Strathmore College is committed to preparing our learners for adulthood. Developing independence skills is central to the ethos of the college and, as such, is embedded into all learners’ programmes. We work to identify ways in which we can support a young person to become as independent as possible from the moment we receive a referral, ensuring that a plan is in place before they have even started at the college.
Whilst each learner will have their own bespoke package of support, our independence programme typically involves:
- Travel training
- Money and budgetary skills
- Cooking skills (using our ILS kitchen)
- General domestic chores (using our ILS kitchen)
- Self-help skills
- Keeping safe in the community
Developing life skills in learners’ local communities
One of the standout features of Strathmore College is that we help our learners to develop life skills within their home communities. In practice, this means that we go to the home of local learners and help them develop their independence in and around the area that they will be living in after leaving us. For example, staff may travel to a young person’s home and support them to become familiar with catching public transport between their house and future workplace. Our aim is to ensure that our learners are set up and in a well-established routine for the next stage of their life before leaving Strathmore College.