MARLBOROUGH HOUSE - THE ADOLESCENT UNIT SCHOOL (AUS)
The Adolescent Unit School provides education for young people aged 11-18 years who are inpatients at Marlborough House, Swindon. This is a Tier 4 tertiary referral inpatient adolescent psychiatric unit, which is part of CAMHS. It has 12 beds and spaces for 2 day patients, who are usually on step down from being residential.
Referrals are made by outpatient psychiatrics in Swindon, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Bath and North East Somerset and through NHS England national commissioning policy, as well as 24 hour emergency referrals from across England. The Adolescent Unit School has no control on admissions.
The Team
The education staff work as part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) including nurses, therapists and consultants. They provide a high level of care for young people with severe emotional, psychological and psychiatric problems and support for their families.
The School
The aim of The Adolescent Unit School is to provide continuity of education and structure to minimise the impact of a stay in hospital and to try and normalise life. As far as is possible, we aim to support each young person to keep up with their home school curriculum so that they feel prepared to return to their home school or college once discharged. The school has a team of teachers, all of whom are subject specialists, one HLTA and an Administrator.
During term time, the school provides part-time education for up to fourteen young people. All academic work is completed in the mornings (09.15 - 12.45) and there are therapeutic sessions in the afternoon. Students are expected to attend the Unit School as part of their care plan. We aim to follow the young person’s mainstream school/college curriculum and cover as many subjects as possible through liaising closely with the young people’s schools/colleges. We provide engagement activities to complement studies, including gardening, driving theory, cooking, creative and money management. Each young person has an individual timetable and are either taught in small groups or individually. Pupils may sit their external exams here, by arrangement with their home school, if they have already been entered.
Resources
The school is a purpose built unit comprising three classrooms, an office and a staffroom. It is a modern and bright environment with a range of facilities including computers, laptops, science provision, cooking provision and a small wet area for Art projects.