Cambian Whinfell School is a 52-week and day- education service that offers 'Outstanding' education and care for boys and young men aged 11-19. All our young people are on the autistic spectrum and often have a range of complex behaviours and additional diagnoses.
Facilities
They offer a highly therapeutic environment and seek to understand the reasons for each young person’s behaviour. The environment is supportive yet challenging. The school prides itself on the range of specialist support services within the multidisciplinary team who play a fundamental part in planning and implementing the learning experiences of our young people. They have an Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Educational Psychologist and Clinical Psychologist on the staff team. They aim to draw out the potential in each young person and work alongside them to discover and nurture their strengths.
Features
Things to note
Additional activities in and out of school hours complement the curriculum and focus on the developmental needs of each young person. All young people have Individual Development Plans (IDP) which are informed by the multi-disciplinary team and are regularly reviewed. Very few of our young people have ever participated in school sports and PE but we support them to do so and we have competed in in football, athletics and fell-running fixtures. We have won Boccia competitions and have regularly taken part in tag-rugby sessions with other schools. The physical and mental health benefits of participation are enormous. One of our young people has competed in indoor climbing competitions at a national level (which led to work experience where he is now employed full-time at a climbing wall). We have a summer camp programme and expeditions to the mountains of the Scottish Highlands and Snowdonia alongside our daily forays into the Lake District. Young people can take part in the John Muir Award Scheme, carrying out environmental work in the National Park. We have an established annual ski-trip to Bulgaria, the benefits of which are enormous. Older students have bespoke independence programmes at our Kendal Green site in a semiindependent residential setting. Here they will develop the skills and resilience to be as independent as possible when they eventually set out on the next part of their journeys.
Assessment begins when we first receive an expression of interest and review the paperwork. If we feel we are likely to meet need we will offer to visit and meet the young person, their parents and social worker. We may also contact the education setting and any professionals who have been involved to date. When we have offered a place and funding has been confirmed, we will work with all parties involved and support an agreed transition plan. This may involve further visits to home or to school including an overnight stay if that is felt necessary. Care, education and clinical staff will introduce themselves to the young person and keep in touch. The first three months at Whinfell is always an extended assessment period during which time MDT and education will carry out baseline assessments. These will further inform the way ahead. Going forward we report termly on education, have comprehensive annual reviews and regular meetings between key workers and learning mentors. We recognise how vital the link is with parents is and always want to work closely. MDT share strategies that we find effective and offer to meet with families at the end of each half-term. We also have an annual Sports and Open Day where the MDT team run short parental seminars.
1.23 miles
