Alternative curriculum & student support – KENT

Step-Out has a long history of working with the hardest to reach students – those who find it difficult or impossible to achieve in a mainstream classroom environment. 

We consistently find for these students that…

• time spent in the outdoor environment 
• working in very small groups (no more than 4 students)
• with tutors who have endless patience and a real empathy for the difficulties they are facing

…enables them to gradually able to begin to engage with life, community and learning.

For the above reasons, Step-Out are offering 1 year-long Programmes to this type of student. They may struggle with their mental health, display behaviours that are challenging in the traditional classroom environment, have conditions that mean they need alternative options for learning or just have an ambition to work in the outdoors.  

Students may attend on their own, providing they can regulate themselves sufficiently to learn in a group of 4, they may be accompanied by their mentor or learning support or we can provide a 1:1 Step-Out Instructor to work with them during their attendance on these programmes (this will cost an extra £20 per hour but can also include a pick-up and drop off option within a reasonable distance).

At the end of the academic year, students will have completed either an E3, Level 1 or Level 2 qualification in Skills for Living and Work.  

The subjects that Step-Out will deliver during the year are:

• Woodland and Habitat Management
• Green woodworking skills
• Coppicing Crafts
• Woodland kitchen
• Health and safety in the workplace

Students will then also be given the opportunity to choose from the following:

• Natural crafts (felting, willow working, etc)
• Forest School Level 1
• Bushcraft Level 1 or 2

These Programmes: 

• are for students aged 14 and over
• are 150 hours in length (broken down into 35 days per year from 9.30 am until 2 pm on Tuesdays starting w/b 19th September 2022) 
• cost £110 per week, per student. This cost includes all their safety equipment, and all their certification costs.
• are suitable for school refusers and home educated young people as well as those in specialist education.

There are a maximum of FOUR PLACES for the 2022/2023 Academic Year so please get in touch with Marya – marya@step-out.info / 07883 422906 – ASAP if you are interested in this programme.

FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE IN KS2 or KS3 OR ARE HOME EDUCATED 

In discussion with you and the needs of either individual students or small groups of students or young people, Step-Out can tailor a woodland programme (either an accredited course or a Forest School or a John Muir Award) especially for you. Please contact us for information on these opportunities.