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Mental Health Mental Health Mental Health E-Learning
ESFA
LEARNING SUPPORT
FUNDING
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5-STEP
WRAP-AROUND
SUPPORT
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NEURODIVERSITY
IN
LEADERSHIP ROLES
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CONSULTING
FOR
ORGANISATIONS
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1
Assessment of
learning needs
2
Support Needs
Indentified
3
Support Worker
Allocation
4
Individual Support
& Learning Plan
5
Monthly Support
Reviews
Our comprehensive support package is designed to address the unique needs of employers and training providers in recognising and supporting learners with specific learning differences, disabilities, and mental health challenges. We specialise in elevating the apprenticeship experience, enhancing accessibility, and increasing completion rates by providing targeted support to diverse and neurodivergent learners beyond the initial recruitment phase. We offer ongoing guidance and support, equipping learners with the necessary skills and tools to excel in their apprenticeships and future careers.
We partner with employers and training providers to bridge the gap in their current
support frameworks, offering bespoke, continuous support to apprentices.
Our holistic support services include:
  • initial assessment of learning needs
  • tailored recommendations for support and reasonable accommodations
  • individual support and learning plan
  • 1:1 wellbeing mentoring or study skills tutoring
  • regular progress reviews at one, three, and six-month intervals.
Our support services are designed to empower apprentices who require additional support, supporting them to overcome learning barriers and successfully complete their apprenticeships.

Our Initial Assessment of Learning Needs

The initial assessment of learning needs includes a neurodiversity screening profile, followed by a face-to-face session with an SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulties) Assessor. Our web-based Neurodiversity Screening Profiler is designed to identify the strengths and challenges across cognitive areas, considering neurodivergent traits associated with Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia/DCD, Dyscalculia, social and communication challenges, along with understanding any study skills gaps and a range of other competencies in learners. This comprehensive approach provides a detailed understanding of each learner’s unique learning profile, highlighting strengths, challenges, study skill needs, and the impact of mental and physical health on their ability to study.

Expert Support Workers

We carefully match each apprentice with a specialised support worker for 1:1 sessions throughout their apprenticeship journey. Our support workers offer continuous academic and wellbeing support, guidance, and promote a work-life balance, empowering each apprentice to achieve their goals and develop the necessary skills for success, both during and after their apprenticeship.

Our team of support workers is dedicated to delivering the highest quality of support, tailored to each apprentice's learning needs. We ensure our support workers receive continuous training to remain at the forefront of the latest research and best practices in the field, ensuring the most effective support possible for our apprentices.

Led by experts in mental health and neurodiversity with more than two decades of evidence-based practice, our support workers are well-equipped to provide the highest level of support to apprentices, regardless of their learning needs.

OUR SUPPORT ROLES

Weekly 1hr 1:1 session with a support worker delivered remotely. The frequency of sessions would be dependent on the needs of the learner, and this would be identified within their Assessment of Learning Need.

Specialist 1:1 Study Skills Support is individual support for learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), which may include Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyscalculia. Support is mapped to the specific needs of the learner in relation to their apprenticeship course and the required KSBs of their training programme. Study Skills Support will additionally target difficulties with acquiring, recalling, and retaining information in written and spoken language. Memory, organisational, attention and numeracy difficulties are often also worked on. Using a range of multi-sensory strategies to facilitate independent learning, sessions will be tailored to work on the identified needs of specific learners to enable learners to identify their own learning styles and strengths. Independent learning is promoted as well as empowering the learner to manage their workload across both the theoretical and work-based placement components of their course.

Study Skills Tutors can help with:
  • time management and organisational skills
  • efficient strategies for reading academic texts
  • note taking from texts, hand-outs and in lectures
  • research skills
  • mind mapping and planning techniques
  • proof reading strategies
  • approaching written assignments
  • memory techniques and strategies
  • revision methods
  • analysing exam/essay questions

Wellbeing and Mental Health mentors provide specialist, one-to-one support which helps learners address the barriers to learning. The support could address a range of issues, for example:
  • coping with anxiety and stressful situations
  • how to deal with concentration difficulties
  • time management
  • goal setting
  • timetabling
  • prioritising workload
  • creating a suitable work-life balance

Specialist mentoring is not counselling. The role of the mentor is to help learners recognise the barriers to learning and support them in developing strategies to address these barriers, particularly at times of transition and possible high stress, e.g., when starting at a new work-based placement or working towards end-point assessments. For some learners, this support will need to be on-going, while for others it might be gradually phased out or only be required at certain points of their course.

Mentors can work with learners with a range of mental health difficulties, including:

  • depression
  • anxiety
  • eating disorders
  • bipolar disorder
  • psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia
  • obsessive compulsive disorder etc

Specialist autism and ADHD Mentors hold in-depth knowledge and practical strategies to work alongside autistic and ADHD apprentices to support them succeed in their studies and work placements. Through psychoeducation, allowing the learner to better understand how autism and /or ADHD impacts on their learning, targeted plans to assist the learner develop the required knowledge, skills, and behaviour (KSBs) in their apprenticeship course can be achieved. Improved psychoeducation can allow the individual to better work to their strengths as well as better advocate their needs in terms of reasonable adjustments. Work placements can bring a wealth of challenges for autistic and ADHD learners and working with a specialist mentor to manage transitions, work-based socialising, professional expectations alongside the course requirements can allow the learner to build sustainable strategies around experienced difficulties. The aim is to gradually reduce the need for specialist mentoring support as the learner builds their own skills, so that they can fully engage in their academic life and integrate successfully into the workplace on leaving their education.

Our mentors typically assist with such things as:

  • managing change and difficult emotions
  • dealing with challenging social situations
  • developing social and communication skills
  • clarifying course expectations in relation to set KSBs on the apprenticeship course
  • having a healthy work/life balance
  • accessing academic support and guidance
  • managing course requirements (e.g., speaking in seminars, giving presentations, professional meetings)
  • Developing self-awareness and self-advocacy
  • advising on quiet (low-sensory) study spaces
  • any other issues that the learner brings to the sessions

Contact us today to discover your future support network.

Contact Us
I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to receive specialist mentoring because of the wonderful personalised support that has helped me get through university
Some days I’ve been feeling down, but after my session I leave feeling infinitely better because it’s an outlet for whatever’s on my mind and my mentor’s warmth and enthusiasm is really uplifting.
Cansu T, Zoology Student
I have massively benefitted from the help that my mentor has offered
and she has really helped me be the best I can be during a crazy four years of uni!
Laura D - BA French & Spanish
Laura D
With the help of my mentor I have done things I didn't think I'd be able to
like present a poster at a conference, and now, I am a PhD student and the happiest I've ever been.
Oliver B - Phd Student
Olver
I can’t stress enough how much Specialist Mentoring had a positive impact on my university experience
Mentoring taught me so much: how to manage my time better, how to revise efficiently, and most importantly, how to cope with my anxiety on a day-to-day basis. Specialist Mentoring made my university experience a positive one, and I don’t think I would be the person I am today without it.
Sara G - MA Sports Journalism
Sarah G
More success stories

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is characterised by a predominance of either inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms, or a combination of both. The condition involves challenges in managing attention, with considerable variability in how individuals focus on tasks based on their relevance. ADHD individuals often seek sensory stimulation and may have a strong need for movement, which can aid in concentration, anxiety regulation, or serve as a form of release. Organisational tasks can be particularly challenging, and there may be difficulties in retaining information in working memory. Written instructions or note-taking can be beneficial. Support in breaking down tasks and managing organisation is often needed.

 

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Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity acknowledges the natural variations in human brain function and behavioural traits as integral to human diversity, viewing conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia not as disorders but as different aspects of neurocognitive functioning. It advocates for societal shifts towards greater acceptance, rights, and accommodations for those with neurological differences, emphasizing inclusion and support. The concept of a "spiky profile" integrates with this view, illustrating how individuals may exhibit significant strengths in certain areas while facing challenges in others, further highlighting the diverse spectrum of human abilities and the need for tailored support.

 

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Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia affects both fine and gross motor skills, significantly impacting writing, typing, and self-care activities. Dyspraxic individuals may also face challenges with memory, attention, perception, and processing, leading to difficulties in planning, organisation, executing actions, or following instructions in the correct order.

 

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Dyscalculia

Individuals with dyscalculia struggle with mastering arithmetic skills, calculations, number sense, and mathematical reasoning. Challenges often extend to understanding quantities, time, and abstract numerical concepts. Dyscalculia is frequently accompanied by working memory difficulties. Approximately 50% of individuals with dyscalculia also face reading challenges, and many experience significant maths anxiety.

 

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Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects the ability to develop automatic and fluent word reading and spelling skills. It is often associated with challenges in phonological awareness, which involves understanding and manipulating the sounds in words, and may also impact orthographic processing—the recognition of whole words, letter strings, or spelling patterns. Dyslexic individuals might be self-conscious about reading aloud, which can also hinder comprehension, and may avoid using complex vocabulary in writing to prevent spelling errors. Though not officially part of the diagnostic criteria, dyslexic individuals often struggle with organisation, sequencing, and may have low academic self-esteem. A notable discrepancy exists between their confidence in verbal tasks versus written tasks.

 

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Autism

According to current diagnostic criteria, autistic individuals face challenges primarily in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour. The severity of these challenges can vary significantly. Many autistic individuals have sensory sensitivities that are particularly challenging in new and unfamiliar environments. Furthermore, they often prefer structured and predictable settings, benefiting from ample time to process information and adapt to changes. Social anxiety can pose a significant challenge in unstructured and unpredictable social situations. While the challenges of autism might be less visible in certain settings, they can still have a profound, cumulative effect on mental health, well-being, and may lead to burnout.

 

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