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• A large on-site therapeutic and health support team includes
Occupational Therapy and Sensory Integration, Speech & Language
Therapy, Music Therapy, Positive Behaviour Support and a Nursing team.
Other therapy or specific health support is brought in to meet individual
requirements. The multi-disciplinary team is able to create a co-ordinated
and consistent support throughout 52 weeks of the year, training and
supporting staff as well as working with parents/carers, families and
external professionals.
• A strong focus on physical exercise: regular and frequent exercise is a vital
part of each day and a core principle of our approach. Prior's Court
recognises that exercise helps regulation - it improves attention and sleep
patterns, releases excess energy, provides opportunities to play and for
social interaction, and can help to calm when stressed or struggling to
engage. A wide range of facilities and activities on-site enable young
people to take part in a programme of physical activity, as well as accessing
the local community.
• Individualised learning throughout the Waking Day. Young people learn
and develop skills in seven Areas of Learning and practice these skills
regularly in a range of different settings. Learning in all areas is
individualised to each young person. Each follows their own personalised
programme of learning with activities structured throughout their Waking
Day and consistent learning objectives followed by all staff across
education, residential and community-based settings. Tasks and activities
are broken down into small steps (our I Can statement system of progress
monitoring) and include a high frequency of reward and motivation to
encourage learning. This programme is reviewed regularly by key staff
using supporting information from Prior Insight (see below) to look at each
young person's achievements and individual needs, building on their
strengths and interests and their developing and emerging skills.
• Consistency of approach: a collaborative process involves education,
residential and night teams, therapy and multi-disciplinary staff working
together with specialists and parents/carers to ensure consistency which
enables young people to learn throughout the Waking Day and in all
settings. This is achieved through having a shared approach, careful
planning and a focus on expertise for all staff with objectives and
programmes of learning for young people.
• Information is key to understanding young people as individuals and
autism as a condition. Data is collected on every aspect of young people's
lives - information that enables us to track the progress they make and
informs us about ways in which we can improve this progress and the
outcomes they achieve. To get the most from this data, we have developed
a whole organisational digital recording and reporting system we call Prior
Insight. Harnessing the power of modern digital technology to store and
interrogate large amounts of data, Prior Insight provides insights into the
complexities of autism, enabling a better understanding and mapping of