What an amazing month September has been! We’ve been thrilled to welcome our students back after the summer break, and it’s heartwarming to see how quickly they’ve adapted to the exciting changes across our Alternative Provisions. Here’s a glimpse into what’s been happening across our Alternative Provision, Children’s Home, Supported Accommodation (16+), and our Apprenticeships & Training sectors.
Alternative Provision
Storyybrook Adventures: Our Primary-aged students have been busy learning about healthy eating! They’ve had a blast making delicious healthy pizzas using pitta bread and creating colourful collages of their favourite fruits and vegetables.
We’ve also focused on building positive friendships. The children crafted their own kindness tree, created origami family houses, and enjoyed a fun game of friendship bingo. As part of our cultural learning, they explored different countries and cuisines, preparing dishes from around the world in our kitchen.
Meet Lola: We are excited to introduce our new therapy dog, Lola, a sweet chocolate Labrador. She will be visiting us on Wednesdays and Thursdays for one-on-one sessions with students, facilitating Animal Assisted Interventions to promote an active lifestyle, enhance communication skills, build self-esteem, and develop goal-setting and regulation techniques.
Secondary Students’ Projects: Across our Secondary Alternative Provision sites, students have been fully engaged in a variety of projects:
- Bricklaying: Building a barbecue
- Carpentry: Crafting a Hollywood-style ‘Storyy’ sign for our new Trades area
- Music Production: Writing a song about the importance of recycling and caring for our planet
- Cooking: Learning to prepare simple, healthy, and cost-effective meals, while also gaining budgeting skills. The best part? Enjoying the meals they created together!
We are also thrilled to welcome our new tutor, Rachel Chamberlin, who has been supporting our Year 10 and Year 11 students in Maths and English Functional Skills with a hands-on approach.
If you have any questions about our qualifications, please reach out to our Account Manager, Lee Barefoot. Every student at our Secondary-aged Alternative Provision works towards an AQA award, and we also offer two ASDAN courses in ‘Employability’ and ‘Personal Development’ for our Year 9, Year 10, and Year 11 students. These courses help young people gain valuable skills for their future.
If you’d like to take a tour of our Alternative Provision sites, you can watch this video and Natalie Lee, our Operations Manager, will give you a digital tour of our Primary and Secondary sites. If you would like to see our sites in person, please get in contact with us to book a visit! We’re always happy to show you around.
For those in Year 10 and Year 11, we have an exciting opportunity for City and Guilds construction certification. Lee will be happy to explain the criteria for enrolment.
We’re also excited to offer FREE assemblies for schools! Our sessions address important issues such as knife crime, county lines, drug trafficking, gang involvement, sexual exploitation, and LGBTQIA+ topics. Contact us today to schedule your school assembly!
If you’re looking for a change in career, we have a few roles open for an exciting new project kicking off in early 2025! Check out our open roles here and start the next exciting chapter in your storyy.
Children’s Homes & Supported Accommodation (16+)
Children’s Home Updates: September has been a wonderful month for our Children’s Home! Here are some of the activities they’ve enjoyed:
- One young person completed a First Aid AQA certification.
- Another successfully worked towards having a later bedtime and console time.
- We’ve enjoyed some adventurous magnet fishing in the local river, uncovering hidden treasures!
- The children had a fantastic time at Go Ape, embracing the great outdoors!
Supported Accommodation (16+) Insights: Our Supported Accommodation (16+) currently provides homes for 19 young people across four houses. This September, several of our young residents started college for the first time, while others returned for their second and third years. We also welcomed four new young people into our community.
The staff and young people enjoyed a Saturday afternoon FIFA football tournament and got creative during arts and crafts sessions, using stencils and pens to colour large posters. One young person even drew dot-to-dot designs of famous monuments. We ended the month with a painting evening, sharing pizza while showcasing our artistic talents, with the amazing pieces now proudly displayed in the living room.
Apprenticeships & Training
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our Early Years Lead Practitioner Level 5 apprenticeship starting in January 2025! This course covers essential themes such as child development, health and well-being, and effective leadership. There are no specific qualifications required, but candidates must have lived in the UK for three years and interact daily with children aged 0-5. The course costs £8,000, with funding options available.
Learning spaces are now open, so please reach out to our Partnerships Manager, Lisa Parkinson, if you’d like to register your interest or sign up an employee.
Additionally, if you’re interested in any of our other Apprentice and Training courses, Lisa can assist with applying for 100% Levy Transfer Funding for all ages. Throughout
October, licenses for our online CPD courses are only £59, valid until March 2025. Don’t hesitate to contact Lisa for more information!
If you have any questions or queries about our range of services, please feel free to get in contact with us! If you’d like to make a referral for our Alternative Provision, please click here.
