act fast nl
Scunthorpe
Act Fast is a well-established Independent School near Scunthorpe in North
Lincolnshire. Act Fast has grown organically as the need for a high standard of
provision has emerged and developed. The premise of Act Fast’s provision is that
we are promoting the value of education to previously disaffected young people.
what we do We operate a bespoke curriculum at Act Fast, which is both written
and delivered by in house staff and is in line with the DfE Independent Schools
Standards. We overtly deliver lessons in the following subject areas: Maths up
to Functional Skills level 2 standard English up to Functional Skills level 2
standard Motor Vehicle Technology with the Institute of the Motor Industry up to
level 2 standard PSHE (Including RSE) against a verified and recognised scheme
Motocross, delivered by qualified and experienced staff Physical Education
through a range of on-site and off-site activities. Art/Crafts Music Further to
this, lessons in the following subject areas are delivered as embedded features
of the timetabled lessons. Human and Social Understanding Aesthetic and Creative
Scientific Technological British Values Our learners know if they work hard,
they are awarded by riding the motorcycles here at Act Fast. This has proven to
be successful, helping young adults to achieve their qualifications and have a
positive attitude towards learning. Curriculum Act Fast has made a commitment to
give every young person who is capable of the opportunity to reintegrate and to
take a range of exams. For those subjects that Act Fast does not currently
deliver, as we develop learners opportunities will increase. We are an
accredited exam centre through OCR, NCFE, ABC, D of E, and when required will
extend this to meet the needs of our learners. Our curriculum also enables and
encourages learners to develop their interests and talents. We have a number of
students here who have found their passion for music, learning how to play the
guitar, as well as a large number of young, talented motorbike riders who love
learning about riding, fixing and maintaining the bikes. It’s important to us to
support our learners in keeping them physically and mentally healthy. We have
access to: Mental Health Champions, outreach support and therapeutic counselling
services, available to all our learners. We have regular sports activities
within our timetable to encourage physical exercise, as well as access to local
gyms and leisure centres. These activities help to prepare young people to
access their community in adulthood. Hidden Curriculum Act Fast’s curriculum,
throughout the range of its delivery, is heavily invested in the “Hidden
Curriculum”. The Hidden Curriculum argument is that the most valuable lessons
our young people receive here are to arrive on time, respect authority, follow
instructions, keep regard for safety, take responsibility for their actions,
behave in an acceptable standard, liaise with other people respectfully, and
respect other people’s personal choices, encouraging equality and diversity.
Other ways in which we promote equality and diversity include: Challenging
negative attitudes amongst students. Setting clear rules regarding how people
treat each other. Treating all students and staff equally and fairly. Using
resources that have multicultural themes. Creating lessons that reflect and
promote diversity in the classroom. Making sure that all students have equal
access to participation and opportunities. Ensuring that all procedures and
policies are non-discriminatory. Making sure that classroom materials never
discriminate against anyone. Safeguarding protected characteristics throughout
our culture and ethos. All of these things, to a greater extent than formalised
subject lessons, will make them responsible, independent, resilient and above
all else employable young people once they finish their school career. Act Fast
has trained and qualified staff to recognise some of the barriers to learning
that students face. These barriers might be due to Adverse Childhood Experiences
and with knowledge and understanding of such issues Act Fast staff can help
students overcome them to maximise their potentials. Referral, Application and
Introduction After a referral is made to Act Fast, we invite a representative
from the referring body (usually the Inclusion Officer), the learner and the
learner’s parents into Act Fast for a familiarisation visit. During that visit
the learner is given a tour of the facility, is introduced to key staff members
and receives an explanation of the culture of Act Fast. Learners are given the
opportunity to voice any concerns and any questions they have are answered. We
set a high expectation on behaviour here, and partly because expectations are
high, but also because more established learners mentor new arrivals, new
learners very soon fall into compliance with our way of doing things. Act Fast
works because our learners buy into the culture. This is the first opportunity
that a young person has to involve themselves in how we operate here.
Application forms must be completed prior to a young person starting at Act
Fast. Once applications are complete, the referring body typically takes a few
days (sometimes up to a week) to arrange their transport. Personal data will be
stored and processed at this point, and details entered into our MIS system,
Arbor. We insist on a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) meeting with stakeholders and
the young person present within the first month. This allows any teething
troubles to be voiced and solutions to be sought. Further PLP meetings are held
regularly, no less frequently than once a term. At those meetings, Act Fast
staff will deliver a report detailing the engagement of the young person, levels
of educational attainment, attendance, general engagement, and commentary on the
likelihood of a reintegration being successful. Reintegration planning must be
tailored to suit the needs of the individual. Staff Investment Our staff all
take part in quality training including regular CPD sessions and ongoing
programmes of accreditation such as SSS online training (recently completed by
all staff members). Training needs identified are acted on as soon as practical.
The organisation believes and invests in the continuous professional development
of its people. Our commitment to CPD is such that every member of staff has
received CPD accredited training in the last 12 months. Our qualified teachers
ensure pedagogical content methods are in place to deliver high standards of
teaching for our young learners. We engage with our staff continuously here and
know of the main pressures on them, including managing workload. We aim to
support every staff member to help guide them throughout their career at Act
Fast. Educational Framework It is our aim to provide an educational framework
which is heavily invested in the hidden curriculum. By that, we mean that as
well as lessons formalised in Maths and English for example, our young people
develop an understanding of: working to a process arriving on time respecting
authority abiding by the rules accepting that their first choice may not always
be the right choice following instructions not expecting to leave early
attending every day These are the skills whereby a young person will be
employable post 16. Without these key skills, a young person is unlikely to be
able to function in the workplace. We develop the hidden curriculum, embedded in
everything we do, in order that our learners gain an understanding of their
expectations being matched by the expectations of attendance, compliance and
engagement We have a tracking system in place for our core subjects. We also use
a “readiness to learn” scale, whereby a learners attitude, engagement, and
involvement in their own work is measured. Bespoken When evolving Act Fast into
an independent school I was very mindful that Mainstream school had not been a
successful outcome for the majority if not all of our learners. It was
imperative that we were bespoke and able to meet the needs of all our learners
and not just the few. For this reason we created our own curriculum that is more
sympathetic to our learners’ needs. Our teachers create an environment that
allows our young people to focus on learning. 1:1 support as well as small group
teaching (where appropriate) is in place to make teaching more effective,
allowing tutors to concentrate on each individual learner’s needs. We believe in
student voice here at Act Fast. Our EHCP’s (Educational Health Care plans) allow
us to capture our learners’ views. It’s not only in our annual reviews that we
give learner’s opportunity to be heard. For example, one young adult suggested
we invested in a bigger bike here, so we put arrangements in place and made this
happen. We encourage our learners to make their voices heard. Below are some
examples of student voice council meetings held at Act Fast and how they shape
decisions made at the school. Student Voice Meeting 040322 We have effective
arrangements to identify learners who may need early help or are at risk of
neglect, abuse, grooming or exploitation. We strongly promote our policies and
legislation such as safeguarding, diversity and equality of our staff and
learners at Act Fast. Ofsted Report 2022 Best Bits: “Act Fast school is a place
where the proprietor and staff go the extra mile to support the pupils who
attend. It has a unique vision of how to ‘hook’ pupils back into education, and
it is successful in doing so. Act Fast has started to re-engage pupils who have
experienced difficulties in their education”. “Parents believe that, finally, a
school ‘gets’ their child. The wider curriculum, built around motor-cross, is a
distinctive feature of the school. It motivates pupils to attend and to behave
well. For those pupils who do not wish to ride the bikes, staff work with them
to find alternatives. The proprietor and staff have limitless ambition for what
pupils can achieve in their personal development. At the heart of this is a
patient, careful building of relationships, and, in many cases, a re-building of
trust between the pupil and their experience of education.” “The special
educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a strong understanding of the
requirements of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
(SEND). Recently, the SENCo has started to work with a senior leader to more
effectively incorporate pupils’ SEND targets from their education, health and
care (EHC) plans into teachers’ planning.” “Leaders have also recently taken
action to improve the school’s support for pupils’ reading. For instance, a
primary specialist has been appointed with experience of teaching phonics to the
weakest readers. The English lead is in the process of building a programme to
encourage pupils to read widely and for enjoyment. Leaders’ wider curriculum for
pupils’ personal development is, to very large extent, a strength of the
school.” “The proprietor’s vision for getting young people who have had
difficult experiences of school back into education is impressive. It is backed
up by an innovative personal development curriculum, built on a range of
activities that take place in the afternoons. These include a variety of motor
vehicle-related opportunities, as well as visits out of school to a range of
venues. Recently, for instance, pupils have started to be taken to a local
engineering firm to participate in a scheme to broaden their career aspirations.
Pupils know that there is a plan in place for them to make a suitable next step
into further education or training at the end of Year 11.” Improvements:
“Leaders’ PSHE curriculum includes reference to the protected characteristics
and the school is a respectful community: however, coverage of the protected
characteristics in the curriculum strategy is not as detailed as it could be, so
pupils’ understanding is not as developed as it could be. Leaders should revisit
their curriculum thinking for PSHE so that teaching of the protected
characteristics is made more overt.” “The current curriculum is based on a
limited set of qualifications in two subjects. For a registered special school,
this lacks ambition. As a result, pupils experience a narrow curriculum,
including a limited suite of qualifications. Leaders should take action to
broaden and deepen their curriculum so that pupils have opportunities to study a
wider range of subject content, organised coherently and cumulatively over the
entire secondary and post-16 phases; and, for those who are capable, to a higher
level of accreditation.” “Leaders have not taken the required action with regard
to the statutory guidance for the teaching of RSHE. Consequently, parents have
not been made aware of the school’s policy and their parental rights within the
policy. Also, the teaching of Inspection report: Act Fast NL Ltd. RSHE is not
clearly planned in the school’s curriculum. Leaders should take action to be
compliant with the statutory guidance and to ensure that curriculum thinking
incorporates structured RSHE teaching.”
