Peer Support

National Star have been conducting supervised peer support sessions with their students.

Rationale

It was agreed that:

  • prior to online learning taking place, students needed social contact with their peers
  • many of our students are not able to keep in contact with peers independently and so would not have been able to speak with them for a number of weeks
  • whilst all sessions would have a natural social element, as in a traditional classroom, a purely social session would be beneficial
  • students’ personal tutor would put together groups of four students (the maximum number that could be seen on screen) and set up a social session
  • the tutor would begin by leading topics of general conversation and it was hoped that students would then take the lead and conversation would naturally continue.

Find Out More

Continuity of Programme

National Star College has developed Continuity of Programme packs for all students in order to support families remotely, as well as those who have remained at college, to access an adjusted programme incorporating social distancing guidance.

The aim of the packs was to share an up-to-date picture of transition aspirations, learning goals and their links to wider EHCP Outcomes. It also invited families to contribute to these outcomes and be able to link in with identified course leaders to share feedback, photographs and videos of activities at home. Members of a student’s multidisciplinary team contributed reports, guidance and activities for the young person to participate in at home and for ease of understanding, the information is categorised against EHCP Outcome areas. Depending on the family’s access to technology, the packs and supporting documents were uploaded securely via OwnCloud or posted as hard copies. Such information will need to be tailored to meet parent / carers’ requirements, some will be happy with detail, whilst others will require information to be summarised and provided in an easy read format.

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