Typical Boarding Week

"...Students have strong relationships with staff who nurture them. Staff have a meticulous understanding of each student and how to tailor the support needed to meet their individual needs..."

Waking Night Staff (WNS) – All WNS start work at 11.00pm and finish at 9.00am. Each house has a designated WNS, and they are there through the night, making regular checks and ensuring all residential students are settled and sleep well through the night. Staff will wake students at 7.30am and support them to complete their morning routines, personal hygiene, breakfast and making sure they have what they need for the school day. All residential students are expected to leave the house for school by 8.30am.

Day Support Staff - All day staff start work at 1:00pm and finish at 11:30pm

Monday

Staff begin shift with a planning meeting.

Students come in from school at 3:30pm and have a house planning meeting. In these meeting residential students are given the choice and opportunity to decide on their meals for the week and what activities they would like to do each day. It is also an opportunity to discuss any other issues, concerns, and ideas that anyone may have. Monday evenings usually consist of staff supporting students to budget and food shop for the week, with a supported outing to a local supermarket. Monday activities are usually onsite, such as swimming, football, time in sports hall, music club and youth club. Within the youth club there is a pool table, PS4 VR, 1980’s Atari and films/TV. There is also a PC hub with multiple screens. Students may just want to relax in-house or visit other houses, which of course is fine.

Tuesday

Staff begin shift with a planning meeting. This is where all activities are finalised and confirmed. Staff nominate students for boarder and achievement of the week. We also discuss any concerns about students and their wellbeing.

Residential students come in at 3:30pm and settle in their houses, chatting to staff about issues they want to talk about or just generally discuss their day at school. Students can visit their peers in different houses from 4:30. After dinner the chosen activity will take place. Upon returning students are encouraged to complete all personal hygiene. Some residential students may prefer to do this in the evening.

Wednesday & Thursday

Students are always encouraged to be accepting of others and will often join different houses to combine an activity, sometimes with birthday meals off site as well.

The main overview of what we aim to achieve in the Residential setting is an environment in which students thrive socially, build on confidence, and develop independent living skills in preparation for adulthood.  Students are encouraged to participate in new experiences and to challenge themselves when unsure of something. All students have SMART targets that are taken from their EHCP, and these are scored daily, tracking progress in key areas, and discussed through key working sessions.

End of term celebrations can be whole team based or split into smaller groups, depending on group dynamics. This may be a trip to a theme park or a meal off site.

We want all students to experience a friendly and safe environment that feels like a home from home.