Benefits of Fishing with the EP Pupils

 Fishing sessions have been an important part of the Engagement Pathways team’s work, giving pupils the chance to try and build skills in angling. Through regular sessions, pupils are introduced to fishing in a safe and supportive environment, helping them feel comfortable taking part.

As pupils gain experience, many grow from beginners into confident participants who can use equipment, understand techniques, and feel proud of what they achieve. This progress builds confidence and helps keep them engaged.

Fishing also helps pupils develop important skills such as patience, concentration, and resilience. It encourages them to focus and problem-solve, while also supporting teamwork and communication. For pupils who find the classroom challenging, fishing provides a different way to succeed and build self-esteem.

Spending time outdoors also adds to these benefits. The calm, natural environment helps pupils relax, reduce stress, and support their wellbeing.

ASDAN PSHE: Engagement Pathways

PSHE: Emotional Wellbeing

Pupils on the Engagement Pathway have been working through the PSHE Short Course ASDAN award. This has been quite successful through this year, with clear structure and easy to follow activities to support the learning content.

 

Module 1 of this course is Emotional Wellbeing. The aim of this module is to develop young people’s understanding of emotional wellbeing and mental health. It provides opportunities to learn about, and practise, strategies that recognise and support good emotional wellbeing.

 

Firstly, we learned about how being connected to others can improve emotional wellbeing and we explored how we can practice this in our own day to day lives. Pupils created posters on what activities could support improved mental wellbeing.

Next, we focused on common types of mental ill health, where pupils were given space to research different issues and learn more about illnesses which they may or may not have heard about before. Pupils did some great writing pieces about what they learned.

Following on from this, the pupils completed some work around recognising the early signs of poor mental health, and we created checklists on what we signs we can look for in ourselves and other people.

Finally, we looked at activities that can promote positive emotional wellbeing. We explored physical exercise, time outdoors, community participation and volunteering. Pupils were given the choice to then create a short film or a poster of their research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Offsite Personal Development

 As part of their personalised timetables, pupils on the school’s Engagement Pathways all benefit from the opportunity to engage with some form of Personal Development.

Previously referred to as ‘Engagement’, Personal Development allows pupils to learn new skills individualised to their needs, gain new experiences that will benefit them in their education and future employment and help them to enjoy school in a non-traditional way, which they may have previously struggled with.

Some examples of this include:

 

Pupils going to the shop to buy supplies for future projects, this helps them to learn about budgeting and interacting with others.

Outdoor activities in the New Forest or large wooded areas that helps pupils to learn about and engage with nature in ways they may not have previously had the opportunity to.

Trips to museums and car showrooms which are tremendously beneficial for pupil’s education and building a better relationship with their schooling

Personalised Transitions on the Engagement Pathways

All new pupils who come to the Polygon School are given a transition program. However, some of our new pupils benefit from fully-personalised transition periods before they start with us in September. Staff work closely with these pupils, their families and current schools to develop positive relationships.

Engaging activities and academic sessions are provided to support the pupil's transition to the Polygon.

We want our new pupils to feel confident and supported when they join us in September.

Recent Dishes at Morris House

 The boys on Engagement Pathways have been cooking some great dishes over the last few terms. 

It is always interesting to see the things they come up with to share with family and friends.

A highlight was a beautiful Kinder Bueno cheesecake! 

   
There have been some good demonstrations of knife skills and other useful utensils in the kitchen.  

We also experimented with cooking mackerel in the tin, which was a fun experiment and a different way to cook something!

Golfing with the EP Boys!

Throughout the academic year, a number of Engagement Pathways pupils have been given the opportunity to take part in a Golf session as part of the Personal Development portion of their timetable.

The sessions, which take place at Chilworth Golf Club, give pupils the chance to learn a new skill while also engaging in a physical activity that they most likely would not have had the opportunity to previously.

These sessions have improved pupil attendance and engagement and those that have attended consistently have showed significant improvement in their Golf swing, with some now being able to drive the ball around 200 yards.

Avon Tyrrell Day 1

 

        

Engagement Pathways Unit Award Scheme Update

On Engagement Pathways the pupils have had the opportunity to take part in the AQA Unit Award Scheme.  This is a flexible scheme where students receive certificates in recognition for completing short units of work or activity.

So far, pupils have completed units in cooking, fishing, boxing  and practical tasks in Morris House and the school allotment, to name but a few. This approach means  we can tailor achievements for the Engagement Pathway pupils directly to their interests and appropriate academic level.

Overall we have gained 57 certificates this year so far across the pupils engaging in the scheme since introducing it to our timetables and it has been really successful!