What We Will Do For You
All young people admitted to the North Wales Adolescent Serice (NWAS) unit are required to attend Nant-y-Bryniau Education Centre. We will work with you and your home school or college to provide you with a personalised learning plan to help keep you on track with your education whilst at the hospital. We understand that you may find it difficult to engage with your education due to your mental health difficulties therefore we hope that the following information will help ease any concerns that you may have.
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We provide appropriate education in a safe, stable and containing learning environment. Teaching staff are very experienced in liaising with your mainstream schools or colleges to help provide you with an education that is in line with that being received by your peers. We also work closely with your healthcare team therefore we’ll be aware of any issues that may be affecting your ability to work at your best level.
"Almost all pupils make outstanding progress during their time at the PRU." - Estyn
If You Are in Years 7 to 11
With your permission, we will work closely with someone at your school that you know so that you can get on with the work that your peers will be doing while you are not there. We understand that this is important to you as you will not want to fall behind with the work by the time you are ready to return. However, this will be done in a manageable and supportive way that will not put increased pressure on you during an already difficult time.
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All our pupils study the core subjects of English, Welsh, maths, and science as well as PSE. Where possible we want you to continue studying all your other subjects too. However, if you feel that you have recently missed too much school and have not been in a particular lesson for a long time; there may be scope to negotiate to remove that subject from your timetable. We want to help you manage your studies with us so that you feel in control of your workload during your time with us. Regular contact with mainstream teachers will be important so that they understand how things are going for you.
If you have any exams to sit while with us we will help you to prepare for these and help you gain the confidence needed to sit the exams either with us or at your mainstream school.
If You Are Post-16
If you are in school or at college then we can provide for you too. Even if you have stopped going to school and thought that your education was over, we can help you find relevant courses, including helping you find routes into further and higher education. You may have left education entirely; we can help you discover new interests to help occupy your time therapeutically. Some of the activities enjoyed by previous young people include learning to play an instrument, gardening, cooking, arts & crafts including pottery, photography, animation, computer programming and even learning how to change a tyre on a bike.
If You Are a Kite Patient
As a community patient, we will only get involved with your education if you need support. Some young people who have dropped out of their school or college or are too ill for mainstream school have attended Nant-y-Bryniau up to five afternoons each week to continue their curriculum, work on basic skills and if needed have support in identifying what they could go on to do. This sometimes involves access to Careers Wales through us.
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Some young people do have an education placement but they are struggling to access it. In these instances, we might offer support and coaching to re-integrate and make some changes with the college or school so that they might support you better. In the past, we have helped young people with their applications to further education and accompanied them for inductions and to meet support staff on-site. Really, Kite Education is very flexible and depends on individual needs.