Alternative Educational Provision

Star Light Alternative Educational Provision provide a therapeutic environment in the centre of Walsall for children in year 7 to year 11.  This service is for children that would benefit from a therapeutic approach to education in smaller settings.

 

The offer for alternative provision will be 3 days of provision based within the facilities in Station Street.  We aim to act as a bridge for children to work towards returning to mainstream school, or a correct setting that meets their needs. Our intention is to provide the stepping stone required to develop social and educational skills to move back into existing education provision or suitable provision as deemed appropriate by the DFE. 

 

Our current staff team have varied skills, from Social Work, Child Care, electronics, coding, life skills, engineering, mindfulness, wellbeing and life skills programs, we also specialise in working with children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities and social & emotional and mental health.

 

Our venue is located in central Walsall opposite the train station.  We have an accessible environment for young people with mobility issues. We have a newly refurbished Media and Technology suite where children can access coding and programming with our 3D printers. There is VR and gaming area with a projector for film or dance. There is a spacious area for arts and crafts to encourage creatively.  Young people will also have access to the Sensory Room where there are specialist lighting, dark den and tactile tiling and flooring.

 

Our setting also has a spacious kitchen with food preparation area which will be used for supporting young people in cooking and budgeting as part of a life skills curriculum.  We have a newly refurbished community sensory garden which will be used for relaxation but also to provide part of the activities for planting and grown plants and vegetables.  Our herb garden will be used to encourage young people when cooking to support in their understanding around a sustainable environment.

What We Offer

Star Light prides itself in offering a holistic approach to education for young people that may require additional support to continue to engage in mainstream media.  We offer a safe space where robust risk assessments will be carried on each child to ensure the facilities, staffing, curriculum and other pupils can learn  safely. Working in partnership with key agencies will enable us to obtain and understand the needs of each child and how we can tailor make a program for them.

We have  a therapeutic timetable so that young people can have time and space to recognise and regulated their emotions with trained staff.  Our life skills program will equip young people in managing activities necessary in adult hood, such as devising recipes, shopping and budgeting for ideas and then cooking small meals with the support of our trained cook.

All children will also have access to outdoor planting activities, from sowing seeds, watching them grow and then planting them in our outdoor planters.  Any fruit and vegetables grown will be used in cooking, enabling young people to understand the importance of our environment.

Mindfulness will be a key component in what we offer, from Mindful planting, eating, to meditation and relaxation. Therapeutic arts and crafts will be a factor in what we offer.  Star Light also offer a technology input with time spent coding and computing.  Design will also be used on 3D printing.

We are a  accessible and specialist equipment service with specialist equipment.  Here at Starlight we are accessible to all genders, races and disabilities. Star Light aim to provide the highest quality care to children and young people accessing our services.  This may be in our premises or community based activities ensuring the safety of each young person enabling them to be as independent with as much autonomy and choice as possible. The premises in which we will provide this services is fully compliant with Health and Safety Procedures which are reviewed independently alongside the Health and Safety Manager for Star Light.  We have robust Safeguarding Procedures and policies in place led by the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Our Core Values

  1. To ensure that we are fit for purpose. We examine our operations constantly to ensure that we are successfully achieving our stated aims and purposes. We welcome feedback from our service users.
  2. To work for the comprehensive welfare of our service users. We aim to provide for each child and young person a package of teaching approaches that contributes to his or her overall educational and personal needs and preferences. We will co-operate with other services and professionals to help to maximize each child and young person’s independence.
  3. To meet assessed needs. Before we provide services, we ensure that a potential child/young person’s needs and preferences are thoroughly assessed. We aim to ensure that the service the agency provides meets the assessed needs of each young person that needs are re-assessed as frequently as necessary, and that the support provided have the flexibility to respond to changing needs or requirements.
  4. To provide quality services. We are whole-heartedly committed to providing top quality services and to continuous improvement in the level of services we offer.
  5. To employ a quality diverse workforce in order to promote a culturally sensitive service.
  6. Each young person will have their own teaching plan using SMART approaches
  7. Star Light take pride in providing quality teaching services which are well constructed and appropriate for the age and abilities of each child.
  8.  All teaching will be delivered by competent, trained staff who are recruited through ‘Safer Recruitment’ processes.
  9. Each child/young will be considered by working in partnership with their current educational provider, parents, young person and relevant professionals.  This will enable our service to determine whether the teaching program we offer is suitable for a specific young person. 
  10. We provide a holistic approach to each young person as necessary. Risk assessments for each young person ensure we can meet their needs safely.
  11. Our aim is to provide inclusive teaching which means involving a young person in their teaching plan. By providing Life Skills we aim to enable the independence of a young person. Independence means having opportunities to think, plan, act and take sensibly calculated risks.

Who Can Make a Referral

  • We accept referrals for schools and will work closely with a child’s current school.
  • Children that are Looked After by the Local Authority and not in full time education
  • Children that new to the UK and awaiting an educational facility
  • Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
  • Parents can also make a referral for their child to access our Therapeutic Educational Program.

Contact a member of the team who will go through the process of referral.  Robust risk assessments will be completed to ensure the program we offer meets the needs of the young person.  If a child requires 1:1 support this process will also be explained to you.  It is our pledge to ensure all children can have access to an educational program where they will learn new skills in a safe environment that enables them to manage their surroundings and peers.

Prices start from £80 –  Please contact us for packages.