Wellbeing
Wellbeing is at the forefront of the Craftworks College Ethos, Vision and Mission and is embedded throughout our Curriculum Offer.
At Craftworks we consider Wellbeing to be the support in place for our learners to fully access our learning and social development offer. For this reason Wellbeing is seen as both a Curriculum area and a focal point underpinning our Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Mental Health Needs (MHN) support.
Support Pathways
Our Pathways outlines how our curriculum offers the waves model of intervention to support an inclusive and fair learning environment. The Curriculum Pathways emphasise our aspiration for all students to participate and the support they access in their journey with Craftworks College.
Milestone
Moments
At our college, we believe in recognising and celebrating the achievements of our students as they reach milestone moments in their academic and personal journeys.
We understand the significance of hard work and determination in meeting targets and making strides towards progression. That's why we honour these accomplishments that reflect our core values: Generosity, Respect, Openness, Wellbeing, Trust, and Humanity. Whether it's academic excellence, personal growth, or contributions to the community, we take pride in acknowledging the efforts and dedication of our students. These rewards not only serve as a testament to their achievements but also inspire others to strive for excellence and embody our shared values.
Our Inclusivity
Promise
Our values and ethos underpin all aspects of college life. We promise to understand and work with each individual, viewing them as a whole person rather than their diagnosis and empowering them to make their own choices. We focus on the positive and create a culture of social inclusion, choice and shared respect whilst promoting responsibility. We support young people in setting goals for themselves and encourage families to be partners in this process. We are conscious that professionals should be ‘on tap’ and not ‘on top’, there to signpost support and opportunities to encourage self-learning.
Craftworks SEND Strategy
We believe every young person deserves the best outcomes in life. For young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), it is important to ensure we put in place an inclusive and supportive curriculum that enables students to access and gain the support they need to thrive. To recognising their learning needs early and have good rapport with parents, carers and external multi-agency to support young people's progression. We are committed to enabling, challenging and supporting our college to be inclusive so that best outcomes are achieved for all students. This is our SEND and Inclusion Strategy which sets out our vision, strategic priorities and key activities for our work.
Inclusive Environment Standards
We understand that to create a safe space so that students are able to feel and be valued, where they can make positive social connections, learn and thrive, it is vital to create a learning environment that considers:
- An inspiring physical environment
- The appropriate emotional environment
- The effective level of stimulus to motivate learning
Our Inclusive Environment Standard outline the expectations we have across the college and promise we make to our students to establish this environment for all.
Our Wellbeing Strategy
We believe every young person deserves the best outcomes in life. For young people with Mental Health Needs (MHN), it is important to ensure we put in place an inclusive and supportive curriculum that enables students to access and gain the support they need to thrive. Supporting MHN early and having an active early intervention and prevention process by have good rapport with parents, carers and external multi-agency to support young people's progression, lower risk factors and increase protective factors. We are committed to enabling, challenging and supporting our college to be inclusive so that the best outcomes are achieved for all students. This is our Wellbeing Strategy which sets out our vision, strategic priorities and key activities for our work.
Restorative Justice
At Craftworks College, a part of the BrogdaleCIC group, we are committed to supporting students with complex special educational and mental health needs and this can result in disruptive behaviours, poor emotional literacy and regulation and at times extreme challenging behaviour. Due to this we work within an ethos of Restorative Justice. The philosophy of Restorative Justice is a system of supporting justice which focuses on the rehabilitation and reconciliation.
Our Rewards Program
One of the foundations for our Behaviour and Attitudes strategy is establishing clear and consistent college-wide expectations. We have identified key values we expect from our learners. These values underpin our company ‘Ethos’ and cover all aspects of college life. We have a college-wide Bonus system so that when students progress from Craftworks College they can carry these values with them throughout their lives so that they and others they interact with have “a safe space where they can be and feel valued, make social connection learn and thrive”.
Meet The Wellbeing Team
Our Wellbeing Team is made up of a collection of passionate staff members that are
dedicated to supporting inclusion for learners, who consistently go above and beyond to ensure our most complex learners are given opportunities within the college and have far-reaching impacts throughout their life.
Craftworks Wellbeing team are well qualified to support the ambitious SEND and Wellbeing Strategy and including Mental Health First Aiders, Designated Safeguarding Lead trained staff, Bachelor of Sciences in Psychology degree, a Master in Communication Research, a Master in Gender Studies and we are blessed to have a fully qualified counsellor within the team.
The Deputy Head of Emotional Health and lead of the Wellbeing team is currently undertaking a Masters in Senior Leadership in Mental Health which is integral to strengthening our current Wellbeing offer. We believe in evidence based practise and our committed to developing and learning and endeavour to attend conferences, link with providers and continued career professional development so that we are a team best-placed to support the needs of our students.
The Re-Engagement
Programme
At Craftworks College we have developed our “Re-engagement Programme” aimed at increasing college attainment and supporting young people with complex Special Educational or Mental Health Needs in “keeping in touch” with education.
In 2020, we recognised the needs of the students and their heightened anxieties cultivated throughout the pandemic meant that student attainment had reduced, we identified a potential solution that would focus on student wellbeing and created an innovative project plan to combat this. The Re-engagement programme was then presented to the board of trustees and implemented.
This successful programme allows students who would have become ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) to gain self-belief, aspiration, and re-enter their education or be supported through a pathway to progress to support their ambition.
Students that are signposted to us by the local authority as NEET young people and students whose attendance is under 55% are automatically added to our 18 stage programme. In this programme we work with the student and their families to support their mental health, create positive wellbeing and strategies to support them and promote engagement with education and community.
Our impact
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Collaborative Partnerships
Students benefit from access to our specialist therapists throughout the year. We work with a team of highly trained specialists, including: Speech and Language Therapists; Occupational Therapists; Physiotherapists; Music Therapists; as well as Specialist Teachers who are experts in their fields to support our learners' access to education.
Students work with therapists on a timeline that suits their needs as outlined in their Education, Health and Care Plans and further observations take place throughout the year to identify any additional needs students may have as soon as possible. This means those without a therapy provision outlined on their EHCp are able to access support when identified. This process is consistently monitored throughout the year for impact and effectiveness by the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo).
