Increased opportunities

Vincent joined Tram House School in September 2019 having experienced a breakdown in his last school placement. His behaviour had become a barrier to learning and resulted in him having a full academic year out of education. In the year that Vincent has been at Tram House, the frequency of his behaviours that challenge have decreased dramatically. He is starting to increase his independence and access community experiences.

Upon joining Tram House, Vincent’s behaviour was disrupting to his learning and that of his classmates. A programme was set in place for Vincent to help him express his feelings more. The aim of this being to enable Vincent to communicate when he started feeling frustrated. After incidents of behaviours that challenge, such as kicking, Vincent’s Tutors asked him to share why he felt angry. Vincent would then be encouraged to find alternative behaviour. This could be asking for help or choosing another activity to help him calm down.

Alongside these reactive strategies the team spent time with Vincent talking about situations he found difficult and practiced role-playing what to do as an alternative to kicking. Now, when faced by a situation he finds challenging, Vincent is confident saying ‘stop’ or asking to go elsewhere.

There was rapid improvement in his behaviour so the focus for Vincent and his Tutors turned to building independence. The reduction in behaviours that challenge allowed Vincent to start accessing group learning. Based on his interests, this began with art and creative lessons before building up to maths, English and science. His improved behaviour has further increased his independence with less staff needed to support his transitions around school and to and from home.

Vincent has started accessing the community more and he now gets the bus to South Thames College where he is gaining more exposure to group learning and interaction with his peers. The progress Vincent has made at school can also be seen at home. His father was thrilled to be able to enjoy a meal at a restaurant with Vincent for the first time.

‘I can finally relax taking him out and knowing he is happy in school’

The fantastic progress that Vincent has made is just the start. His Tutors are working hard to help Vincent access more of the things he’s started to experience. Attending college is becoming a regular occurrence and he will be exposed to more activities such as work experience to help him develop his skills and start using them in the community.