We set up The Satellite School in 2024 to bridge a gap in alternative provision. We had highlighted a need for a mobile and portable educational offer that provides targeted support and training throughout the education system, in order to provide intervention practices where they are needed most.Working in schools, we felt that some alternative provision offers were lacking the direction and targeted interventions needed by the learners to get back on track within their learning journey and pathway to young adulthood.We converted a seventeen-seater minibus into a mobile learning environment. The Satellite School Bus provides a unique learning environment to dissolve barriers to learning at home, and provides a stimulating and exciting range of mobile opportunities in learning outside the classroom and learning other than at school.We have experience in improving outcomes as a result of improving both pastoral, and academic offers in a variety of settings from mainstream schools through to SEN settings.The school bus has all of the latest technology for computer-based learning as well as spaces for both cookery and even some science experiments. The Satellite School Bus is fitted with CCTV and all appropriate safety features to ensure that safeguarding is the main priority.There have been many occasions where outreach offers fail due to a fixed mindset; home is home and school is school for some pupils. Our school bus provides a mobile learning environment which visits the pupils at home, and can also be used to find suitable locations to undertake much of the curriculum utilising the wealth of value in learning outside the classroom.Through outdoor learning, pupils can develop various essential skills, from problem-solving and critical thinking to confidence and resilience. They can connect with the environment, learn about the natural world, and engage in hands-on activities that foster their creativity and curiosity.Some pupils struggle with traveling to school, be it walking, taxi or public transport. The Satellite School Bus reduces this barrier as we take the classroom to the pupil.We plan to show the value of the fully immersive and engaging School Bus learning experience, which we plan to develop into a small fleet of learning busses.
