Bankside College benefits from the support of an experienced and established clinical team, who have been supporting the needs of autistic people for many years.
Their combined experience allows for the development of innovative and tailored solutions to support the continuing personal growth of the learners at the college. the clinical team consists of psychology, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
The clinical team works alongside the educational team to ensure that the learners’ sensory, communication and emotional needs are being met. With these needs met learners are better able to open themselves up to opportunities that will support better engagement in sessions and consequent skill development and improved quality of life.
Pastoral Support
While learners study with the college, they will receive regular pastoral support, and be assigned a lead staff member who will ensure their progress is planned, monitored and celebrated. This person also assists with the learners’ transition and will be a key link for families. Our pastoral team also signpost parents/families to external agencies for support, information, advice, and guidance.
All learners also have an induction, regular update meetings, target setting and reviews. Each year, a full review will take place, focusing on the learner’s aspirations, objectives, and positive progress. Each learner’s programme is different, as is their progress and careful consideration is given to the planning of timetables, support, and attendance patterns.
AAD & TIP
Bankside College offers a therapeutic educational approach with a staff team dedicated and determined to support every individual on a bespoke basis.
Options Autism developed a student focused strategy called ‘Ask, Accept, Develop’ – the strategy is all about student voice, listening to what they would like, accepting that the experience is theirs and to support and develop that. All staff are trained in understanding the approach, and it is embedded daily within the college’s operations.
- We are proud to announce that Bankside College has been awarded Gold Accreditation for the third year running.
“All staff and students are aware of the AAD approach, we genuinely embed it in our everyday practice as it naturally goes hand in hand with our overall therapeutic approach” – AAD champions.
Our college is Trauma Informed Practice, and all our staff are trained in the Trauma Informed Approach (TIP). This means we are equipped to support our students who have experienced trauma and the effects it has on them. We understand the importance of Connecting, Co-regulating, and Co-reflecting with each student on a very bespoke basis. The foundation of understanding the approach is to be adaptable and to listen to the individual, observing any behaviour as a form of communication. Our behaviour policy reflects this approach and our well-planned admission process which outlines the importance of building rapports and trust between staff and students to then progress to stretch and challenge.
Pastoral Team
At Bankside College, we have a dedicated pastoral team who are there to support the student and their mental health and wellbeing. The pastoral team offer support when students are feeling overwhelmed or dysregulated, they do this by ensuring students are aware that they can access the pastoral support when they need to. We have different levels of need which is assessed through a tiered approach, the three tiers are:
- Level 1: Universal – this is our holistic approach
- Level 2: Targeted support – check ins and group interventions
- Level 3: Targeted intervention – targeted support to focus on areas of need.