TCES East London School – Outreach

Barking, London, IG11 8GD

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TCES East London School – Outreach, is a specialist provision for children and young people with SEND who are currently unable to manage in group education.

Many families come to us after a long and exhausting period where their young people have been out of school. Your child may have experienced high anxiety, (EBSA) Emotionally Based School Avoidance, or difficulties that have made traditional settings feel overwhelming or unsafe. You may have tried everything and still felt that education just wasn’t working.

Our Outreach provision is designed for this moment.

We gently rebuild stability, confidence and trust by taking education to where your child feels safest often beginning in the family home or local community before carefully supporting them back towards group learning and greater independence.

The First Two-Terms

When a young person joins us, they begin with a standalone two-term Assessment Programme.

This dedicated period allows us to fully understand their strengths, needs and the right pace for progress. It gives your child time to settle, rebuild trust in education and feel safe enough to show us what they are truly capable of.

From there, we create a clear step-down pathway into registered school provision or college, based on detailed evidence and professional insight.

Our aim throughout this process is always to:

Re-engage your child with learning
Strengthen family stability
Keep young people within their local community wherever possible
Reduce reliance on more restrictive or distant placements

How the Two-Term Assessment Works

Over two terms, we build a clear and detailed picture of your child as both a learner and a young person. This ensures that future decisions are based on understanding, not assumption.

1. Education Assessment

We assess your child’s current academic levels in reading, writing, maths and across the wider curriculum.

We look at:

Gaps in learning
Barriers to engagement
Learning style and strengths
Attention, motivation and readiness for structured learning

This helps us understand not just what your child knows, but how they learn best. The outcome is a clear educational profile with practical recommendations for curriculum and progression.

2. Therapeutic Assessment

Our clinical team works alongside education staff to understand emotional wellbeing, communication and sensory needs.

This includes:

Psychotherapeutic Report

Explores emotional development, attachment patterns, behaviour as communication and mental health presentation. It identifies therapeutic needs and provides clear recommendations.

Speech and Language Report

Assesses understanding of language, expressive communication and social communication skills. Hidden language difficulties often sit behind frustration or disengagement, and this report helps make those needs visible.

Occupational Therapy Report

Looks at sensory processing, regulation, coordination and how these impact daily school life. This allows us to recommend practical strategies that support calm, focus and participation.

Together, these reports provide a clinically informed understanding of what your child needs to feel safe, regulated and ready to learn.

3. FAST and Safeguarding Assessment

We complete a detailed safeguarding and contextual assessment to ensure your child’s safety and wellbeing are fully understood.

This includes:

Home, school and community factors
Vulnerabilities and protective factors
Attendance and engagement history

It ensures any future placement has the right safeguards and support in place from the start.

4. Strengths and Risk Assessment (SARA)

This assessment carefully balances strengths alongside areas of vulnerability.

We identify:

Regulation patterns
Triggers and stress responses
Coping strategies
Protective strengths
Areas requiring structured support

The focus is always on reducing crisis, increasing stability and building resilience not labelling.

5. LIFE Assessment

LIFE stands for:

Leadership
Independence
Future Options & Employability
Empowerment

This assessment looks beyond academic ability and explores:

Independence skills
Social confidence
Aspirations
Preparation for adulthood
Self-advocacy

For older students, this shapes realistic and meaningful post-16 pathways. For younger pupils, it builds strong foundations early.

Supporting EHCPs and Smooth Transitions

At the end of the two terms, families and local authorities receive a comprehensive, up-to-date clinical and educational report.

This report:

Provides detailed multi-disciplinary evidence
Supports EHCP reviews or amendments
Clarifies the level and type of provision required
Informs step-down planning into registered school or college
Reduces uncertainty during transitions

Because the information is current and evidence-based, it strengthens EHCP processes and ensures that the next setting fully understands what works for your child.

How Our Outreach Model Works

Outreach follows a carefully structured step-down model from isolation to independence.

Every young person is supported 1:1 throughout their education day. This means that at all times whether learning is online or face-to-face your child is alongside a trained Therapeutic Intervention Practitioner (TIP). If learning takes place online, the practitioner is physically present, sitting beside them to support focus, regulation and engagement.

Importantly, 1:1 support does not mean dependency on a single adult. Just like in a school environment, each young person works with a small, consistent team of practitioners. This:

Builds healthy relationships
Reduces over-reliance on one person
Encourages independence
Mirrors real-world social experiences

Education is delivered Monday to Friday, with a structured timetable equivalent to 4.5 school days per week. The routine and consistency are essential in helping young people feel secure and gradually rebuild stamina for learning.

A typical pathway may include:

Supported learning in the family home
Increased face-to-face sessions in the community
Small-group sessions within our Outreach centres
Induction into TCES main schools or Local Authority provision
Step-down into registered school sites, Post-16 or college
Each step reduces intensity while increasing independence.

Therapeutic Support

Therapeutic education underpins everything we do.

Our team includes Therapeutic Intervention Practitioners, clinicians, family support workers and safeguarding specialists. Together, they create a consistent, caring network around each young person.

Support may include:

Emotional regulation strategies
Attachment-informed practice
Structured beginnings and ends to the day
Individual or small group therapy
Family guidance and practical support

Curriculum

Our curriculum is built from interest lead learning using Project-Based Learning to re-engage young people who may have felt disconnected from traditional education.

We focus on:

Core academic subjects
Life skills and independence
Leadership and self-advocacy
Social and group skills
Preparation for reintegration

Learning is personalised and built around strengths and interests. When a young person begins to experience success, often for the first time in years, confidence grows.

Outreach is not intended as a long-term destination. It is a stabilising phase designed to prepare young people for their next step, whether that is TCES East London School, TCES North West London, Local Authority provision or college.

Since 2023/24, over half of our cohort has successfully stepped down into onsite education, including TCES schools and college placements.

Pathways and Next Steps

The purpose of Outreach is progression.

Following the two-term assessment, Local Authorities decide the most appropriate next placement. This may include:

TCES East London School
TCES East London School – Post-16
Local Authority provision
Mainstream college

Each transition is carefully planned and supported.

We measure success not just by attendance, but by increased confidence, reduced anxiety, improved relationships and readiness for the next stage.

A Provision That Does Things Differently.

We never give up, we never exclude!

who we support

We support young people who:

Are currently unable to access group education

Present with complex Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs

Have Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), ADHD, EBSA or sensory differences

Experience anxiety-driven behaviours, including aggression or Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

Have complex social care histories

Are at risk of exploitation or display high-risk behaviours

Require a highly personalised, 1:1 therapeutic approach

Are Children Looked After (CLA) needing stability and continuity

Outreach is often a stabilising step, rebuilding engagement in education before transitioning back into group learning.

If you are unsure whether we can meet your child’s needs, please contact our admissions team. Our team will be happy to review individual circumstances and advise on the most appropriate pathway.

referrals@tces.org.uk
020 8543 7878