The Unique Approach to Education and Care at Camphill School Aberdeen

Camphill School Aberdeen has been delivering life-transforming opportunities for children and young people with learning disabilities and complex additional support needs for over 80 years.

Set over three leafy campuses, our unique approach combines care, education and meaningful vocational workshops, such as organic farming, woodwork and bike maintenance, alongside a wide range of therapies, from massage to equine therapy, with on-site medical support.

We thought we would guide you through what it’s like to be a young person at Camphill School Aberdeen, showing all they can access, from education, and skills development to therapies.

Our services are split into two age ranges and all placements are either day or residential.

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School Day Students (5-18 years old)

For pupils on a day education placement, the school day starts at 9.15am and ends at 3.15pm. Every student is given a wide range of opportunities to experience all aspects of the curriculum and our person-centred approach ensures that we tailor learning according to the needs of each pupil.

Group learning is encouraged, but we also provide individual programmes for some of our students who are still developing the confidence to work alongside others. We support our pupils to develop confidence in their abilities, reflect on their experiences and get to know themselves as learners. We provide SQA qualifications and offer the opportunity for pupils to take part in Duke of Edinburgh, JASS and Roots Awards.

To date, Camphill School Aberdeen has had 99 young people complete various levels of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Our therapeutic approach to learning extends the formal curriculum with therapies and 15 craft/land workshops.

Throughout the Senior Phase (S4 to S6), we ensure our pupils’ timetables incorporate more practical, work-based activities, including time for work experience, out of the school environment wherever possible.

Residential School Students (5-18 years old)

Our residential houses are a vibrant part of the community at Camphill School Aberdeen, and offer our children and young people a warm, supportive environment, to thrive in.

We incorporate healthy rhythms and routines in daily life, engaging young people in activities such as cooking, laundry and gardening, with a focus on developing both independence and care for each other in a mutually supportive environment.

A typical day as a resident involves sharing meals with housemates - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our students make the short walk to school, either independently or with their friends and housemates. After dinner in their respective houses, the students can take part in evening leisure activities such as bike rides, walks, singing, and youth clubs.

Our home life creates familiar routines and natural rhythms which are so important for young people with learning disabilities and complex additional support needs. Stabilising these routines at home provides the best platform for young people to successfully engage in the broad range of engaging and stimulating experiences we offer here on-site and in the local area.

Young Adult Day Placements (18-25 years old)

For our older students, we offer our Learning for Life Services, which provide a safe place for young people to develop their skills to prepare for adulthood. These placements are individually tailored to provide students with learning opportunities to prepare them for adulthood.

At Camphill School Aberdeen we do this by offering craft, land-based and social enterprise activities in our workshops. This provides students with meaningful work experience to learn and grow in a focused environment and also gain new qualifications, including our newly developed STARS Awards.

Our workshops include an organic farm and walled garden, heritage arts and crafts, kitchen, bike mechanics and a zero waste refillery and organic farm shop (Fruver) which distributes to all our services.

The students enjoy the company of others and, by learning to work with them, they gain self-esteem, a sense of self-worth, and see the tangible output of their work which gives a great sense of achievement.

The morning starts with students arriving at the "HUB", which is a common social space where our young people hang out, eat their snacks and meals, relax and socialise. The students and their support staff walk to the workshops they have scheduled in their individual timetables and most sessions are 2 to 3 hours (this is entirely flexible to meet the student’s needs). Their timetables can also include therapies, and also social time in our swimming pool and attending celebrations - we love to come together to celebrate festivals and birthdays! Student’s days usually finish around 4.30pm when the students collect their belongings at the HUB and say goodbye for the day.

During a young person’s time at Camphill, we focus on five learning for life outcomes; personal development, training for qualifications, pathway into work, therapeutic health and well-being and social interaction.

Young Adult Residential Placements (18-25 years old)

For our Young Adult Residential students, we build on individual strengths to support young people in gaining the life skills they need to enter adulthood. All residential students can access the full suite of Learning for Life workshops and support.

As with our younger residential placements, we engage our young people in domestic life skills in the house and in the garden, establishing familiar routines to life that support mental health and wellbeing. Our focus is on developing both independence and support for each other in a mutually supportive atmosphere, developing life skills in their houses and offering access to a variety of day workshops.

Our workshops also support the running of the home and community here which provides each young person with a purpose and value. They grow the organic fruits and vegetables we eat, weave table clothes, look after the farm animals, bake the bread for our morning toast, and mend the bikes we ride. They also work in our zero-waste shop and distribute goods on cargo ebikes to our residential houses.

A typical day for a residential student day involves having breakfast together with their housemates before heading off to their selected workshops. Many young people return to the house for lunch, while some take a packed lunch with them to have in the young adult "hub". More workshop activities take place in the afternoon – some of these may have more of a focus on residential-based life skills – before everyone returns to their houses for dinner. In the evening, all our young people can take part in leisure activities and further education.

The weekends provide the opportunity for further leisure activities, such as trips into Aberdeen, shopping, cinema, outdoor excursions – and some much-needed rest before their busy week starts again.

At Camphill School Aberdeen, our core aim is to transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people with learning disabilities and very complex additional support needs, empowering them to grow in confidence, skills and independence to reach their fullest potential.

If you would like to find out more about our services at Camphill School Aberdeen please visit, https://www.camphillschools.org.uk/our-services/

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