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act fast nl

Act Fast is a well-established Independent School near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. Act Fast has grown organically as the need for a high standard of provision has emerged and developed. The premise of Act Fast’s provision is that we are promoting the value of education to previously disaffected young people. what we do We operate a bespoke curriculum at Act Fast, which is both written and delivered by in house staff and is in line with the DfE Independent Schools Standards. We overtly deliver lessons in the following subject areas: Maths up to Functional Skills level 2 standard English up to Functional Skills level 2 standard Motor Vehicle Technology with the Institute of the Motor Industry up to level 2 standard PSHE (Including RSE) against a verified and recognised scheme Motocross, delivered by qualified and experienced staff Physical Education through a range of on-site and off-site activities. Art/Crafts Music Further to this, lessons in the following subject areas are delivered as embedded features of the timetabled lessons. Human and Social Understanding Aesthetic and Creative Scientific Technological British Values Our learners know if they work hard, they are awarded by riding the motorcycles here at Act Fast. This has proven to be successful, helping young adults to achieve their qualifications and have a positive attitude towards learning. Curriculum Act Fast has made a commitment to give every young person who is capable of the opportunity to reintegrate and to take a range of exams. For those subjects that Act Fast does not currently deliver, as we develop learners opportunities will increase. We are an accredited exam centre through OCR, NCFE, ABC, D of E, and when required will extend this to meet the needs of our learners. Our curriculum also enables and encourages learners to develop their interests and talents. We have a number of students here who have found their passion for music, learning how to play the guitar, as well as a large number of young, talented motorbike riders who love learning about riding, fixing and maintaining the bikes. It’s important to us to support our learners in keeping them physically and mentally healthy. We have access to: Mental Health Champions, outreach support and therapeutic counselling services, available to all our learners. We have regular sports activities within our timetable to encourage physical exercise, as well as access to local gyms and leisure centres. These activities help to prepare young people to access their community in adulthood. Hidden Curriculum Act Fast’s curriculum, throughout the range of its delivery, is heavily invested in the “Hidden Curriculum”. The Hidden Curriculum argument is that the most valuable lessons our young people receive here are to arrive on time, respect authority, follow instructions, keep regard for safety, take responsibility for their actions, behave in an acceptable standard, liaise with other people respectfully, and respect other people’s personal choices, encouraging equality and diversity. Other ways in which we promote equality and diversity include: Challenging negative attitudes amongst students. Setting clear rules regarding how people treat each other. Treating all students and staff equally and fairly. Using resources that have multicultural themes. Creating lessons that reflect and promote diversity in the classroom. Making sure that all students have equal access to participation and opportunities. Ensuring that all procedures and policies are non-discriminatory. Making sure that classroom materials never discriminate against anyone. Safeguarding protected characteristics throughout our culture and ethos. All of these things, to a greater extent than formalised subject lessons, will make them responsible, independent, resilient and above all else employable young people once they finish their school career. Act Fast has trained and qualified staff to recognise some of the barriers to learning that students face. These barriers might be due to Adverse Childhood Experiences and with knowledge and understanding of such issues Act Fast staff can help students overcome them to maximise their potentials. Referral, Application and Introduction After a referral is made to Act Fast, we invite a representative from the referring body (usually the Inclusion Officer), the learner and the learner’s parents into Act Fast for a familiarisation visit. During that visit the learner is given a tour of the facility, is introduced to key staff members and receives an explanation of the culture of Act Fast. Learners are given the opportunity to voice any concerns and any questions they have are answered. We set a high expectation on behaviour here, and partly because expectations are high, but also because more established learners mentor new arrivals, new learners very soon fall into compliance with our way of doing things. Act Fast works because our learners buy into the culture. This is the first opportunity that a young person has to involve themselves in how we operate here. Application forms must be completed prior to a young person starting at Act Fast. Once applications are complete, the referring body typically takes a few days (sometimes up to a week) to arrange their transport. Personal data will be stored and processed at this point, and details entered into our MIS system, Arbor. We insist on a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) meeting with stakeholders and the young person present within the first month. This allows any teething troubles to be voiced and solutions to be sought. Further PLP meetings are held regularly, no less frequently than once a term. At those meetings, Act Fast staff will deliver a report detailing the engagement of the young person, levels of educational attainment, attendance, general engagement, and commentary on the likelihood of a reintegration being successful. Reintegration planning must be tailored to suit the needs of the individual. Staff Investment Our staff all take part in quality training including regular CPD sessions and ongoing programmes of accreditation such as SSS online training (recently completed by all staff members). Training needs identified are acted on as soon as practical. The organisation believes and invests in the continuous professional development of its people. Our commitment to CPD is such that every member of staff has received CPD accredited training in the last 12 months. Our qualified teachers ensure pedagogical content methods are in place to deliver high standards of teaching for our young learners. We engage with our staff continuously here and know of the main pressures on them, including managing workload. We aim to support every staff member to help guide them throughout their career at Act Fast. Educational Framework It is our aim to provide an educational framework which is heavily invested in the hidden curriculum. By that, we mean that as well as lessons formalised in Maths and English for example, our young people develop an understanding of: working to a process arriving on time respecting authority abiding by the rules accepting that their first choice may not always be the right choice following instructions not expecting to leave early attending every day These are the skills whereby a young person will be employable post 16. Without these key skills, a young person is unlikely to be able to function in the workplace. We develop the hidden curriculum, embedded in everything we do, in order that our learners gain an understanding of their expectations being matched by the expectations of attendance, compliance and engagement We have a tracking system in place for our core subjects. We also use a “readiness to learn” scale, whereby a learners attitude, engagement, and involvement in their own work is measured. Bespoken When evolving Act Fast into an independent school I was very mindful that Mainstream school had not been a successful outcome for the majority if not all of our learners. It was imperative that we were bespoke and able to meet the needs of all our learners and not just the few. For this reason we created our own curriculum that is more sympathetic to our learners’ needs. Our teachers create an environment that allows our young people to focus on learning. 1:1 support as well as small group teaching (where appropriate) is in place to make teaching more effective, allowing tutors to concentrate on each individual learner’s needs. We believe in student voice here at Act Fast. Our EHCP’s (Educational Health Care plans) allow us to capture our learners’ views. It’s not only in our annual reviews that we give learner’s opportunity to be heard. For example, one young adult suggested we invested in a bigger bike here, so we put arrangements in place and made this happen. We encourage our learners to make their voices heard. Below are some examples of student voice council meetings held at Act Fast and how they shape decisions made at the school. Student Voice Meeting 040322 We have effective arrangements to identify learners who may need early help or are at risk of neglect, abuse, grooming or exploitation. We strongly promote our policies and legislation such as safeguarding, diversity and equality of our staff and learners at Act Fast. Ofsted Report 2022 Best Bits: “Act Fast school is a place where the proprietor and staff go the extra mile to support the pupils who attend. It has a unique vision of how to ‘hook’ pupils back into education, and it is successful in doing so. Act Fast has started to re-engage pupils who have experienced difficulties in their education”. “Parents believe that, finally, a school ‘gets’ their child. The wider curriculum, built around motor-cross, is a distinctive feature of the school. It motivates pupils to attend and to behave well. For those pupils who do not wish to ride the bikes, staff work with them to find alternatives. The proprietor and staff have limitless ambition for what pupils can achieve in their personal development. At the heart of this is a patient, careful building of relationships, and, in many cases, a re-building of trust between the pupil and their experience of education.” “The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a strong understanding of the requirements of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Recently, the SENCo has started to work with a senior leader to more effectively incorporate pupils’ SEND targets from their education, health and care (EHC) plans into teachers’ planning.” “Leaders have also recently taken action to improve the school’s support for pupils’ reading. For instance, a primary specialist has been appointed with experience of teaching phonics to the weakest readers. The English lead is in the process of building a programme to encourage pupils to read widely and for enjoyment. Leaders’ wider curriculum for pupils’ personal development is, to very large extent, a strength of the school.” “The proprietor’s vision for getting young people who have had difficult experiences of school back into education is impressive. It is backed up by an innovative personal development curriculum, built on a range of activities that take place in the afternoons. These include a variety of motor vehicle-related opportunities, as well as visits out of school to a range of venues. Recently, for instance, pupils have started to be taken to a local engineering firm to participate in a scheme to broaden their career aspirations. Pupils know that there is a plan in place for them to make a suitable next step into further education or training at the end of Year 11.” Improvements: “Leaders’ PSHE curriculum includes reference to the protected characteristics and the school is a respectful community: however, coverage of the protected characteristics in the curriculum strategy is not as detailed as it could be, so pupils’ understanding is not as developed as it could be. Leaders should revisit their curriculum thinking for PSHE so that teaching of the protected characteristics is made more overt.” “The current curriculum is based on a limited set of qualifications in two subjects. For a registered special school, this lacks ambition. As a result, pupils experience a narrow curriculum, including a limited suite of qualifications. Leaders should take action to broaden and deepen their curriculum so that pupils have opportunities to study a wider range of subject content, organised coherently and cumulatively over the entire secondary and post-16 phases; and, for those who are capable, to a higher level of accreditation.” “Leaders have not taken the required action with regard to the statutory guidance for the teaching of RSHE. Consequently, parents have not been made aware of the school’s policy and their parental rights within the policy. Also, the teaching of Inspection report: Act Fast NL Ltd. RSHE is not clearly planned in the school’s curriculum. Leaders should take action to be compliant with the statutory guidance and to ensure that curriculum thinking incorporates structured RSHE teaching.”