Last Inspection Outcome

Requires improvement

Last Inspection Date

November 2015

Service Description

Ambitious College is located on the Tottenham Campus at the College of
Harringey, Enfield and North East, London N15 4RU and West Thames College,
West Thames College, London Rd, Isleworth TW7 4HS.

We are London’s first specialist day college for children and young people with
complex autism. At Ambitious College we offer young people specialist education
and support and provide the vocational and community-based opportunities they
need to make a successful transition to an active life in their community, including
partnerships with local employers and services.
Our co-located approach enables us to extend our curriculum significantly and
offer learners a wide range of mainstream vocational learning, social
opportunities and work experience.
Our learners are at the heart of everything we do and their curriculum is highly
personalised to help them achieve their goals. Within the curriculum we embed
functional literacy and numeracy, positive behaviour support, communication
skills development and ICT skills development.

We’re here to support young people with autism to achieve the life they want. To
do this we follow the four pathways developed by Preparing for Adulthood:

• Vocational Learning
• Independent Living
• Better Health
• Friends, Relationships and Community

Learners, where there is an assessed need for it, have one to one support
provided.

The learner is at the centre of their study programme. Where possible they set
and agree their own learning targets or this is done involving their circles of
support. There are monthly and annual learner reviews of progress that are set
up and facilitated with the full input of the learner and to which parents and any
other relevant parties attend to review and reset goals.

The curriculum is delivered by our very skilled and friendly staff. Staff are trained
in a variety of communication methods including PECS, and Makaton. They also
communicate in print and use iPads and assistive technologies where
appropriate.

Our curriculum is delivered through a transdisciplinary team consisting of:

•  Qualified Teacher(s): plan and deliver sessions around the four Preparing for Adulthood pathways
•  Speech and Language Therapist(s): support learners to develop their communication and social interaction skills
• Occupational Therapist(s): help learners to manage sensory issues and develop functional life skills
• Behavioural Analyst(s): work with learners to overcome behavioural issues which could create barriers to learning
•  Employment specialist(s): support learners to develop vocational skills and access work experience
• Learning and Behaviour Specialist(s): work with learners to access their person-centred curriculum and mainstream and community provision

We know with the right support and opportunities, children and young people with
autism can learn, thrive and achieve.

Additional Information

The majority of our learners access college five days a week for 40 weeks of the
year. The college day starts at 9.30am and ends at 4pm.
Our learners are funded by local authorities, usually from education budgets with
some input from social care and / or health as best meets the young person’s
needs. Personal budgets can be used for the service, though we are in the early
stages of exploring this with families and local authorities.

What Type Of SEN or Disabilities Do You Cater For?

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Age Groups

16 years to 25 years

Costs
Cost by arrangement

Daily Session Times
Monday: 09:30 - 16:00
Tuesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Wednesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Thursday: 09:30 - 16:00
Friday: 09:30 - 16:00

Availability
Term Time Only, but the College offers an extended 40 week term

Dates Available
Available from July 2016.

How to contact the service
Email
Telephone

Who can refer me?
Local authorities or parents or self referral.

Referral Procedure
Do referrals to your service need to be made through a panel?
No

Eligibility Criteria
None

More Information (Leaflet, Form or Publication)
None specified

Provider Links
http://www.conel.ac.uk/
http://www.west-thames.ac.uk/

Facilities
Disabled Access

Where Do You Deliver Services From?
Office / Premises

Answered Questions
Do You Have Safeguarding Policies & Procedures?: Yes

http://www.ambitiouscollege.org.uk/our-curriculum/policies

Eligibility - Can The Service Be Accesed By Extended Family Members Or
Carers?: No

What Schools Do You Drop And Collect From?
None specified