London  |  New York  |  Vancouver Island  |  China

An independent co-educational day school for students with high functioning autism, Asperger's Syndrome, language, communication and social pragmatic difficulties and those associated with specific learning difficulties.

Additional Programmes

 

 

Careers

 
The Holmewood School provides students with support and guidance, as well as access to a careers advisor. Our goal is to help students and their families to make career and further education choices that are appropriate to their needs.
 
At THSL we use a person centred approach to provide support and guidance for students aged 14+ years. Students have access to a mentor who works closely with them to support the decision making process regarding future goals. Work is planned carefully with the students, families and staff to ensure aspirations, interests and strengths are matched. Our 14+ transition review is a key meeting to facilitating this decision-making process. THSL works alongside the Barnet Education Business Partnership to provide work experience and work-related learning opportunities to support the decision making process. Students and families are encouraged to explore the vocational or more academic routes of learning so that a programme can be tailored to suit an individual’s needs.
 
Through the service we are able to draw on links with local businesses and colleges that can provide work experience, academic and vocational study for students of 14 years and older.
Students are also supported in acquiring skills relevant to the world of work. Practice and guidance is given with interview skills and techniques, job searching, filling in application forms, personal presentation, and much more. Practice and experience using these skills is also threaded into cross-curricular learning.
 

Independence and life skills

 
At THSL we encourage and emphasise the development of functional skills that transfer to real-life situations. Independent life skills are woven into all our study, so that learning is real, meaningful and useful for our students.
Areas that may be a focus for learning include:
Budget and money management; this helps students to understand the value of money, ways of saving money, prioritising ways to spend money, and so on.
Shopping, including Internet shopping.
  • Budget and money management; this helps students to understand the value of money, ways of saving money, prioritising ways to spend money, and so on.
  • Shopping, including Internet shopping.
  • Cooking, an invaluable skill that enables a healthy lifestyle and the ability to look after oneself.
  • Travel: students learn how to access public services, read maps, find the most suitable way of getting from point A to point B, deal with unexpected situations, and so on. 
  • Public services and becoming familiar with local amenities.
  • Dealing with emergencies, and developing strategies to cope with unforeseen circumstances.
  • Safety awareness, identifying hazards and ways of avoiding them.
All the above skills link strongly with our citizenship and social skills curriculums, and help students to consolidate vital skills for independent life and to develop a meaningful connection with the world around them.
 

Social skills

 
Social thinking plays a vital part in the development of rounded and confident individuals. It underpins our entire curriculum at THSL, and is taught explicitly in PSHE as well as woven through every lesson. Social skills are as important as academic attainment. Parts of our social skills programme focus on development of self-advocacy, self-esteem, relationships and interactions. These skills are essential for our students to lead a fulfilled and happy life.
 
Social skills are addressed at every opportunity during the school day. In the lower school, social skills are discussed at circle times and through role play. We always place emphasis on the generalisation of any skills that students learn. In middle and upper school, themes can be more complex and topical, and are linked with the citizenship programme. Role play, situation drama and debating are used as tools to explore social skills. Students have opportunities during form time to reflect on their performance and that of their peers.