Lighthouse Tuition South-West

Sophie’s off on holiday! 🌴☀️

While she takes a well-deserved rest, don’t worry - the rest of the team is still here and hard at work. Our phones remain manned and we’re available for anything you might need, but please bear with us if things take just a little longer than usual while Sophie is away.

We hope you're all finding some time for a bit of rest and sunshine too! 🦊✨

It’s been such a busy month, but on this last day of April, I just wanted to give a nod to World Autism Acceptance Month. 🌈

It’s all about true acceptance, understanding, and inclusion. I really want to celebrate all of our incredible students who are autistic, and our staff who are the most amazing advocates for our young people. They bring so much to our community every single day. 🥰

It’s about shifting the focus to the real stories and needs of autistic individuals, making sure everyone feels valued and supported exactly as they are - whether that’s at school, at home, or out in the world.

April might be ending, but the work to celebrate our differences and stop the stigma definitely doesn't stop here! 💛

We so often find ways to weave in learning into special interests! It's our daily approach to SEN Tuition and Alternative Provision.

Not just to gain knowledge, but to make learning accessible and to build trust in our team. We are really proud that so many of our autistic children find school a difficult place to be, but absolutely love coming to us! 🥰🙌🏻

Please do leave a comment and let us know how your child is getting on this term in their tuition sessions. Your feedback gives our tutors such a boost - it's hard work fighting the system as a small company but your words make all the difference! ♥️

For the families that we work with who are having doors closed in their faces constantly 😔

Great advice in the comments too and further links!

Alternative education is a legal duty

If your child is of compulsory school age and is not in education due to illness, permanent exclusion, or any other reason (including anxiety, EBSA, or unmet needs), your local authority must act.

Under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, the local authority has a duty to secure suitable alternative education. An EHCP is NOT required for this.

I’ve added a link to IPSEA’s guidance below, which also includes a template letter you can use to formally request this from your local authority. You may need to open in a browser though

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/asking-the-local-authority-to-arrange-alternative-education-model-letter-22

You’re not being difficult by asking for this, you’re only asking for the law to be followed.

P.S I know it’s really hard to get, but hopefully it will help people to understand their rights x

Essay warning... sorry!! References to our Alternative Provision, some amazing, clever friends of mine and a fantastic reminder that magic happens when we put the children's needs first.

It’s been such a busy couple of weeks, but I’ve been so looking forward to sharing a recent trip I took to London that was really special to me 🥰.

I went up to see my friend and colleague, Roger Mitchell, who is the Headteacher at Ripple Primary School; I was joined by fellow Southerner, Paul Bray. Paul is a total national treasure in the SEN and inclusion world - an amazing speaker, author, advocate and trainer.

It was such a lovely full-circle moment because the three of us first met face-to-face last year in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for the IFIP World Inclusion Congress. We finally managed to get our diaries to align so we could recreate our Almaty photo, but the best part was seeing Roger’s work in action. 💛

Roger has been at Ripple Primary for a long time (over 20 years) and it’s no surprise the school is recognised as one of IFIP’s Top 50 Schools in the World for inclusion. Honestly, the proof is in the pudding. Meeting the staff and students, it was so clear that a relational approach trumps every other method in education!! Ripple Primary's catchment area in Dagenham includes some of the most deprived and disadvantaged communities in the country. Yet, despite the odds stacked against them, the children EXCEL, belong and really thrive - not just holistically, but in their data too...Who'd have thought 😅. Is it really groundbreaking that children who feel connected, valued and able to be themselves end up happy AND successful?! 🤯

For those of you not familiar with education nonsense jargon, the 'relational approach' is just the belief that relationships are the most important part of a school or place of education. It means that children are treated with kindness, trust, humility and dignity.

Roger's school, including it's various Inclusion Hubs for children with varying complex SEND needs and are doing things exactly as the students need them - humanising these amazing children rather than punishing them for just being who they are. Seeing the kids themselves show that "everyone belongs" through how they treat each other was just beautiful. 🥰

It really can be done and Roger and his team are proving it every day. I’m so glad I made the trip - I've left feeling so inspired once again!!

If you want to chat more about how our own relational, inclusive approach really works for all students to enable them to thrive then get in touch! Our Alternative Provision is no where near 'One Size Fits All'. Each child has a huge say in their package and how learning, being or doing might feel most enjoyable for them. I'm starting to realise that we do things a little bit differently at our Alternative Provision. Not because I was ever trying to create a different kind of place to learn, but because I simply tried to create a place that Mini-Sophie (aged between 9-14) would have excelled in.

Have a lovely weekend all!

Sophie x

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a whole week already since our Plymouth City Council funded Fit & Fed holiday club! The marquee might be packed away now, but I’m still smiling thinking about what a lovely time we all had. 🥰

It was such a joy to see everyone come together, that sense of community and seeing the kids feel so at home is exactly what Lighthouse is all about.

I’m still feeling SO grateful to the team at Plymouth Albion RFC for being such legends and letting us use the marquee and grounds for free. It really made the world of difference for our first funded event and made it possible. So grateful!

Missing the buzz and the energy today, but my heart is still very full! Hope everyone has had a lovely week! 😍

What a week - Fit and Fed Easter Club 2026! 🐣🐇🐰

I am still buzzing from our very first Fit & Fed Easter Holiday Club. Honestly, my heart is just so full after seeing how much the kids enjoyed every single second. It’s been a total joy watching everyone relax, have a laugh, and just be completely themselves. 💛

We’ve had the absolute best time getting stuck into lots of arts and crafts, Minecraft, puzzles, outdoor games and lots more. The energy has been incredible, and seeing new friendships form and confidence grow over just a few days is exactly why we wanted to run this.

I have to give a massive, heartfelt shout-out to the team at Plymouth Albion RFC 🏉. We already love having our hub on their site, but they were absolute legends this week and let us use their marquee and grounds for the event FOR FREE!!

Without their generosity, we would not have been able to cater for so many children and families who are so desperate for rest bite in the holidays.
Having that space to run wild (and dive for cover when it rained☔) made the whole week possible. We’re so lucky to have such a supportive business supporting us and our community offer - who genuinely care about the SEN community and the families we work with.

It’s been such a brilliant way to spend the Easter break! Huge thanks to everyone who made our first funded Fit & Fed so special. The hugest THANK YOU to Plymouth City Council for funding the project ☀️🍴

The reviews and feedback have been awesome. Thank you. It was a pleasure to provide such needed restbite for children and families. Please do drop us a line, or leave a review if your child enjoyed themselves!!

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Young people not in school can now sit GCSEs free of charge, removing financial and geographic barriers.

The Exam Access Project, led by the University of Exeter with local councils, opens doors for students across Devon and Cornwall. More here: https://bbc.in/4tRNeoL

Happy 1st Birthday to us! 🥳✨

I honestly can’t believe we are one already. Looking back at the coffee with Tilly where this idea first started, it feels like both five minutes and ten years ago!

In just 12 months, we’ve grown from a vision into a thriving community of over 60 regular students and a brilliant team of 10 tutors. But the numbers aren't what I'm most proud of - it’s the shift in the children we work with.

This year, we’ve achieved so much together. We’ve grown from 'tuition' into a full provision, supporting everything from phonics and fractions to nervous system awareness and confidence building.

We’re officially funded by the local authority (through schools across Plymouth and Devon) to provide alternative provision for children who have struggled to feel safe in mainstream settings. We’ve stood alongside families, helping neurodivergent children re-engage with learning and, most importantly, themselves. I’ve been joined by the most kind-hearted, expert tutors who pour so much energy into every single session.

It’s been a whirlwind, a joy, and a total privilege. We are currently moving toward becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC), which will help us offer inclusive learning opportunities for low-income families and the community.

To my amazing team and the wonderful families who have trusted us this year - thank you. You’ve helped build a place where being yourself is the only requirement.

I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon for year two! 🥂🎂 ....But for now, I am enjoying eating my body weight in Easter eggs and pouring myself a very large glass of wine!

Sophie and Emily have decided to change their hair style, ready for spring!

We hope you like them! We think it suits us 😉🫶

Let us know your thoughts!

We believe that curiosity is the key to learning.

Our team have been undertaking lots of training recently to ensure that we are at the top of our game and meeting our student's needs entirely.

Last week, Sophie and Emily attended training with SEND Station on PDA.

We'd really recommend SEND station for training. Thank you to Farm Educational Services for the recommendation!
We can't wait to share what we have learned with the rest of the team.

A game of lotto can have many learning possibilities.

👉🏼An adjective game when revealing the cards to get to bingo (for example; a fluffy, cute cat)
👉🏼A verbal story immersing ourselves in our cards as if we were the characters, and a written story based on this immersion!

Games= learning and learning through games is a great way to engage learners of all abilities!

Well done to our learners who created some beautiful work! 🎉