About OLC Alternative Provision
Many of our students have rejected traditional schools for many different reasons, and so our approach is to provide an educational setting that doesn’t look and feel like a school.
OLC – AP in Romsey site is based at our Outdoor Learning Centre at Ridge Farm, near Romsey. It has various indoor areas, including relaxed classrooms, sensory space, and a food tech kitchen. It also benefits from some amazing outdoor education facilities, including an indoor archery range, climbing/bouldering walls, forest school area set in woodland, various other areas for a range of outdoor education sessions. In addition to this, we use other local venues to support the delivery of watersports and educational visits.
An Unique Approach to Education
Our approach is to provide an alternative educational setting that feels different from a traditional school, helping students to feel comfortable, supported and able to engage with learning.
The OLC-AP has the use of two school farms to support a wide range of horticulture and animal care engagement activities. We accept KS1 to KS4 at the OLC Alternative Provision setting.
A Place to Learn Differently
Our aim is to create an environment where students can learn in ways that suit them. By combining education with practical, creative and outdoor experiences.
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is based on engaging young people with learning by inspiring an interest in the world around them. We use project-based learning and individual interests to build an intrinsic motivation based on progressively increasing positive associations.
When appropriate, we provide explicit lessons appropriate to the young persons identified needs.
We can to provide awards and certificates that support and enhance future outcomes. These include functional skills, GCSE, Open Awards regulated vocational awards and AQA unit awards.
Staff Approach
We passionately believe in the transformative power of the outdoors. We utilise the stunning natural environment which surrounds us to engage, challenge and excite the young people we work with and as a vehicle to explore concepts such as risk, relationships and resilience.
At OLC Alternative Education, we see each young person as an individual who needs a distinct approach and strategy to re-engage them with education and learning. OLC Alternative Education prides itself on designing a curriculum to match the young person rather than expecting them to fit the curriculum. Young people who have had limited engagement in other settings will not only find an entire academic timetable too stressful and demanding, causing them to disengage, but it will not meet their social, emotional, and behavioural development needs.
Targets, participation and engagement are monitored daily for all young people, with our ‘School Information Management’ system being used to record instances of both positive and negative learning and engagement. This allows staff to evidence and evaluate the effectiveness of any intervention and adjust it accordingly.
Learn to Love Learning
OLC Alternative Provision provide an alternative route to engaging young people in their education.
For those who have not been able to engage in the standard school learning environment or who are at risk of permanent exclusion, we provide bespoke individual packages for various durations in the therapeutic environment of our Outdoor Learning Centre.
We work with students to gradually increase their attendance, whilst developing resilience, attachment and building relationships, self-esteem and confidence, emotional self-regulation strategies, setting boundaries and reinforcing positive behaviour and safety.
Learning Through Adventure
Outdoor education is an important part of our approach. Students can take part in a variety of practical and engaging activities.
Programmes start with activities that embed learning skills through activities, this then leads on to classroom sessions to gradually introduce the structure of the school day and more formal learning.
Some students will work towards a gradual transition into our school or we will support them in their transition to another placement. Some students attend for a specific programme with their existing school.
Practical Skills & Outdoor Education
Students can access our school farms, where they can develop practical experience in horticulture and animal management while learning valuable skills in a real-world environment.
We can offer certificates and qualifications in outdoor education activities and students will also have access to our school farms which will give them the opportunity of gaining horticulture and animal management experience.
Placements can range from 2 weeks to a year and may start at one session per week (3 hrs)