Our Educational Initiative
Education is a vital aspect of a young person’s life that can often be the only constant and stable feature throughout turbulent transitional periods. For this reason, Ty Caredig have built positive working relationships with alternative local education providers to ensure all young people are able to access services to optimise their education and learning.
Ty Caredig is an accredited provider of 'Sweet' and 'Agored Cymru' qualifications. 'Sweet' (Succeeding with Education Employment and Training) is an educational package that develops life and employability skills within the learners. Sweet equips the learners with skills and knowledge needed for independent living throughout life beyond care. Furthermore, successful completion of the 'Sweet' qualification is equivalent to two GCSE's - a door opener in itself. Additionally, being an accredited provider of ‘Agored Cymru’ qualifications allows us to deliver vocational courses that also support the employability and progression of learners. However, the child/young person education plan will be set out in the care plan provided by the placing authority and agreed at statutory LAC Reviews.
We have chosen to work in partnership with these educational packages because they align with our goals of ensuring our young people leave our care as ethical, healthy, confident, ambitious, and enterprising young adults ready to lead responsible and fulfilling lives. Addressing the educational needs of our young people further assists our therapeutic and care work as each area compliments the others.
Furthermore, staff will maintain regular contact with education providers to share upto-date information on progress or to address any challenges the young person may be having, as well as how to effectively handle any issues and work collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for the young people in our care. To eliminate any needless gaps in school attendance, strong and constructive working connections between the school and the young person are encouraged.
All of our staff members at our home are trained in the necessary skills and expertise, and they have a thorough grasp of the unique needs of the young people we care for, ensuring that they are assisted in accessing their education. Any open days, special events, or parents’ evenings are also attended by staff, family, and other essential persons involved in helping the young person. Staff may be called upon to advocate on behalf of the young person in our care, which may involve sending them to the school of their choice as far as is reasonably practicable, in order to guarantee continuity and the best possible outcomes for the young person in our care.
As we look to the future, our plan is to register as an independent school to have the ability to deliver the full educational package. However, in the meantime, we are focussed on providing professional tutoring and alternative qualifications via Sweet and Agored Cymru if requested by the placing authority. Therefore, regardless of the ability and interests of our young people, we are strongly positioned to support their educational and practical wellbeing.
"Young people need to be inspired,
told they can achieve anything they put their minds to."
Jim Styne