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How Alternative Education Can Boost a Child’s Confidence

Alternative schools offer an unconventional approach to education. They often take a less formal stance to education when compared to traditional public schools, understanding that in many cases one-size does not fit all. In alternative education, class size tends to be relatively small with a generous pupil: teacher ratios. They often embody a less structured curriculum, which can be tailored to the pupil’s individual needs. This type of alternative education can boost a young person’s confidence in many ways:

Encourage Talent

With alternative education, a child’s own natural talent is encouraged. By supporting children in activities that they are naturally gifted at, or simply enjoy, it boosts their confidence seeing themselves progress and develop. Knowing that they are good at something, helps to give them purpose, which in turn can help young people cope better with other elements of their life and education too.

Model Behaviour

Through more personal forms of education such as home-schooling, or other alternative methods, young people are able to build closer relationships with their teachers, who can act as role models where they may not currently be one in their lives.

This more focused attention can help to guide the young person and show them the “model” way to act and behave, even in difficult situations. Within this modelling, acceptance is key. Alternative education supplies teachers with the tools to show children acceptance of mistakes is a natural part of life and will ultimately help them to grow. This is vital in boosting the confidence of young people.

Focus on Problem Areas

If a child struggles with a certain aspect of their education such as reading, alternative education offers a platform for increased support. With less students in alternative education when compared to the average school, teachers can focus upon their students more intensely. This allows them to improve at an accelerated pace, which will increase the child’s confidence as they learn skills quickly and efficiently.

A Wilderness Way

For children who have access to mainstream and independent school providers, we will support them to keep attending their normal means of education. However, we will also provide home-school opportunities and alternative education for young people who are struggling to access more formal education.

We can provide alternative education for those aged 8 – 18, and this includes intake from across England and Scotland. The children that arrive to A Wilderness Way for education come from various backgrounds and have a variety of needs, both educationally and from a care perspective.

Our home-schooling technique works alongside our Wilderness Experiences to provide access to child-centred outdoor educational processes as well as the usual curriculum. Most of the young people we work with have been out of education for a long time, so we aim to engage young people during their stay to develop their self-esteem and confidence. We look beyond standard approaches to education and believe the same standard of education can be achieved with activities such as team building and individual support. If you have any questions relating to our alternative education system, please contact us at referrals@awwltd.com.

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I am truly taken aback by the level of care you have shown. The staff have gone out of their way to show him the attention and care that he has never had. When I visited him, it was like I was looking at a different child to what he was before he came. He was not like a child in care, he was like a child in a family. You have literally saved his life.

Social Worker

All children and young people thrive, and they make progress while living at the home. Because of the services provided the children and young people experience an individualised, stable and consistent home life. Children and young people benefit from the integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to education and care. They each achieve their full potential and, in many cases, do so beyond previous expectations.

Ofsted

I am so grateful to the AWW team for their dedication and commitment to caring and supporting Sam. He recently reported that being at there gave him the space to think and the opportunity to reflect on his attitude and make plans for his future.

Social Worker

I have to share my delight at Luke’s progress at AWW. Thanks to your support, in the last 17 weeks Luke and has turned his life around significantly. From where he has come from to where he is now, I am so proud of him.

Social Worker

The placement was really good and beneficial to me. The staff were all really supportive and nice and always made themselves available to me if I had any problems. The outdoor activities that were offered helped me to have a better outlook and showed me that I can do so much more in life, and it really helped me process and made me feel like a better person.

Child

As METCO Officer for Cumbria Police I have regular contact with the team at AWW in relation to vulnerable children at risk of CSE and going missing. If a specific incident has occurred, the Home Manager and I speak on the phone to discuss the best way forward. She also attends CSE risk assessment meetings and we receive Philomena Protocol forms when a young person arrives in placement.

Cumbria Police