Day school or residential? Which is best?

A view from Mr Andy Cobley, Principal, North Hill House, Frome.

Young people with Asperger’s Syndrome are frequently academically able and yet are severely compromised in their understanding of how the social world around them operates.  Their educational needs stretch beyond the classroom and into communication, socialisation and independence.  Educational success is measured through more than just examination results; true success is ensuring that young people can take a full and meaningful place in the wider community both now and as fully functioning adults.  The needs of each student are different and educational flexibility is an important factor.  For some students, a day provision with support from parents may be appropriate, or an extended day provision may be just the extra level they need to help them develop fully whilst providing the additional support that enables them and their families to cope.

Others may benefit from a more intensive curriculum spanning through the residential setting – and there are options available in schools including weekly or termly boarding, depending on individual need.  The residential setting provides opportunities to expand on the educational curriculum, from social skills to personal and independent living skills.

The breadth of education required for students to succeed must encompass a whole school approach to the development of socialisation and independence skills beyond the classroom.  Yet the needs of each child are specific and different, requiring a child-centred individual programme supported by a wide range of professionals including teachers, care staff, counsellors, speech and language and occupational therapists.  North Hill House is an example of a special residential school that offers this breadth of support.

Educational success for young people with Asperger’s Syndrome is centred on an appropriate individual educational approach.

The structured, predictable and supportive school approach reaches into the times beyond the classroom where young people with Asperger’s Syndrome frequently struggle; times when routine is likely to be at a minimum. At break-times and lunch breaks staff engage in role play, turn-taking and playing, deconstructing situations where communication for the students falter, guiding them to more appropriate interactions, encouraging them to seek appropriate solutions to situations that affect them and those around them.

This same ethos underpins the structure of the residential setting, where young people are supported by highly skilled care staff to manage demanding independent situations in the real setting of the local town. By putting the skills they learn into practise they begin to adopt appropriate behaviours and determine the effects their behaviour has on others they come into contact with. The students learn to manage everyday community life whilst being safely supported and guided by staff.  This same approach ensures that friendships and peer communications are positive and appropriate thus nurturing understanding in readiness for life in a wider community.  Within the residential units students are taught life skills which include learning about money, budgets, food preparation, healthy eating, personal hygiene and even domestic skills.

Educational success for young people with Asperger’s Syndrome is centred on an appropriate individual educational approach with flexibility to teach core life skills alongside a full nationally accredited academic classroom curriculum.  There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to AS – as many parents and teachers will attest to.  Finding the best solution for the individual is the only route to take and this should be a collective decision based on collaboration between teachers, professionals and parents. 

Andy Cobley is the principal of North Hill House, Frome, Somerset