Alternative Provision
Awaken to your limitless potential.
The key to self-discovery.
Different environments. One shared purpose.
At Awaken Education, we believe that every young person carries limitless potential even when education hasn’t yet enabled them to see it.
Our Alternative Provision is designed for young people who need something different: a smaller environment, stronger relationships, a different way to engage with learning, or additional support to understand themselves and rediscover what they are capable of.
We combine academic learning, trauma-informed practice, SEMH support, practical experiences and personal development to create pathways that are meaningful to the individual learner.
We don’t pause education.
We reconnect it to identity, purpose and possibility.
Our aim is for every young person to leave Awaken with a stronger understanding of:
Who I am. What I can do. Where I am going.
Three Ways to Access Awaken
Our Alternative Provision offer is built around three complementary pathways.
East Butterwick | Scunthorpe
Academic Alternative Provision
A small, structured and nurturing educational setting with a strong focus on English, Maths, academic re-engagement, SEMH, passion- led projects and personal development.
Re-engage. Rebuild. Achieve.Forestry & Fishing
Therapeutic Alternative Provision
A therapeutic outdoor environment using forestry, fishing, conservation and practical learning to support emotional regulation, confidence, relationships and engagement with education.
Regulate. Reconnect. Rediscover.School Outreach
Bringing Awaken Into Your School
Specialist programmes delivered within schools and internal Alternative Provision settings, including SEMH, cooking, life skills, practical learning, mentoring and bespoke interventions.
We can also provide outreach to support learners accessing Awaken with re-engagement and reintegration into school.
Support that moves with the learner.
The Awaken Way™
Our Approach
The Awaken Way™ is the foundation of everything we do.
Our practice is trauma-informed, relationship-led and aspirational.
We recognise that behaviour is communication and that previous experiences, unmet needs, disrupted education, anxiety and difficulties with emotional regulation can all affect a young person’s ability to successfully access education.
We therefore begin with relationships.
We create environments where young people can feel:
Safe. Known. Valued. Heard. Capable.
But being trauma-informed does not mean lowering expectations.
It means understanding what a young person needs in order to reach them.
Our Core Values
Belonging Unlocks Learning
We build trust, not pressure.
When a young person feels that they belong, learning becomes possible.
“I belong here.”
Curiosity Over Compliance
We want young people to become curious about learning again.
Through questions, discussion, projects, exploration and meaningful experiences, we create opportunities for learners to think, investigate and discover.
“I want to know more.”
Purpose & Pathways
Every young person has strengths, interests and possibilities.
We help learners uncover their spark and begin connecting education with a future that feels meaningful to them.
“I have a future and I can shape it.”
Creativity as Healing
Creativity gives young people another way to communicate, process experiences, build confidence and experience success.
We create opportunities for learners to express themselves through art, practical learning, cooking, outdoor experiences and projects.
“I can express who I am and discover who I can become.”
Our Pedagogy
Connect. Regulate. Unlock. Belong. Progress.
Learning cannot be separated from wellbeing, relationships and identity.
The Awaken Way™ brings these together.
Connect & Regulate
We begin by creating safety, belonging and emotional regulation through calm routines, trusted relationships and consistent expectations.
Unlock Potential
We discover the interests, strengths and aspirations of each learner and use them to shape a personalised learning journey.
Think & Explore
Through discussion, problem solving, projects and reflection, learners are encouraged to think independently and develop curiosity.
Community & Belonging
Learners develop responsibility, relationships and a sense of contribution through teamwork, community activity and shared experiences.
Evidence & Celebrate
Progress is captured, reflected upon and celebrated so that young people can recognise their own growth.
Progress
We use that growth to support the learner’s next step.
Because Alternative Provision should not be where education stops.
It should be where it starts again.
East Butterwick | Scunthorpe
Academic Alternative Provision
Re-engage. Rebuild. Achieve.
Our East Butterwick Centre is our academically focused Alternative Provision setting for KS3 and KS4 learners.
It provides a small, structured and nurturing environment for young people who require additional support to successfully engage with education.
Many young people arrive at Alternative Provision having experienced disrupted education, gaps in learning, low attendance or negative experiences of the classroom.
We want to change their relationship with learning.
Through small-group teaching, consistent routines, trusted relationships and personalised support, learners are given the opportunity to rebuild confidence while continuing to make meaningful academic progress.
Education Continues
Alternative Provision should not disconnect learners from their education.
English and Maths remain central to our East Butterwick curriculum.
Learning is informed by individual starting points and, where appropriate, coordinated with the learner’s referring school to maintain academic continuity.
Our curriculum includes:
English & Maths
Targeted teaching addressing individual starting points, gaps and future pathways.
Academic Re-engagement
Rebuilding concentration, routines, confidence and resilience as a learner.
Reading & Literacy
Supporting learners to develop the literacy and reading fluency needed to successfully access the wider curriculum.
SEMH & Personal Development
Developing emotional literacy, communication, relationships, confidence and self-awareness.
Thinking & Problem Solving
Developing reasoning, discussion, collaboration and independent thinking.
Creative & Practical Learning
Using art, cooking, physical activity and project-based learning to create wider opportunities for success.
Life Skills & Independence
Developing practical skills, decision-making, communication and preparation for adulthood.
Passion Pathways
Helping learners identify their interests, strengths and possible future education, employment and training pathways.
Our Vision for East Butterwick
To create an environment where young people who have become disconnected from education can experience success again.
We want learners to begin telling themselves:
“I can learn. I can achieve. I have a future.”
Forestry & Fishing
Therapeutic Alternative Provision
Regulate. Reconnect. Rediscover.
For some young people, changing what happens in the classroom isn’t enough.
They need a different environment.
Our Forestry & Fishing Alternative Provision uses the natural environment as a therapeutic space for education, regulation, relationships and personal development.
Through forestry, fishing, conservation, practical activities and outdoor learning, young people have opportunities to slow down, develop trusted relationships and experience success.
Learning Through Experience
Our programme can include:
Fishing & Angling
Developing patience, concentration, responsibility, emotional regulation and achievement.
Forestry & Woodland Skills
Developing resilience, confidence, independence and practical problem-solving.
Conservation & Environmental Learning
Building responsibility while developing knowledge and appreciation of the natural environment.
Bushcraft & Outdoor Skills
Developing teamwork, communication, independence and safe decision-making.
Outdoor Cooking
Combining life skills, independence, planning and practical learning.
SEMH & Therapeutic Learning
Using the natural environment to create opportunities for mentoring, reflection, emotional literacy and regulation.
English & Maths in Context
Reinforcing academic skills through real experiences including measuring, budgeting, reading, planning, communication and problem-solving.
Every Experience Has Purpose
Fishing isn’t simply fishing.
Waiting for a catch can develop patience and regulation.
Looking after equipment builds responsibility.
Completing a woodland project develops resilience and problem-solving.
Preparing food outdoors develops independence.
Working alongside another learner strengthens communication and relationships.
The activity creates the opportunity.
The relationship and reflection turn it into learning.
Our Vision for Forestry & Fishing
To provide young people with the space to regulate, relationships to feel safe and experiences through which they can rediscover success.
The outdoors isn’t a break from education.
It becomes another environment through which education can happen.
School Outreach
Bringing The Awaken Way™ Into Your School
Not every learner needs an off-site Alternative Provision placement.
Sometimes the right intervention can happen within school.
Awaken works directly with mainstream schools and internal Alternative Provision settings, bringing our staff, programmes and approach into the school’s own environment.
Schools can commission individual interventions or programmes for small cohorts of learners.
SEMH Outreach
Our structured SEMH programmes help learners develop their understanding of themselves and the strategies needed to successfully navigate education and everyday life.
Sessions can explore:
- emotional regulation
- emotional literacy
- self-awareness
- confidence and self-esteem
- resilience
- communication
- relationships
- managing conflict
- understanding behaviour
- decision-making
- coping strategies
- aspirations and future thinking
Sessions are practical, trauma-informed and discussion-led.
The aim isn’t simply to talk about emotions.
It is to give young people strategies they can actually use.
Cooking & Life Skills Outreach
Cooking can be an incredibly powerful engagement tool.
Our practical cooking sessions can help learners develop:
- independence
- teamwork
- communication
- planning
- organisation
- budgeting
- numeracy and measuring
- literacy and following instructions
- problem-solving
- responsibility
- confidence
- preparation for adulthood
For young people who struggle with traditional classroom learning, practical activities can create a different route into education.
Learning happens without always feeling like a lesson.
Bespoke Internal AP Programmes
Schools can work with Awaken to build an intervention around the needs of their own cohort.
Programmes can combine:
SEMH • Cooking • Life Skills • Personal Development • Mentoring • Practical Learning • Teamwork • English & Maths • Preparation for Adulthood
This can be delivered as a short targeted intervention or become part of a school’s longer-term internal AP programme.
Re-engagement & Reintegration Outreach
Outreach also allows Awaken to support young people beyond our own settings.
For learners accessing Awaken alongside their mainstream school, we can work collaboratively with school staff to help transfer progress back into the school environment.
Support may focus on:
- returning to lessons
- increasing successful time in school
- managing transitions
- emotional regulation
- rebuilding relationships
- classroom engagement
- overcoming barriers to attendance
- confidence
- preparation for partial or full reintegration
Progress made within AP needs to exist beyond our walls.
We don’t just want learners to succeed with us.
We want them to take that success with them.
One Learner. One Journey.
A young person’s programme does not necessarily have to exist within one environment.
Depending upon their needs and agreed outcomes, their pathway could combine:
With one consistent approach running throughout:
The Awaken Way™
Trauma-Informed Practice • Relationships • SEMH • Education • Personal Development • Individual Outcomes • Progress Monitoring
We don’t begin by asking:
“Which provision does this young person fit into?”
We ask:
“What does this young person need to move forward?”
Live Learning Portfolios
Transparency. Continuity. Accountability.
Every learner builds a live Learning Portfolio documenting their journey through Awaken.
Depending upon their individual programme, this can capture:
- English & Maths progress
- attendance and engagement
- SEMH and emotional regulation
- personal development
- practical learning
- Passion Pathway projects
- learner voice
- reflection
- achievements
- evidence of progress
This creates a developing picture of the whole learner.
Referring schools receive clear evidence to support monitoring, reviews and next-step planning.
Most importantly, young people can see their own progress.
Progress should not only be measured. It should be felt.
Working With Schools
Partnership-Led Provision
Alternative Provision works best when schools and providers remain connected.
We work collaboratively with referring schools throughout a placement rather than operating as a separate educational island.
Where appropriate, we liaise with:
SENDCos • Inclusion Leads • Heads of Department • Pastoral Teams • DSLs • Senior Leaders • Commissioners
Our partnership approach supports:
- clear communication
- shared outcomes
- academic continuity
- safeguarding
- progress monitoring
- structured reviews
- next-step planning
- reintegration where appropriate
Schools remain part of the journey.
Every Placement Has a Purpose
We don’t believe successful Alternative Provision should simply keep a young person occupied away from school.
There should be an intended outcome.
Depending upon the individual, progression could mean:
increased engagement with school • improved attendance • partial reintegration • full reintegration • greater emotional regulation • academic progress • preparation for further education • training • employment • another appropriate educational pathway
The destination may be different for every learner.
But every learner should be moving forward.
Who We Support
Awaken may be suitable for KS3 and KS4 learners experiencing:
- disengagement from education
- SEMH needs
- SEND
- anxiety around education
- disrupted education
- low attendance
- low confidence or self-esteem
- difficulty accessing larger educational environments
- risk of suspension or exclusion
- barriers to mainstream learning
- need for additional support before reintegration
- need for a smaller or alternative learning environment
Every referral is considered individually to ensure that we can safely and appropriately meet the learner’s needs.
Progress That Matters
Success looks different for every young person.
That’s why we look beyond a single measure.
We consider progress across:
Academic Progress Developing knowledge, addressing gaps and rebuilding confidence in learning.
Engagement Increasing participation, attendance and willingness to engage.
Regulation Developing greater emotional awareness and strategies for managing challenge.
Relationships Developing positive relationships with trusted adults and peers.
Confidence Recognising strengths and experiencing genuine success.
Independence Developing responsibility, decision-making and practical life skills.
Purpose Beginning to understand interests, strengths and future possibilities.
Progression Taking meaningful steps towards the learner’s agreed next destination.
The Referral Journey
- 01
Initial Enquiry
Talk to our team about the young person and the support being considered.
- 02
Referral
The school or commissioner provides relevant information regarding needs, safeguarding, SEND, education and intended outcomes.
- 03
Suitability
We consider whether Awaken can safely and appropriately meet the learner’s needs and which pathway or combination of pathways could provide the right support.
- 04
Visit & Induction
Where appropriate, the young person visits the setting and begins developing relationships with our team.
- 05
Personalised Programme
We establish individual priorities, intended outcomes and the learner’s programme.
- 06
Monitor & Review
Learning, engagement, wellbeing and progress are monitored and shared with the referring school or commissioner.
- 07
Next Steps
Progression is planned collaboratively, whether this involves increased school engagement, reintegration or another appropriate pathway.
Find the Right Pathway
Every young person’s story is different.
Whether a learner needs a structured academic environment, therapeutic outdoor provision, specialist intervention within school, or a combination of approaches, we begin with the individual.
One learner. One journey. The right support at the right time.
Contact info@awakeneducationuk.com for further information
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