The tiered approach we adhere to at My Oasis is not necessarily based on how complex the difficulties are that a young person is presenting with, but it is more so a stepped care approach to supporting students in terms of their emotional health and facilitate re-engagement in their education. Students accessing Tier 2 and 3 services have often been finding it extremely challenging to attend mainstream education and hence the need for their attendance at My Oasis.
Details of each of the Tiered Service
As our Tier 1 services are provided to students within their mainstream schools, this helps to lessen any disruption to a student’s learning. in addition, the Tier 1 services aim to act as a form of early intervention to prevent a student’s difficulties from deteriorating further and reduce the likelihood of them needing to access Tier 2 and 3 services. Staff support students in school for approximately 12-18 weeks delivering evidence-based individual and group interventions. Often staff will work alongside the Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) provided in many schools by supporting any students the Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) working in the MHSTs are unable to work with. We also regularly work together with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) either prior to them being seen by CAMHS or following discharge from the service.
Examples of specific pathways of support offered to students accessing the Tier 1 Services are:
Although we have specific pathways of support, we recognise that a student’s difficulties are very likely to fall under more than one of the specified pathways and there will be significant overlap. For example, often young people diagnosed with SEND will also present with mental health and behavioural challenges. Subsequently, some of the strategies and interventions delivered to students will overlap across the different pathways of support.
This increased level of support offers short-term placements on a part-time basis to students who are struggling to attend mainstream school. Students are on placement with us at My Oasis for one or two days each week, accessing mainstream or alternative education on the remaining days to ensure they are still receiving a full-time education. Students also have the option of making use of the My Oasis Outreach Service which involves working with young people on a one-to-one basis, either at home, community facilities or any other venue most suitable for the young person to access.
The focus of this Tier is to help re-engage a young person in their learning by providing students with immediate access to evidence-based interventions to help build confidence and overcome any mental health difficulties they might be facing. Academic support is offered to students to fill any gaps in their learning which have been identified for core subject areas, ensuring they can make academic progress in line with their mainstream peers and to ensure it does not act as a barrier to them returning to school.
For Tier 2 placements students generally stay at My Oasis for between 8-24 weeks depending on the complexity of a student’s needs, with the emphasis being on supporting young people in successfully reintegrating back into mainstream education. Many young people who are referred to our Tier 2 and 3 services have a diagnosis of SEND or are presenting with social, emotional and/or mental health issues (SEMH) and can struggle with change and uncertainty. My Oasis staff therefore provide transitional and reintegration support to help students with this process.
Our Tier 3 service consists of students attending My Oasis on a full-time basis for 4 or 5 days a week. Although one of the aims is to try to prevent the need for students accessing alternative provision on a full- time basis, we recognise that some students present with more complex issues and may need to do so. These students may therefore require a therapeutic alternative provision for a much longer period and/or until they transition to post-16 education, training or employment.
Students who access our Tier 3 service receive similar academic and therapeutic interventions to those students who are on placement with us through the Tier 2 support. However, the interventions and the support provided are more intensive, with students receiving long-term specialist psychotherapy to support them with their mental health and overcome any potential traumas they have experienced. Academic support involves close liaison with a student’s mainstream teachers to ensure they are working towards the same curriculum as students in school. In addition, students who are placed with us at My Oasis on a long-term basis can undertake various vocational courses and activities which leads to them obtaining certification and/or qualifications in subjects of interest to them. Please see the curriculum section for more information around this.
When accessing our Tier 2 and 3 services, students are assigned their own mentor and will receive one-to- one wellbeing sessions, with specialist psychotherapies and counselling being available upon request. Students also take part in skills-based groups and experience quality teaching on the core subjects of English, Maths and Science, aiming to help reduce any barriers to learning and support students in returning to a mainstream environment. In addition, students can study subjects of interest to them, as well as take part in creative subjects such as Music, Dance or Art. My Oasis staff liaise with school staff to ensure topics being studied at My Oasis are in line with a student’s mainstream peers.
Our capacity includes up to 20 students aged 11 to 16 years.
Years of Experience
Key Workers
Service & Support Satisfaction
