Andy’s story
Hi, I’m Andy*. When I first came to Tadley Court School, I was very anxious and this often escalated into challenging and aggressive behaviour. My previous placement had broken down and I was reluctant to start my placement here at Tadley Court School.
I started working with both the education and residential teams and slowly began to build a positive, trusting relationship with them. They used my interest of keeping fit and exercise and built this into my daily routine. I found the routine and structure throughout the waking day helped to lower my anxieties and over time I was able to recognise and manage my behaviour.
My engagement in activities, as well as my relationships with peers and staff improved over my time at Tadley Court. This was due to the knowledge and care of the trained staff. They got to know the signs that indicated I was anxious or upset and used de-escalation techniques to help me manage his anxiety.
When I reached 19 years of age, I had to leave Tadley Court School and staff worked closely with my family and professionals to find me a suitable onward placement. Once a new provision had been identified for me, Tadley Court School created a transition plan to suit my needs and help keep my anxiety about the move to a minimum.
Key members of staff from my new provision were invited to Tadley Court to get to know me. Tadley Court School supported me with visits to my new provision, which were gradually increased in length of time and frequency and included overnight stays.
This well planned transition enabled me to make the move to my new home a smooth one. I started to build relationships and trust with my new staff team and this enabled me to manage the transition in a positive way.
I have been in my new home a while now and I am doing well and enjoying my time here.
Stuart’s story
My name’s Stuart* and when I first started at Tadley Court School, I was struggling to understand and manage my behaviour. My frustration and inability to cope in situations would result in physical and verbal incidents and I could not tolerate anyone else in the classroom at the same time as me and would only work with one member of staff.
Tadley Court School staff gained my trust over time by building relationships and slowly introduced me to other members of the class team. Educational tasks were introduced and, as I began to see I was able to complete the work, my confidence and self-esteem grew. I benefited from the structure and support that is in place at Tadley Court School so much that it was felt I would benefit from a residential placement. Tadley Court School worked with me and my family to arrange a transition that would help me have a successful move to a residential placement at the school.
I settled into the residential home well and benefited from the waking day curriculum. The consistency of the timetable across the educational and residential day helped to reduce my anxiety.
I continue to need support but I now have more control over my feelings and can identify when I need time out, which in turn gives me control over my feelings. As a result, I can now access more activities with my peers.
The consistent, caring, structured approach of Tadley Court School staff has enabled me to become less anxious and more in control of my feelings and behaviour.
Tadley Court School staff gained my trust and, by working with my family, enabled me to have positive, rewarding visits to my family home. With the continued support and specialist input from staff, I am looking forward to reaching my full potential.
David’s story
David* has severe autism and communication difficulties. Before arriving at Tadley Court School, David was previously educated in a small building, miles away from anyone else in the middle of the countryside.
David couldn’t manage noise or any social interaction, and was having a lot of significant physical incidents which meant he was being staffed by four people.
When David arrived at Tadley Court School, we put the correct procedures and staff in place, working closely with him to build his confidence and trust.
Our multidisciplinary team including an occupational therapist, music therapist and speech and language therapist, supported David on a daily basis to develop his communication skills using symbols and picture exchange communication.
With increased confidence, David started going out into the community assisted by members of staff. As an example of this, staff found that David really enjoyed going fishing so they would go to the nearby canal where he would sit near the water with his pretend fishing rod. David would even interact with the people on the barges.
David’s outcomes
After being at Tadley Court School for 5 years, David moved on last year into an independent living home purposely built for him.
David lives on his own and has people that support him on a daily basis. He still accesses the local community and even has a volunteer job.
This has been an amazing turnaround from the person that first came to Tadley Court School. David had no access to life and no enjoyment at all, to someone that now picks up the phone and calls us to tell us about the day he has had.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.