Crystal House
Crystal House is a specialist five-bedded inpatient unit for young people (aged 13 to 18 years) with a learning disability and mental health need. The NHS Specialist Team assess and treat young people with a learning disability, challenging behaviour and/or mental health difficulties and/or autism.
Education at Crystal House is provided by Ashley College. Our aim is to provide access to education for inpatients, providing a range of activities and supporting students to maintain their studies within a safe and enabling setting. We marry academic and therapeutic progress by working closely with the clinical team.
We aim to offer up to 20 hours of education/contact time a week. The rest of the time is spent in therapeutic sessions or individual meetings. Homework is only set if the young person is considered well enough to cope with it.
Education is provided to students as soon as they are well enough. We may start with alternative curriculum work, but we aim to move on to academic work as soon as possible. In order for us to offer the best support necessary we liaise closely with home schools/colleges and other agencies to aid transition at the point of entry and discharge.
Towards the end of a young person’s stay, we contribute to the discharge plan and aim to provide a detailed progress report, to ensure the smooth transition from hospital back into the community.
Curriculum
We aim to provide a rich and balanced curriculum for students to develop their cognitive, social and emotional skills. Through the curriculum students will gain core cognitive knowledge and skills and develop life skills to enable them to return to the community as regulated and confident individuals.
Our aim is to work with the health care team at Crystal House on enabling students to progress through individualised quality teaching, therapeutic and clinical support to ensure the students leave the unit ready for life in modern Britain and their community.
The acquisition of transferrable skills is central to the curriculum, both in terms of literacy and numeracy as well as the wider skills needed to equip students for success throughout and beyond their education.
All students will have access to a curriculum and a range of learning experiences taking into account of unequal starting points and irrespective of gender, ethnic background, age or disability.
| Curriculum delivery | Treatment / Therapies | |
| Communication and Language |
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The clinical team provide a number of different approaches to treatment, such as:
Ashley College will aim to provide Art and Music therapy to young people who are able to engage and benefit. All individual plans will be reviewed regularly to ensure the right support and education is being provided.
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| Literacy and English |
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| PHSCE |
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| Expressive Arts and Design |
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| Maths |
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| Physical Development |
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| Understanding the World |
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