Child in Need! Let's Help Holly!
residential manager in nearby Bedford. The company aims to
and assist the family manage some of the underlying condition
and diabetes.
Flourish Art Competition – Finalists Selected
Flourish was set up in 2006 as a response to the frustration voiced by looked–after artists
about the lack of opportunity to show their work. Artists may be looked after by carers,
be fostered or adopted, in secure accommodation or have special needs.Flourish is the
first national programme to promote artwork by young people with such a diverse history of care.
It celebrates talent and hopes to encourage confidence and professional skills toward
following a creative career.
Flourish returns to The Foundling Museum from 8 – 27 November with a double exhibition
featuring the compelling and accomplished creative output of care experienced
young people. The 2010 selection takes a look at the role of the portrait: portrayals
of the self, from the true likeness of a person,to the surroundings and belongings that are
associated with them.The 2011 selection wanders into the realm of dreams: their delights,
perplexities and terrors.
One of young people in the Yorkshire Region has been selected to exhibit his artwork in
in the 2011 selection – more information coming soon!
Admission £7.50 | Concessions £5 | Children under 16 free
The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
Tues day– Saturday: 10 – 5 | Sunday: 11 – 5 | Monday: closed
Five of our One Place Homes Rated as 'Outstanding' by Ofsted
The Continuum Group are proud to announce we now have five single place homes – for
young people with highly complex needs – rated as 'Outstanding' by Ofsted.
With the majority of these homes based in the North West the latest inspection report highlighted:
'Young people receive exceptionally high standards of personalised care in this home.
Care planning, in which young people are closely involved, is very detailed and takes into
account every aspect of the young person’s life. Young people enjoy outstanding outcomes in
all areas of their health, development and education'.
For more information on our one place complex needs homes please view:
http://www.continuumgroup.org.uk/Complex_Needs.asp
May 2011
House of Resilience Version 2 On Show
The Continuum Group were proud to showcase our outcomes monitoring model, the House of Resilience Version 2
at a recent conference in
the latest information on how to measure impacts and outcomes effectively using a variety of tools.
Presenting to the plenary were Bob Hall, Managing Director and Dr Kerry Audin, Director of Operations at CPA (our partner
agency providing clinical input) in a 20 minute presentation on our sector leading outcomes model. The presentation
was well received. For more information please see http://www.continuumgroup.org.uk/House_of_Resilience.asp
March 2011
New Home Opens in North East
Bowburn offers placements to young people of either gender between 10 and 18 years of age.
This 4 place group home is located in the North East, within easy access to Durham, Hartlepool, Newcastle,
Sunderland, Darlington and Middlesbrough. We strive to exceed the National Minimum Standards for Children's
Homes and work on a resilience framework to enhance the outcomes for all young people in our care.
We are strong believers that in order to enhance a child's life chances we need to provide them with a
holistic support package.
We achieve this through following the principles of the social pedagogy in our north east services,
taking the form of:
– The professional – we base our work on the model of resilience, work heavily with cognitive behaviour
management techniques and give a strong commitment to reflective practice.
– The personal – we use relationships as a catalyst for effective communication, developments and positive
change.
– The practical – we embrace experiences with the young people to develop life skills and social links.
When a child comes into our service we ensure that collective residential, health and education
planning takes place, this allows us to look at the child as a whole person to shape their support
package. Education, clinical and residential staff, work as a collective team to progress outcomes.
To organise a visit to the home or obtain a Statement of Purpose please contact
Lorna Fearon, Regional Operations & Service Development Manager on 07896 560 696.
Continuum Care & Education Group welcomes changes to special education
needs policy
Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather will today outline plans for the current system of
special educational needs (SEN) statements to be overhauled. The changes outlined in
the SEN Green Paper are to include the current system of three tiers – school action,
school action plus and statements, to be replaced by a single SEN plan which will take
into account education, health and care. This will stay in place until a young person reaches 25.
The new initiative is the biggest modification of support for children with special
educational needs and disabilities in past 30 years. Under the proposals, parents will
also be given a bigger choice of schools and, by 2014, a legal right to control the
funding for their child's support.
The Continuum Care and Education group currently run twelve schools across the country to support
students who have statements of special education needs and many who have not.
Julie Barnes, Head of Education said; ‘Many pupils in our school have SEN statements,
but not all do – often their needs are just as great and we therefore ensure that all of
our students receive one to one pastoral support and academic mentoring’.
The proposed SEN plans will also have a new section detailing children's ambitions for their
education and allow parents to be given a personal budget in order to determine the right educational
needs for their children.
The Continuum Group currently educates over 100 young people in 1:1 learning environments
focusing on their behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. In the past year 45 students across
the Continuum group schools have attained a national accreditation and moved on to further education,
training or work, with many more this year set to do so.
For more information please call 01706 644471 or email amy.green@continuumgroup.org.uk
The full green paper can be accessed here: http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/CM%208027
February 2011
Poetry in Motion!
Congratulations to one of our young people in Nene House who recently won a Gold Award in the
Under 18 Poetry Catergory for the 2010 Koestler Art Prize. Along with a cerificate she won £60!
February 2011
Open Days
We will be hosting two upcoming open days. One at our BESD School in Beverley, East Yorkshire
and one at our new indepedent care leavers provision in Catteris, Cambridgeshire.
Please call 01706 644471 for more information.
Hollywood Star Visits Harlow School
Students from the Continuum School Harlow were in for a treat today when they received a visit from
British actor, Ray Winstone. Winstone is well known for his roles in numerous Hollywood blockbusters
including Cold Mountain, The Departed, and The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe.
After learning that the independent school for young people with challenging behaviours was in his
local area, Winstone arranged a visit with Head teacher, Mark Pearson. The independent school in Harlow
facilitates education for pupils with social, behavioural and emotional difficulties from the Essex local
authority. Mr Pearson said; ‘I met Ray at a recent social event and soon as I told him about the great work we did at our school
and especially about the progress some of our students had made he didn’t hesitate to offer his support
both for the special Christmas visit and with an ongoing presence. Today has been a culmination of a
really progressive term at the school where over recent weeks the full potential of many of our young
people have started to be demonstrated’.
On arrival, Winstone was greeted by the school's teaching staff and the students who knew little of
the secretly organised visit. Winstone was then guided tour of the school by excited students and
spent time answering questions about his acting career, hobbies and which actress was the ‘best kisser’
in Hollywood. One of the students commented Winstone was a ‘great role model to us as someone from the
Essex who has made it big’.
After commencing his acting career in 1976, Winstone grew with his award–winning role in Gary Oldman's
Nil by Mouth and popular film Sexy Beast. Living locally in Roydon, Essex he is known for predominately
taking on the British ‘tough guy’ role in major Hollywood films. Winstone also said he would try organise
additional visits to the school during the summer in order to play football with the students and act as
a mentor during their studies.
Left to right with Ray Winstone are Jamie Gittens, Ceiran Bennett, Stefan Devenish,
Izaac Silverman–Simmonds, Jaye
October 2010
Sky Sports Visit for Essex School Students
Three of our students from Continuum Essex schools had the opportunity of a lifetime when they
recently travelled to London to be involved in a recording of the Sky Sports fishing show 'Tight Lines'.
The boys from schools in Canvey Island and Harlow who are very keen anglers were given a tour
of the Sky Sports studio and provided with lunch. They also got to ‘hang out’ with some well known
sport faces, along with playing table tennis in the leisure room and watching new film previews on
'the biggest TV I have ever seen' quoted Nathan Glover. Before the filming of the show commenced
the trio were lucky to meet, chat and have photos with the show's presenter, Keith Arthur and well
known carp angler, Frank Warwick.
After spending some time watching the show be recorded, the group then also got to experience a
'behind the scenes' view when they were invited into the control room to see the producer and
director in action. The boys really enjoyed their time, having 'a fantastic day' and would 'love to go again!'.
Thanks to the teachers and staff at Canvey Island school & the team at Sky Sports 'Tight Lines' for
organising a great excursion.
Left to right: Keith Arthur (Tight Lines Presenter). Jack Butler (Canvey Island School),
Luke Wiffin (Harlow School), Frank Warwick (Famous Carp Angler), Nathan Glover (Canvey Island School).
Names & Photo printed with permission.
September 2010
GCSE Results Best Ever!
It's been another successful year for young people studying at Continuum Group schools across
the country, with 39 pupils gaining more than 120 passes at GCSE and Entry Level, and 45%
achieving five passes or more. All the hard work put into making the grade at each of our twelve
EBD registered schools means that 2010 is the fourth year that results have exceeded the national
average for Looked After Children.
With the government and industry focussing heavily on encouraging excellence in the STEM Subjects
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), it is incredibly pleasing to note that many of our
students chose to study Science, Mathematics and ICT courses, with many achieved C – E GSCE grades.
Vocational subjects were also a success with Level 1, 2 & 3 BTEC qualifications achieved in Skills for Working Life,
Hospitality and Land & Rural Studies.
With 16 residential homes registered to provide education in the North West, many young people also
exceeded their own expectations. There were an outstanding 132 entries in ELC & GSCE courses. This
included 60% of young people with a pass in three or more subjects. A great credit to our residential
teaching and tutor team!
August 2010
Scarborough School relocates to new premises for
start of new school year
Congratulations to Head teacher Anne Wood and her team for their hard work in
relocating the Scarborough School to its new premises over the summer break.
Our Independent Special Needs school for 24 students has been in operation for over seven
years. Designed to provide a bright and motivating learning environment for 24 young
people aged 10 – 16, the school caters for those who may have emotional, social or
behavioural difficulties and where needs can’t be met with mainstream schooling.
The new comfortable and spacious environment provides the opportunity for individual
tuition and small group education. The school admits young people currently in
residential care and externally referred pupils. It is also registered as an examination
centre with two separate boards. If you require further information on admitting a young
person to the school or would like to arrange a visit to view the facilities please contact
Anne Wood, Head Teacher on 01706 644 471 or anne.wood@continuumgroup.org.uk
July 2010
Famous Restaurant Beckons for Canvey Island Pupil
Kieren Bayly, a pupil at the Continuum Group School Canvey Island has recently been given
the opportunity to fulfill his dream of being a master chef. Kieren, 15, travelled to London with
his teacher, Sarah Brown, in order to visit Jamie Oliver’s famous flagship ‘Fifteen’ restaurant.
Meeting with Fifteen’s outreach officer, Caesar Cruz, Kieren was given a full tour of the
restaurant and the opportunity to discuss future plans to apply for the restaurant’s chef
apprenticeship training scheme. Fifteen, run by the Jamie Oliver Foundation, was a television
hit when it opened in East London in 2002, and is now a global success story with young
people at its heart. With another three restaurants worldwide – Amsterdam, Cornwall and
Melbourne, the foundation operates an apprenticeship scheme for vulnerable young people,
between the ages of 18 and 24, and often in need of ‘a break in life’, the experience of learning
to work in the restaurant business.
Canvey Island teacher Sarah Brown said “Kieren has shown a keen interest in cooking since
he joined the school in September and so I wanted to find a place for him to visit where
he could gain real experience and have a taste of what he could achieve in the future.
We go out of our way at the school to source experiences that the pupils can really benefit
from and opportunities to assist encourage lifelong education and training. The trip to Fifteen
took a lot of organising, but was well worth it – a once in a lifetime experience!”.
Showing a great interest in food, Kieren also assists in lunch preparation at the independent
school in Canvey Island which facilitates education for pupils with social, behavioral and
emotional difficulties (EBD). So impressed were the team at Fifteen London for Kieren’s
enthusiasm in a career as a chef, they have now extended an invitation for Kieran to
complete a full day of work experience under the restaurant’s executive chef on August 27.
Left to Right: Sarah Brown, Keiren Bayly & Caesar Cruz (Fifteen's Outreach Officer).
June 2010
Continuum Group Carers Nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Social Care
Eight Staff from the Continuum Care and Education Group, have been honored for an outstanding contribution to
social care, and named as regional nominees in Reed’s ‘Carer of the Year’ Awards. North West finalists will be
recognised in an award ceremony in Manchester this week. Nominated by staff and service users of the Continuum
Group’s specialist care homes and schools, each nominee was singled out as an ‘exceptional individual’ who delivers
outstanding care and support that continuously improves the quality of life for those young people they work with.
Trisha Matthews, Care Manager, the Continuum Group nominated Patrick Pratt, a registered care worker with
young people at a solo ‘complex needs’ home in Rochdale and said: “I nominated Patrick because of his dedication
to his role, the exceptional work he has done with the young people as well as the extra work he does with our
Family Support Service.Aside from his work with Continuum, Patrick also did a considerable amount of fund raising
recently for an orphanage in Kenya andarranged a trip over to work as a volunteer for a month. I am delighted that the
good work he does is to be acknowledged and rewarded”.
Also nominated was Wayne Cooper is a PE Tutor at the Rochdale and Warrington Schools for his dedication to
teaching pupils about sport, health and fitness.Five other staff from the Continuum Group across the country have also
been nominated in their respective regions. Managing Director of the Continuum Group, Bob Hall said, “I am really
pleased to see so many of our team nominated for recognition in this special way. These individuals are unique
amongst the 850 exceptional members of our staff. We wish them well and hope they go all the way to the final”.
Regional Winners will be announced on Thursday 17 June and will each receive a prize hamper, certificate and
progress to the national final of the Carer of the Year 2010 Awards. The national event takes place on 2nd September
2010 in London at The Waldorf Hotel.
Left to Right: Patrick Pratt, Bob Hall, Nikki Davenport, Wayne Cooper & Angela Glynn at the Northern Regional Final for 'Carer of the Year'.
January 2010
