In the simplest of terms, the overall “outcome” we want our young people to achieve is for them to be able to take their place, and participate positively, in society. That is our aim. So many of our children have been let down by the “system”, they haven’t learned those basic skills that we take for granted. So we focus not only on the academic side of what would be deemed as “outcomes” but also on the personal, social and emotional aspects of getting young people prepared for life outside of school, and for a life where they can thrive.

We do this successfully through having really positive relationships with the children and young people, learning about them, treating them as individuals and really caring about what they want from their lives – as well as having really high aspirations for them. We tell them there is nothing they cannot do or achieve if they want to. We believe in them.

It starts with creating a bespoke curriculum with them which can flex and adapt to meet their changing needs and ambitions – but which is also grounded in the fundamental subjects of English, Maths and Science. An outcome ambition for us is for each of our young people to leave our schools with a meaningful qualification in each.

From there, the curriculum is developed around them, taking in academic subjects they are interested in and which will be helpful for their future career, as well as vocational subjects and confidence building activities which are relevant to them.

Confidence is key – so often young people come to a Kedleston school having been through the educational “mill” and are often disillusioned with education and learning and with very low self-confidence or belief in their abilities as a learner. A key outcome for us is to help them rebuild that self-confidence and our non-traditional curriculum approaches – such as learning outside the classroom, John Muir and Duke of Edinburgh Award schemes – are excellent ways for children to redevelop that self-belief in their ability to learn.

Another outcome we focus on is our young people having those basic skills we all rely on, but which may have fallen through the gaps for them; things like money management, keeping ourselves safe, using public transport. They’re all key skills and form a major part of our day-to-day work with our young people.

From an academic point of view, a key outcome for us is helping young people achieve relevant and meaningful qualifications. We build a portfolio of qualifications around the child which are meaningful and useful to their future ambitions.

We encourage and enable children to sit their exams as soon as they are ready, we don’t wait necessarily until it’s traditional exam time. This helps as it means the child sits the exam at a time when they are emotionally and mentally ready; some of young people are more likely to experience changes to their circumstances – whether that be mentally, emotionally or in other ways - over the course of the year which may mean their ability to take exams at the more traditional time is hampered, so having them undertake their qualifications when they are most ready is vital for their successful outcomes.

When young people move on from us, we rarely have any NEETs and the vast majority – on average 99.9% - of our young people go on to a positive destination, and most of them to a mainstream setting. Some go on to apprenticeships and others straight into work. We also have young people who have prepared for a career in the military while with us.

Last year, 100% moved on to further education in mainstream colleges or into training in an apprenticeship. In our day schools, 97% of leavers went to a mainstream further education placement and the further 3% took up apprenticeships. In our residential schools, 100% of the leavers went on to further education, again all of them in mainstream colleges. 67% moved into supported living settings, having been supported at school to learn the skills they need for independence. 17%  moved home to live with their parents and carers while they further their education, and the remaining 16% were supported in foster care placements. All of these are positive destinations and a good “outcome” for the young person.

These successful outcomes are achieved through our approach at every school to making sure our young people are given lots of opportunities to hone their skills for independence and also to try different kinds of work experience, which again we flex should a child’s interests or ambitions change. We also make sure they have access to careers advice and their ambitions are listened to and acted upon.

To help us further enhance outcomes for young people, we have recently appointed Claire Webster to the role of Head of Transitions. Her role will see her work with children transitioning from primary school to secondary as well as focusing on other children as they transition from our schools onto their next step, working closely with them and their support network to help create the best possible outcomes for the young person as possible.

For our young people the true meaning of the word “outcome” can’t be measured solely on how many qualifications they leave school with. It’s about where that young person started from; they may have experienced multiple educational placement breakdowns or exclusions, they may have struggled to relate to their peers, they may have disengaged with education – some might even have been told they would never gain any qualifications at all.

The outcome for them is how far they have progressed from that starting point – and our young people come so very far – it’s truly inspirational.