Supporting Vulnerable Students
A proportion of KIT funding is set aside to provide extra support to vulnerable young people at the school. We promote wellbeing and help students tackle all the normal challenges of adolescence. Our Grandin Centre is an on-site facility supporting students with an autism diagnosis and has a wonderful garden which students care for and which provides a ‘calm’ space for students that get overwhelmed. We also provide the Sisterhood programme which aims to enhance skills, self-worth, and leadership in young girls, providing a collaborative platform for growth. For the boys we have the“S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project” which is a creative arts project, using photography, poetry, film and podcasts to address the mental health needs of Black boys and challenge the negative portrayal of this demographic in the media.
We also send students who are at risk of exclusion, have exceedingly challenging home lives or who are struggling to make friends to a 5-day residential at Jamie’s Farm. This programme focuses on improving behaviour, engagement, wellbeing and essential life-skills. During the week, their tasks include completing real jobs with tangible outcomes including farming, gardening, cooking, log chopping, music and crafts.
After each meal they reflected on their success and behaviour, giving compliments and showing recognition of their achievements. They did much of this as a team, and had daily opportunities to reflect on how they were finding the week and that day’s activities. In addition to this students benefited from one-to-one and group reflective sessions to support the young people to vocalise rather than act out their challenges and develop new positive behaviour patterns to carry forward into home and school life.
“The Sisterhood Project was fun and I got closer with the girls. It made me less insecure and I wear less make up now due to the project.”
67% of attendees of the S.M.I.L.E - Boys Course said attending the programme had improved their Self-Efficacy
Of the 24 young people who attended Jamie’s Farm Residentials, 83% of students are now performing better against specific outcomes such as improved relationship skills or improved self-management
“The Gardening Club has had a huge impact on our students, as they have been inspired to learn more about plants and their importance in a healthy diet, as well as how beneficial it can be for their mental health”.
Jamie’s Farm Residentials
At Jamie’s Farm, ‘farming, family and therapy’ are uniquely combined in a 5-day residential at one of their farms in the countryside, with 12 students attending each residential. This is the fourth year that our students have attended Jamie’s Farm, and teachers, students and their families have almost unanimously reported that they have had a transformative impact on even the most hard-to-reach students. After the residentials the Jamie’s Farm team carry out follow up visits, and our own teachers hold a monthly group for Jamie’s Farm ‘graduates’.
Before the Easter 2024 cohort visited Jamie’s Farm, 7 out of 12 students were at high risk of exclusion - since returning, none have been at risk again.
Also, 83% of students now perform better against specific outcomes such as improved relationship skills or improved self-management, as identified by their teachers
‘Family Breakfast’ Club
The introduction of the daily Breakfast Club at KAA was of particular importance following the school’s displacement from its building in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Reports of some students arriving at school hungry having not had a proper breakfast at home, and this having a negative impact on behaviour and learning, prompted the establishment of this service - over half of our students benefit from this each year.