You are never too young to play in a ball pit! Allowing children to make new friends, learn how to deal with stressful situations, especially important for promoting positive cognitive development and social skills. And it is just great fun too!!

Never too old to join in the fun, our team love to get involved with our Young People and their imaginative play. History can be taught through reenactment, not just sitting in a classroom. History coming to life!

From 3 wheels to 2. Learning to fix a bike is a valuable life skill – simple mechanics from changing a tyre to fixing brakes. But the best bit is riding them, especially when we can visit a track like this!

One of our ongoing projects in the welding department is a bench made from epoxy resin inlaid into a pair of Yew timbers, set on a steel base. Last week we sanded the wood, this week we made the supports which involved our young people learning how to measure, weld, cut etc. The next step will be to pour the resin into the sets whilst the supports are away being powder coated. We can’t wait to see the finished bench and be able to present it to the Young Persons school.

As part of our Photography sessions, we also have access to a Drone. What a great way to get perspective on our surroundings. Today our young people were provided with a Drone Safety Session, how the drone works, a flight demonstration by the instructor and then then the opportunity to have a go themselves. These photos are great and allow our young people to experience a different form of photography.

Playing in sand, creating with Lego and drawing etc. – these are not just fun activities, but life skills that our young people learn through play. Creating stories and characters, being able to be creative, fun and confident to express their own thoughts. Building new relationships with staff and other children is a massive hurdle that many of our young people struggle with, they can become dysregulated – but with clear support they learn to regulate themselves, open up with feelings and be able to engage and join in activities.

It appears both young and the little older enjoy dressing up. Dress Up play helps young people to practice language development and social skills. Allowing for co-operative play, interaction, communication and encourages creative thinking and communication skills.

What activities do we offer our young people at Pushforward Education? Well currently our activities range from:

• Cafe
• Fitness
• English / Maths / Science / History / Geography
• Carpentry
• Basic Plumbing & Electrics
• Construction (eg bricklaying)
• Welding
• Car & Motorbike Mechanics
• Bicycle Maintenance
• Cooking
• Arts & Crafts
• Music
• PSHE & Citizenship
• In fact, the list is endless, because when we meet a new young person, we find out what their interests are and do our best to accommodate that interest, which in turn leads to confidence and finding their spark!

Our newest activity is Photography.

Photography allows you to be creative, to record special moments in time, to document beauty. It allows you to express yourself, to challenge yourself. A photographer friend of mine once told me to ‘always look up’ – and when you do you can find inspiration and beauty that you may have otherwise missed!

Coming Soon:

• Dog Grooming
• Hair Dressing

Our Ethos

No one can begin to affect the world around them until they are CONFIDENT , COMFORTABLE, happy in their own skin and have found their SPARK! We take the time to understand and develop programmes from where the learner is in the world not where we think they should be. The work is underpinned by the Pushforward Wellbeing Index which looks at five key factors to wellbeing.