Independent Living
at Cedars College
At Cedars College, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be as independent as they can be in all areas of their lives.
​
â–¶ Economic Wellbeing - the vital skill of managing one’s own money will be covered within the curriculum for our learners at a level appropriate to the individual. Making purchases within the community, support to open their own bank accounts, support to manage income from Personal Independence payments will all form part of the curriculum here at Walker Terrace.
â–¶ Physical Development, Emotional and Social Wellbeing – which covers: access to counselling where deemed appropriate, liaison with appropriate external agencies, support from Access to Learning staff. More staff trained to support learners with the emotional demands of everyday life and of being a teenager/ young adult in modern society.
â–¶ Physical Development – access to facilities at the Ivy Lane site, Gateshead Leisure Centre and other community facilities as the opportunity arises. Learners also benefit from walks in the local countryside to areas such as Tanfield, Bolam Lake and Northumberlandia to name a few.
​
At the heart of independence is the ability to travel independently and to be able to use public transport. This is an essential requirement of daily life which is often taken for granted by the majority of the travelling public.
As part of the curriculum at Cedars College, we train individuals, enabling them to travel safely and independently. The training is conducted on a one-to-one basis and follows an individual learning programme tailored to meet the needs and requirements of each learner.
We believe that safe, responsible, independent travel helps to promote inclusion for our trainees and is a vital step towards independence in their future by helping to support their integration into education, employment and society in general
Learners in Key Stages 4 & 5 have access to a range of various national and international residential opportunities. Previous trips have included Normandy and the D-Day beaches, day trips to Edinburgh zoo, a residential to London to visit the Harry Potter studio, watch a West End musical and visit museums. A residential to York to visit the Railway Museum, take a boat trip and to experience the dungeons.
​
Whilst located at Walker Terrace, Key Stage 4 & 5 learners would still remain eligible to attend the many varied Outdoor & Adventurous Activities organised through Gateshead Kestrels; experiences such as the annual ski trip to Italy and a range of Duke of Edinburgh Award residential opportunities, such as camping in the Lake District, hill walking in the Cheviots, cycling in Northumberland and kayaking in Scotland. These experiences form an important part of the physical development, emotional & social development programme that the young people follow.
​
You can hear what our students gained from our most recent trip to France by watching the short video below.
