What is the age range for students?
We provide high-quality alternative learning provision for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 learners. This is equivalent to the year groups seen in maintained schools ranging from Year 7 to Year 11, and typical age ranges of 11-16 years old.
How long are the school terms?
We follow the regular 38-week school calendar. Term dates are not a barrier to joining an ADL course, as learning timescales can be tailored to the student’s specific requirements. When a teacher, social worker or parent makes a complete referral, we endeavour to respond within 24 hours to run through everything in more detail.
What do I need to access?
Ideally a laptop or a PC with Microsoft Office, although a child or young person can access reasonably well on an iPad or tablet, and as a very short-term solution, on a smartphone. There is some loss of interactivity with Chromebooks, but we have some workarounds. Being as comfortable as possible when using the device is key. A headset with a microphone and a mouse is useful, as well as a safe study space with reliable internet access.
Do I need anything else to support the teaching and learning?
All the teaching and learning materials your student needs are available in our extensive resources. Ideally, access to the usual school Microsoft Office software is useful; however, free download versions are available and work just as well. Some school stationery is nice to have and for GCSE Maths and Science, a non-programmable scientific calculator and a maths set will certainly help.
If we get stuck with a technical issue or need to miss a lesson, what do we need to do?
Like every other school we monitor attendance closely, so letting us know that you’re not going to be in class is helpful – we ask you to contact our school coordinator on 07770 042 747. If you have technical issues, we ask that an adult calls our support line on 0800 464 0743.