Key Info
About Futures
Futures is a specialist alternative post 16 provision, providing high quality education for young people aged 16-18 with a wide range of complex needs including social, emotional and mental health needs. Futures has the mission statement “Empowering Students. Creating Possibilities” and this is because our provision fills a need for inclusive education for young people with complex trauma and special educational needs. These needs include high anxiety, attachment and trauma barriers to learning. All our students have an EHCP. Many of our students have been out of education for a substantial period.
Futures sister site, Educate U first opened its doors to students in 2019 and had just 1 student and 3 staff. Over four years the school has grown to accommodate a bespoke educational package to a capacity of 40 students. From this quite rapid expansion the school has developed trauma informed values based on the needs of many of our students.
After four years of providing Special Educational Needs (SEN) students with a trauma-informed approach to education, we recognized a pressing need for post-16 education tailored to these young individuals. This realization led to the establishment of Futures, a new initiative aimed at continuing our mission to support young people in their educational journeys.
Futures is designed to offer further education opportunities that are both inclusive and supportive, ensuring that every student can thrive academically and personally. Our passion for this work drives us to create an environment where young people feel safe, understood, and empowered to reach their full potential.
By extending our trauma-informed approach into post-16 education, we are committed to addressing the unique challenges faced by SEN students. We believe that with the right support and resources, these young people can achieve their goals and build a bright future. At Futures, we remain steadfast in our dedication to nurturing the growth and development of every student, paving the way for their success in further education and beyond. Emotional well-being and high-calibre learning are our two main priorities and are central to our vision, our purpose and our actions. At Futures we love our students. Nurture and connection are the building blocks to ensuring our students feel safe, have reduced education-based anxiety and are in a safe space to learn and to build resilience. Many of our students need their affect lowered and many of our young people need co-regulation (to support their development of self-regulation) and this is often a barrier to accessing their learning.
We are a relational provision. Relationships lie at the core of our approach, serving as the foundation for building positive and healthy attachments that enable our students to thrive. This deep-seated belief is rooted in an understanding of the profound impact relationships have on emotional and psychological health, a perspective supported by the compelling evidence from neuroscience and attachment theory. Recognising the significance of these connections, we are dedicated to fostering a nurturing environment that values and prioritises the quality of relationships among students, staff, parents/carers and the broader provision community. Through this intentional focus on positive interactions and meaningful connections, we aim to provide a supportive framework for the holistic development and well-being of each student in our care.
At Futures, the dedicated team surrounding each student embraces a perspective that interprets behaviour as a form of communication. This approach empowers our staff to consistently engage mindfully, always prioritising the best interests of the young individuals under our care. Recognising that a young person's sense of psychological and physical safety is paramount, our staff are committed to cultivating a mindset and attitude that fosters an environment of secure hands, thoughtful minds, and regulated bodies. Our commitment lies in creating a supportive environment where we can navigate these challenges together, fostering growth and resilience in everyone.
