Alternative Education Pathways
We recognise for our students that there are layers of complexity when it comes to ensuring our students access the education they are entitled to, deserve, and we need to support them to overcome the barriers they face.
Whilst our priority is to ensure all students attend school, access learning, and achieve positive outcomes that allow them to open doors to aspirational careers in the future, we are an inclusive school that embraces a personalised approach for each individual student, and we recognise some students need more support than others.
MHS-Curriculum-Booklet-2026-7.pdf
Our Alternative Education provision is underpinned by our missed learning strategy. Missed learning is defined as learning that is missed causing significant gaps in knowledge due to several barriers that our students may have experienced during their time in education.
The missed learning strategy identifies the challenges some of our students face with regular attendance and offers a personalised, proactive response so that we close gaps in knowledge, increase accessibility to school and give students the tools they need to succeed.
We have used our rigorous data analysis to identify key categories of students and the reasons they currently experience gaps in knowledge due to missed learning.
The principle is to provide each category with a method of overcoming the barriers presented and to increase student attendance over time so that students can access the broad and rich Meridian Curriculum.
| Provision | Description |
|---|---|
| Crest | Critical or severe attendance from learning or students that require an adaptation to their timetable |
| Alpine | Emotionally based school avoidance or long term medical absence |
| Serentiy | Additional support for students on the SEND register who will access the Serenity Learning Lab |
Crest
To ride a crest of something is to enjoy exceptional success because of a particular event of situation. We want our students to feel supported to ride that crest and be successful in their learning. We understand that our students sometimes make poor behaviour choices, but we understand that this as a form of communicating about what they need from us need. As such we aim to create serenity, that feeling of calmness to support the need being communicated.
We have designed Crest to support pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs that may struggle to consistently make the right behaviour choices and may struggle to access mainstream learning full time. Pupils on this pathway will access the Crest Learning Lab for a specific lesson times on their timetable where they will be supported to continue learning.
Alpine
An Alpine is the most extensive mountain range reflecting the extensive support our students will receive whilst participating on this pathway and a level of personalisation they need to overcome the challenges they face.
This is a provision for pupils with Emotionally Based School Avoidance, where pupils will access Alpines Learning Lab for a short term period and slowly re-integrate back into mainstream learning. During this period they are supported with SEMH workshops and mentoring alongside online learning.
Serenity
Serenity is a state of being calm, peaceful and untroubled. This pathway is for students who have an EHCP, are awaiting an EHC needs assessments or whose learning differences mean that they need a completely personalised provision.
Students on the Serenity pathway have a keyworker, who will usually be a member of the Pinnacle team which includes our SENDCo, Deputy SENDCo, Lead Learning Mentors, LSAs and PWLs. The keyworkers will be student and parents’ first point of contact to discuss students’ provision and ensure they have the support they need.
The purpose of this provision to support pupils with an EHCP or pending an EHCP. These students may access one or multiple interventions within the ELP and may access the Serenity Learning Lab for additional support or learning focus away from the mainstream classroom.
Students’ provision on this pathway is reviewed at least half-termly, but may be reviewed as frequently as is needed. Those students with EHCPs will continue to have their Annual Reviews for their EHCPs as usual with the SENDCo or Deputy SENDCo.
