Connex

Vision and Values

Our vision, is that every learner is educated at the right place, at the right time. Learners will receive ‘early help and early intervention’ allowing them to remain in mainstream schools successfully. This inclusive model will support well-being, improve attendance and facilitate improved outcomes for CYP, across Swindon and Wiltshire. 

Our values are built around the Dan Hughes PACE approach and include:

Playfulness: The purpose of playfulness is to enjoy being together in an unconditional way. This gives the message that the relationship is stronger than things that go wrong. 

Acceptance: Unconditional acceptance is fundamental to a learners sense of safety because it shows that you have connected with their feelings without judgement, and without seeking to reassure their feelings away. 

Curiosity: It’s important to be curious about learners thoughts, feelings, wishes and intentions: they may still be learning that other people can think about them in this way or that they can be held in mind by an adult without judgement and accusation at all. 

Empathy: When you show empathy, you are showing learners that their feelings are important to you, and that you are alongside them in their difficulty. You are showing that you can cope with the hard times with them, and you are trying hard to understand how it feels. 

This means that: 

  • Learners: receive high quality targeted support, e.g. emotional self-regulations skills, as soon as they need it from skilled practitioners they can trust. 
  • Parents and carers: have confidence that, if their child or young person is placed in or supported by alternative provision, it is a way of helping them succeed by providing quality education, therapy and support. Decisions about support and placements will be clear and collaborative, always in the child or young person's best interest, and communicated to key stakeholders including parent/carers.
  • Education settings: mainstream primary and secondary schools have a clear, tiered package of support, to build capacity to address identified needs that present a barrier to learning. This includes targeted support in mainstream schools and time-limited placements in our alternative provision. There will also be longer-term, transitional placements. Our provision ensures that learners and their trusted adults are given the resources to deliver this.
  • Health and care providers: we understand the types of medical alternative provision and how they support those learners who are unable to attend a mainstream or special school, or college because of health needs. We have high expectations and work closely with health and social care to ensure we deliver the educational experiences that some learners may have not experienced and are entitled to.
  • Local authority/government: we work closely with our partners and use their inclusion plans. Together, we ensure that resources are deployed efficiently and effectively, always putting the needs of learners first.

Connex AP provides an ambitious and bespoke curriculum that is broad and balanced, but adapted and personalised. Our clear intent is to ensure that learners are not disadvantaged from accessing alternative provision and that they are supported to re-integrate and remain on track to achieving positive educational outcomes.

Connex offers timely, support of the highest quality to learners whose needs present as a barrier to accessing and engaging with education. The provision is ambitious in supporting them to stay in, or return to, mainstream schools or colleges whenever appropriate. Decisions about support and placements will always be in the best interest of the learner to maintain their full-time education. We provide the leadership and expertise to develop capacity in mainstream schools, building on strong SEND and inclusion cultures. As a result, learners will have the confidence and skills to succeed in whatever they choose to do next.

Three tier system of support

Connex offers education, therapy and interventions across a continuum of support. As a result, our delivery model is based on a three-tier system of support.

  • Tier 1: Targeted support to mainstream schools for learners whose needs are not being met. For example, through school-to-school support, advice, modelling, training and guidance.
  • Tier 2: Time limited placements – for those learners who need more intensive support to address the identified need. Time limited placements will run for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 36 weeks with the aim of supporting learners with home school re-integration. We will provide short breaks for learners who are at day 6+ of a suspension.
  • Tier 3: Transitional placements for those learners who will not return to their previous setting but will be supported to make the transition to a different setting, post-16 provision or employment when they are ready. Connex will enable these identified learners to recover as much academic progress as possible and have the knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive in what they do next.