Kickstart welcomes students of all abilities and backgrounds into our caring learning environment and, through our highly skilled and compassionate team of staff, seek to create learning community where everyone can succeed.  Our staff are highly trained in the management of pupils with Social, Emotional, Mental Health and Behavioural problems.  Each class is small, with a teacher, and a member of support staff. 

Using the data collated from previous school settings and our ongoing assessment practices, a bespoke curriculum is provided for each student who has been assessed as needing additional support.  The curriculum supports the development of learning skills whilst tackling the barriers to engagement our students face.  This is done by working on a one-to-one basis, in pairs or in groups. There is a significant focus on speaking and listening skills, on developing vocabulary and understanding the four functions of number. Students are provided with continuous support with tasks that are aimed to consolidate deep learning and chunked to challenge whilst avoiding memory overload. A variety of teaching resources are used such as: Lexonik, electronic resources, textbooks, worksheets, and individual learner led projects.

We aim to re-engage students, improve their self-esteem, emotional regulation, and ability to cope with pressure and challenge.  We set high expectations and encourage students to make good choices, both within the classroom and the wider community. Where possible, we work to reintegrate our students back into mainstream education.

Where students continue to struggle, we work with services, such as CAMHs and Social Care Services, and the Local Authority to further expand support and, in some cases, explore more appropriate specialist provision.