Return to Learn Programme

Transitioning young people back into full-time education to support building brighter happier futures.
This is an outreach service.

Meet the Team

Daniel Wallis

RTL Operations Manager

Vikki Hinton

RTL Project Worker

Andy Keen

RTL Project Worker

Objectives

To provide the Local Authority with a detailed assessment of the young person’s needs, both academically and psychologically.
To provide tuition and academic supports to the young person’s whilst their assessments are undertaken.
To provide a therapeutic approach in returning the young person to a learning environment, supporting them to develop academically, but also develop resilience and coping strategies to support barriers that often impact engagement.
To provide a service which will help support the Local Authority to make sure that the young people are safeguarded in their current setting.
To offer structure and routine to young people to support in transitioning them back into education, providing much-needed respite for carers and families.

The White Trees Wellbeing Team utilise an embedded consultation model to empower professionals, families and young people to apply the psychology underpinning learning to drive real change.

The Wellbeing Team support engaging the young people in both their homes, community and education setting. In this way, the therapeutic approach is to focus on identifying what is working well and what needs support to change using a joint problem-solving approach. The young person will undertake thorough assessments using a variety of standardised and non-standardised tests, including cognitive assessments, and comprehensive reports and recommendations compiled to support future engagement and learning success upon completion of the programme.

We believe that collaboration between services provides the young people, families and staff with a broader perspective and a greater understanding of individual strengths, needs and potential ways forward to evoke real change in all young people that begin their journey with the White Trees Group.

Our approach

All interventions are consistently monitored and reviewed for effectiveness. Individual or family therapy may or may not be part of this journey, but psychological planning, target setting and implementation always forms part of their journey.

• The young person will have a key worker to build a trusting relationship with, support in their academic learning and to engage with additional
services and appointments.

• Clinical Psychologist and Wellbeing Department will complete a Psychological Formulation for the young person upon placement being agreed to
set the initial plan for the young person, considering their presenting problems, Predisposing factors (which made the young person vulnerable to
the presenting problems), Precipitating factors (which triggered the problems), Perpetuating factors (which keep the problems going), and
Protective factors (strengths/resilience).

• Assistant Psychologist assists in assessments, interventions, and evaluation reports for young people as part of the Return to Learn
Programme. Additionally, the Wellbeing Team will oversee Daily Engagement Forms and Psychological Targets to monitor progression and
decline and support in identifying areas of development for the young people.

• Educational Psychologist/Clinical Psychologist will complete a Cognitive Assessment to support in understanding the needs of the young person
and how best to support their emotional development and academic progress.

• Assistant Psychologist can provide ‘bridging sessions’ for young people where additional support is required, that can be targeted around
identifying the cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms of their presentation and implementing coping strategies to support them, identify
barriers for learning, and where appropriate helpful strategies to support development can be shared with professionals and family members.

• Assistant Psychologist and Tutor/Key worker to liaise with Professionals for example, Social Workers and CAMHS / EWMHS to ensure
effective communication around therapeutic input for the young people where needed and provide reports to support in LAC Reviews and
Placement Meetings.

• If the young person finds it difficult to engage in some of the sessions provided by professionals, some areas of the programme can be
supported indirectly through the key worker/tutor/teacher/assistant psychologist.

• The young person if offered a placement with White Trees Independent School will have the opportunity to build trusting relationships that will be
able to be maintained further through their academic journey with us and continue to utilise the additional support from the Wellbeing Department.