FAQ

No, we are not a school. We are an intervention provision and we work closely with schools and authorities to provide support and extra tuition for young people. We provide a varied curriculum to promote engagement, personal, social development and progression.

Students attend for three days per week on average. We are authorised to provide programmes of up to 15 hours per week.

We have a wide range of staff here at Poles APart. We have trained and qualified teachers. We also have qualified outdoor instructors, therapists and caterers. All of our staff complete an in-depth and focused induction programme and many of our staff have worked in the education and special educational needs sector for a number of years.

Our programmes are varied and we spend time talking to the students, parents, carers and schools to create programmes which suit the needs of each individual. We provide certificates such as AQA, John Muir Award, National Indoor Climbing Achievement Scheme and many others. We also work alongside the national curriculum and provide tuition towards GCSEs.

Yes we do provide food. We know how important food is and we do not charge extra for this. Sensory snacks, packed lunches and hot meals are a standard part of our day.

Transport is normally organised by the authorities and the schools, however in special cases we can provide transport directly from Poles APart. Please contact us for further information.

We operate multiple centres across Plymouth, Exeter, Tiverton, and Bodmin. We also run many offsite trips. We invite all persons involved with referrals to visit at a pre-arranged, scheduled time.

We are heavily regulated and we have many systems in place to make sure that all of our programmes are as safe as possible.

Our on-site designated safeguarding lead, along with the safeguarding team, works to make sure that all concerns are logged and actioned.

Our primary job is care work and we make sure that all of the individual needs of the students are catered for and staff are aware of and trained to deal with multiple situations.

Our buildings and locations are all risk assessed and are adapted to be fit for purpose, to provide the best possible facilities.

We have undergone multiple audits and welcome more in the future. This helps us to be at the top of the game.

The management team work tirelessly everyday to make sure that all programmes and processes are structured, planned and justified.

Each programme is specific. We work with individuals on a one to one basis however we also work in small groups with high staffing ratios. Students are grouped with several factors in mind, including; personalities, learning levels and abilities.

Poles APart work collaboratively with schools to design bespoke packages for individuals, the price will be discussed and agreed during this process.

Please refer to our safeguarding policy.

We are not OFSTED registered. As an intervention service, OFSTED registration is not a requirement.

We are on the Plymouth Alternative Education Framework and we have recently done a Quality Assurance for Torbay. Schools are always welcome to carry out their own quality assurance checks and safeguarding audits and are able to have copies of our previous quality assurance reports should they wish.

We understand that this is a concern of many schools and therefore are able to provide the documents needed for their own OFSTED inspections. We have already used this procedure with a number of schools.