We work with young people who are receiving care through CAMHS inpatient services, including those admitted informally and those detained under the Mental Health Act. We also work with young people through the Aspire & Achieve Hub, supporting learners who need a highly personalised community-based pathway to help them re-engage with education.
Our hospital provision operates across CAMHS units within two NHS hospital trusts. These include Junction 17 and the Gardener Unit at Prestwich Hospital, and Hope Ward at Fairfield General Hospital. Admission lengths vary depending on each young person’s needs and circumstances. Some admissions may last only a few weeks, while others, particularly on specialist or medium secure units, may be longer.
At Aspire & Achieve Hub, we work closely with Bury’s Inclusion Team, schools, families and wider professionals to support young people who are experiencing significant barriers to education. This provision is designed to help learners rebuild confidence, develop routines, strengthen engagement and work towards a successful next step, including reintegration into school or another appropriate education pathway.
We work closely with multidisciplinary teams across our hospital settings. These teams may include nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, family therapists and other specialist professionals. In our community provision, we work in partnership with Bury Inclusion Team, home schools, parents and carers, and other services involved in supporting the young person.
Many of the young people who attend Cloughside College are experiencing significant emotional distress or mental health difficulty. As a result, continuity, recovery and next steps are the cornerstones of our curriculum. We aim to provide education that is flexible, meaningful and ambitious, while being responsive to each young person’s wellbeing, risk, readiness for learning and future plans.
We also aim to meet the spiritual, cultural and personal needs of our diverse student population. Where appropriate, chaplains and faith representatives can visit young people on hospital units, and we work sensitively with students and families to support individual needs.
“Inspiring young people to achieve a brighter future.”
This reflects our commitment to providing learners with the care, education and support they need to move forward successfully, whether they are leaving hospital, returning to school, moving into further education, employment or training, or taking the next step in their recovery and personal development.
We aspire to equip our students with the skills, confidence and knowledge they need for their next stage. We also aim to provide opportunities they may not have been able to access in mainstream education or other settings.
Our mission statement was developed in consultation with stakeholders. Staff and governors considered feedback from students, parents and carers, the multidisciplinary team and wider partners. It reflects our core purpose: to place learning at the heart of recovery, re-engagement and future success.
Our collaborative work with clinical teams, Bury Inclusion Team, home schools and families is central to assessing students’ wellbeing, managing risk, planning effective support and identifying readiness for learning. Our core purpose is education, delivered in a way that supports recovery, confidence and progression.
Our vision is to inspire young people to achieve a brighter future by:
Our values have been developed through discussion with governors, staff and young people who have accessed Cloughside College across our hospital and community settings.
We are committed to the values of:
These values guide the way we work with young people, families, hospitals, schools, Bury Inclusion Team and other partners. They reflect our belief that every young person deserves education that is compassionate, ambitious and responsive to their individual needs.
Our provision is based across CAMHS hospital settings and the Aspire & Achieve Hub. We work in close partnership with hospital trust staff, multidisciplinary teams, social workers, families, home schools and Bury Inclusion Team to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people.
We also support other schools by providing advice, guidance and CPD where appropriate. Where capacity allows, we work with the Local Authority and Bury Inclusion Team to develop educational pathways for young people who are not currently well enough to attend school, helping them to rebuild confidence, re-engage with learning and move towards a successful next step.
We believe our students can achieve and we will go the extra mile to support students to see they can make progress from their starting points. We will provide high quality careers information and guidance to help students to focus on their next steps.
Creativity can improve mental health, increase motivation and reduce stress. It can also help young people express themselves. We will aim to give students access to creative experiences which have a positive impact on mental state. We will aim to provide them with creative skills that they can use after discharge.
We are understanding of the significant challenges people face and will support people who are experiencing difficulties.
Personalisation is essential in this setting. Our education pathways (nurture, engagement, flourish and energise) are adapted to meet the needs of the learner.
We liaise closely with student home schools, hospital staf and the wider community to adapt to the changing needs of the patients.
We will treat everyone with respect and treat them in a way we would wish to be treated ourselves.
We will promote respect and tolerance of others and the environment.