Learning For Life

We are a North East based specialist service provider for young adults with a range of disabilities

We are a North East based specialist service provider for people with a range of disabilities.

We work collaboratively with parents, carers, students, partners, professionals and all stakeholders to ensure a consistently high quality service. Learning for Life is a place where people are valued and respected for their individual contribution, for their uniqueness, their skills and ability to work together to meet the aims of the college and the needs of the students.

Staff at Learning for Life are highly trained, qualified and committed to their role working together to achieve the best possible outcomes for learners. Learning for Life is accessible, popular and an effective place for learning, education, personal development, care and support. A place where all learners are valued and treated equally.

Learning for Life is recognised as an organisation of high standards using innovative teaching and learning approaches and achieving a consistent success rate of 100% in our accredited learning programme. We offer a diverse curriculum of accredited programmes of learning; running alongside a successful non-accredited bespoke programme of learning too, tailored to each student. The programme of learning is enhanced by a range of enrichment activities and opportunities providing a rounded and more holistic approach to the learning and achievement experience.

We aim to equip the learners to become as independent as possible, encouraging, supporting and developing individual aspirations and independent living skills. We engage with the community through several routes supporting and guiding learners to access local amenities, services and local stores and encouraging learners to adopt a healthy balanced lifestyle.

We offer a very successful and popular outdoor education programme, coordinated and led by trained and experienced staff. Learners have access to physical exercise programmes and we provide opportunities such as residential opportunities to Pooley Bridge and the Calvert Trust along with other educational field trips throughout the year.

We endeavor to promote happiness, dignity and achievement enabling learners to live a life through choice and inclusion whilst ensuring individual well being and safety is never compromised.

Each group of learners is encouraged to engage in the Enterprise Programme; providing learners with the opportunity to learn and understand business by contributing to entrepreneurial activities to generate income. Income generated subsidizes future leisure activities and field trips for their group. The learners understand and value these opportunities to develop new skills and make a valuable contribution to the college and their peers. Funds are raised through a programme of events and activities including coffee mornings, tuck shops and making light meals and snacks for staff and peers.

These experiences offer learners the opportunity to be involved in real life experiences providing hands on activities where they are able to engage in real life entrepreneurial opportunities to understand business, sales, researching and planning to develop skills and beginning the process to future proof their lives.

The learners are encouraged to independently communicate how they would like to spend the profits that they have made and democratic decisions are taken by all of the young people involved. This is a wonderful exercise for the learners. The purpose of this exercise is to raise awareness around employment and income generation for many learners this is the first step towards voluntary work and employment.