EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

A qualified Head Teacher who has specialized training in pupils with Additional Support Needs and in the assessment and management of risk and challenging behaviour, who is also a skilled psychotherapist, leads the Education Department. Pupils are offered a seamless service where educators work together with psychology staff within a constructive teaching environment that promotes academic education as well as teaching positive social and life skills.

 Personal Education Plan:

Each pupil receives their own Personal Education Plan (PEP), which is a written statement that describes their educational needs and details the services required to meet those needs. The PEP is a truly individualised document that forms the cornerstone of a quality education for each pupil. PEP’s create an opportunity for joint working between pupils, teachers, parents, social workers, and psychologists aimed at promoting a pupil’s educational, behavioural and emotional development. Our PEP Team monitors a pupil’s on-going progress, and ensures that their PEP is adjusted in accordance with their developing involvement and abilities in the curriculum. Decision-making is solution-focused, concentrates on the pupil's individual needs and aims to further promote their educational, behavioural and emotional growth.

Positive Growth Experiences and Developmental Skills:

Pupils participate in academic and vocational settings designed to cater for their specific developmental needs and provide them with positive growth experiences that increase their confidence and self-esteem. Pupils are taught various self-determination skills. Theses include rational problem solving, decision-making, social skills, self-control skills, self-awareness, goal setting and attainment, appropriate experience and expression of emotion, and growth promoting life-skills. Pupils are also educated in how to transfer these skills from situation to situation.

Interpersonal Behaviour:

Our philosophy regarding interpersonal interaction requires that we adopt a proactive approach toward meeting others needs. We constantly strive to improve interpersonal relationships by learning to avoid repeating mistakes; our interaction with pupils and their families is therefore positive and proactive. This includes providing specific behaviour descriptions, explanations about how behaviours help or hinder the pupil and his/her family, examination of productive alternatives, engagement of pupil and family in the interaction, and administration of praise for positive growth promoting behaviours. Academic and behaviour growth systems are positive, flexible, individualised, and attuned to the pupil’s developmental needs.

Motivation and Growth Promoting Skills:

Various motivational systems are used to encourage and support pupils as they learn growth-promoting skills. Staff use emotional support, direct observation and feedback of programme implementation, care and therapeutic planning to promote each pupil’s development.

Staff:

Careful selection of staff is based on several factors, including the ability to adopt a caring, flexible and adaptable approach to working with young people, and the capacity to provide individualised education and self-determination skills in an insightful, positive and affirming manner. New staff undergo continuing opportunities to build and fine-tune their skills via on-the-job coaching, workshops and training seminars. Staff are only appointed following a comprehensive selection process. This involves a direct interview with our Head of Education, Head of Psychology and Residential Manager/s, an examination of their qualifications, the receipt of two references, and appropriate police checks being made and approved.

Speech and Language Therapist Service:

Alpha school employs qualified and experienced speech and language therapy consultants who will work with our teaching and psychology staff to assess if a young person has speech and/or language difficulties, communication or eating and drinking difficulties. They consider the difficulties the young person has and the impact these will have on his/her life, and decide how the young person can be helped to reach their full communication potential. Our speech and language therapists are registered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), which is the professional body for speech and language therapists in the UK. It is responsible for setting, promoting and maintaining high standards in the education, clinical practice and ethical conduct of speech and language therapists.