includes supporting demand avoidant children, trauma-informed practice and PACE training. All our staff are first aid trained, DBS checked and participate in annual safeguarding training.
Our sessions tend to be child-led focusing on self-directed learning. Our staff provide opportunities for learning using the child's interests to engage them but, ultimately, the child decides what they learn and how they learn it. We create an Individual Learning Plan for all our students based on their EHCP.
