Partnership - Bridge
The Post 16 programme of study at East SILC - The Bridge, is driven by the intention to prepare our young people for adulthood, regardless of the pathway the students are accessing. The starting point for this is the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) outcomes toolkit which is based on the document produced by the Department for Education (DfE) to promote consideration of the four PfA pathways:
· Good health
· Friendships, Relationships & Community
· Independent Living
· Employment
Learners are encouraged to take as much responsibility for their own achievement as possible and independence is encouraged at all academic levels. We want our young people to take pride in achieving individualised targets that are attainable and appropriate, yet aspirational.
The curriculum is underpinned by accredited and certified courses, but we encourage the learners and their parents/carers to have a say in what they want to learn so that the curriculum prepares learners for their individual futures. Skills that young people identify they want to learn often include:
· Self-help and independence skills development through cooking, financial responsibility, off-site leisure activities, enterprise activities and developing their understanding of adult feelings and emotions.
· Physical/mobility development through off-site sporting/leisure activities.
· Self-confidence through work–experience, internships, sports and physical activity, college link course opportunities and broader life experiences, such as residential visits and authentic adult opportunities,
· Creative exploration and development, through music, dance, drama and production.
We operate a bespoke programme of learning for our young people who are working towards entering the world of employment. This inspires a positive work ethic, self-sufficiency and a strong grounding of self-belief.
Our young people also work towards accreditation. This includes Pearsons Functional English and Maths, Pearsons Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and ASDAN Employability. Most of our students are working at Entry Levels 1-3 in these courses.
They also have opportunity to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award at silver and bronze level.
Our young people access a curriculum that is shaped by themselves, as well as other stakeholders such as parents, carers and staff through consultation at the beginning of each academic year. We aim to provide a curriculum that focuses on students’ long-term aspirations and identifies appropriate steps that need to be made to progress towards achieving these aims. This includes choosing a vocational subject such as Childcare, Enterprise, Hair & Beauty and Hospitality.
The young people at The Bridge have a very outward facing curriculum, with a focus on learning out of the school setting where possible. For example, through off-site experiences, such as: college links courses, work experience, internships, community participation, independent travel and accessing local facilities is at the heart of what we do at The Bridge.
An essential part of our curriculum is also ensuring that our young people have a good understanding of positive and healthy relationships, when encountering others in real life and online. This is why we have included a weekly relationships and sex education lesson as part of our curriculum offer.
Most of our young people are skilled communicators, but we do use a range of communication strategies with some students such as: AAC, Makaton and Widgit (writing with symbols) to support their receptive and expressive language skills and to enhance reading opportunities.
Our aim is to support our young people to be able to go out into real-life situations and be able to articulate their wants and needs. We want them to be able to advocate for themselves and express their emotions in an appropriate manner. All our staff role model excellent communication throughout the day and in a range of scenarios (in the community, at work placements, etc.) and we develop strong working relationships with our young people that are based on trust and mutual respect. We encourage them to develop their confidence to be able to communicate with others for a range of future-focused reasons, including group discussions and debate, communicating in formal situations such as interviews or in the workplace, social interaction and for self-advocacy.
The young people who attend The Bridge provision, have previously attended either an East SILC secondary provision or another SEND setting. They are ready to work in a setting that promotes high expectations of behaviour and learning. We work alongside the young people to support them to maximize opportunities for an autonomous lifestyle.
School Hours
Start - 9.00am
Finish - 3:15pm
Staff
To see Bridge staff, please see the 'Our Staff' page
Term Dates
East SILC Term Dates 2024-2025
Autumn Term
Autumn term 1 starts - Wednesday 4th September 2024
Autumn term 1 ends - Friday 25th October 2024
Autumn term 2 starts - Monday 4th November 2024
Autumn term 2 ends - Friday 20th December 2024
Spring Term
Spring term 1 starts - Monday 6th January 2025
Spring term 1 ends - Friday 14th February 2025
Spring term 2 starts - Monday 24th February 2025
Spring term 2 ends - Friday 4th April 2025
Summer Term
Summer term 1 starts - Tuesday 22nd April 2025
May Bank Holiday - Monday 5th May 2025
Summer term 1 ends - Friday 23rd May 2026
Summer term 2 starts - Monday 2nd June 2025
Summer term 2 ends - Friday 18th July 2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School training days for academic year 2023-24
Monday 2nd September 2024
Tuesday 3rd September 2024
Monday 2nd December 2024
Monday 21st July 2025
Tuesday 22nd July 2025
Uniform
Students at the Post 16 partnership at Bridge do not have to follow any uniform policy. However they have to wear sensible and appropriate clothing.
Photo Gallery
All photos taken by Lottie Bone Photography - https://www.lottiebonephotography.com/
Bridge