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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. We believe that exercise is often associated with a
decrease in some of the stereotypical behaviours associated with
autism: improving attention and sleep patterns, increasing attention
and focus, releasing excess energy, providing opportunities to play
and for social interaction, and is part of the repertoire of strategies
for reducing anxieties and learning to self-calm. 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.
o Individualised learning throughout the Waking Day
Each young person has a personalised programme of learning with
group and individual activities adapted to incorporate their need for
a multi-sensory approach to learning and structured throughout
their Waking Day. Learning objectives, consistent across both
education and residential settings, are reviewed regularly, looking at
each young person's achievements and needs, building on
strengths, interests and their developing and emerging skills. They
focus on communication, behaviour management, cognitive,
vocational, social and personal skills, therapy and independence.
Tasks and activities are broken down into small steps and include a
high frequency of reward and motivation to encourage learning.
o Consistency of approach: a collaborative process involves
education, residential and night teams, therapy and multidisciplinary
staff working together with specialists and
parents/carers to ensure consistency and 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.