RBAir Programme Summaries, Subjects & Qualifications

Our core approach is to Engage & Rebuild. Integral to this is a gradual approach with unconditional respect, building and maintaining trust, and putting the student voice at the heart of their experience, allowing negotiation of their curriculum and giving them back control of their educational journey.

We work hard to ensure our students reignite their love of learning and feel able to continue their education. At Red Balloon we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach to education simply does not work. We all have different interests and learn in different ways so we embrace this knowledge to allow our students to really thrive.

That’s why all our Centres operate using a negotiated curriculum. Involving each individual in deciding what they learn and how they learn, and incorporating students’ interests wherever possible is the key to successful learning. Each of our students has an individual programme of learning designed with their interests, needs and goals in mind, ensuring that their education is as interesting and inspiring as it can be.

Have a look at our video below to learn more.

The foundation of helping our students to grow as individuals and learners is ensuring they are supported with their mental health and personal wellbeing. This support is provided not only at specific wellbeing sessions, but holistically throughout the programme, with all staff having a focus on each individual student’s wellbeing and wellbeing needs.

Our staff includes a team of therapists and regular therapy sessions with an individual therapist are offered to all of our students as part of their timetable. This ensures that throughout their time with us, our students have dedicated and professional help to heal emotionally, care for themselves, and develop the resilience they need for the challenges of the future.

Each of our students at RBAir has a Link Professional (aka Link Mentor) throughout their time with us, who is their mentor, key point of contact, and a trusted adult on whom they can rely.

From helping them get their laptop working for the first session, to accompanying them on a practice commute to their next school, our Link Mentors are there to support our students each step of the way. Our students have regular meetings with their Link Mentor, whose aim is to support the student face-to-face according to their individual needs. Our Link Mentors also ensure that our students interact with people in the real world, as well as online as our students feel more confident. Link Mentors will also accompany students to meet with other students at RBAir so they can start building friendships with their peers.

As well as being the students’ mentor and key point of contact and support, the Link Professional role extends much further. They also have the key role of being the students’ advocate, overseeing their progressions and making changes to their programme over time to ensure their needs are being met. They attend all student progress and evaluation meetings, internal and external, representing the student and championing their needs.

RBAir is unique, as our students can be quite spread out across the country, but we have small hubs of students in the same area, and when this occurs we set up student hubs. Student hubs are like mini Red Balloon Centres, visited by RBAir students to do lessons, clubs or activities together along with their mentors. This allows our students to meet one another in a safe, supportive environment, and to build their confidence and make friends with their online classmates.

We encourage and support all students to attend face-to-face sessions as they become comfortable and confident to do so. These sessions can take place both at a student hub, or out in the community. Like all our sessions these groups will be small in size, usually up to six students. At the beginning of a student’s journey a face-to-face session may just be a pair of students and their Link Mentors.

In these sessions small groups of students will get together to do various activities, which may be subject-based, extra-curricular, or personal development. Examples of sessions include planning and cooking a meal, crafting with clay, sharing a skill or an interest with the group, or visiting a local attraction.

Our online sessions are live, teacher led, and can be 1:1, in pairs or in small groups of up to six. As students gain confidence in a 1:1 setting they will progress to a pairs lesson with someone studying at the same level, and then when they’re ready into a small group.

Subjects may each look a little different but generally students and teachers will work on an online document or slide deck together, with a chat box to talk to one another.

Methods of communication are flexible in these sessions, depending on how comfortable an individual student feels. Typically both the student and teacher will be working through the same material while typing in a chat box, sometimes the teacher may talk and students type back, and occasionally students may feel happy to talk too.

In a group lesson there will be a group chat box where all students can join in, but students are also able to chat 1:1 with a teacher in a separate chat box if they need to.

We generally don’t use video calls for student sessions.

You can watch an academic sample lesson below.

You might be wondering how lessons such as science or art can work in an online setting, and we’ve thought innovatively to come up with creative solutions.

For Science, each of our students is provided with a resource box, full of goodies for them to use as part of their practical lessons. Don’t worry, there’s nothing dangerous in there, and all contents are simple household items that nevertheless help support learning, or act as the materials for an experiment. Be it measuring gas release from baking powder and lemon juice, to finding the physical resistance of different spring sizes, we’ve got creative to ensure our students can experiment at their desk while following the online lesson.

Art students are sent portfolios and any necessary art materials to use in their homes, as their art teacher supports them online to develop their skills with each medium. Teachers can provide step-by-step demonstrations of techniques and students can share each stage of their artwork piece online for instant feedback and guidance. Photos of their art can be shared with the teacher or with the art group as students feel comfortable doing so.

PE and other physical activities are negotiated with the link mentor, who is aware of each student’s personal interests and abilities. Fitness sessions might start with a dog walk together and develop into membership of a local gym, or students can use our fitness videos to exercise in the privacy of their home. Once a young person is confident attending student hub meetings, they can take part in fun group physical activities with other RBAir learners.

We know the measure of a successful education is not simply achieving high grades in exams – real accomplishment is about growing as an individual, improving your skills and self-confidence over time, and building and maintaining trusted relationships. In addition to subject lessons, PSHEE, mentoring and well-being, RBAir provides additional activities to help our students grow, as well as have some well-deserved fun.

Co-curricular activities are those that all students attend in some capacity, and take place during normal school hours. On our termly co-curricular event day there will be a selection of activities taking place, and students attend the one that is most comfortable to them. For example in our latest event day students could visit Whipsnade Zoo, the Cambridge Botanical Gardens, or join the online Space and Unknown Planet Exploration session.

Various supplementary activities also run over the course of the year, often as part of mentoring sessions. Trips are also taken as small groups or sometimes joining students from our other Centres.

Extra-curricular activities are optional, taking place outside of normal school hours, such as after-school or lunchtime. These online clubs are open to all, and new clubs may be created following the interests of our students each year. This year we currently have a music club, language club, science curiosity club and a LGBTQ+ club.

We aim to develop students’ communication and social skills so that they have the confidence to access services and provisions in the future. So matching those successes with suitable pathways is incredibly important for us. We do this by developing a provision that links to individual needs, interests, skills and learning pathways, giving students opportunities to try and experience a range of new and exciting activities.

We do all we can to ensure a skilful, knowledgeable and confident young person leaves Red Balloon of the Air, ready to face any challenges that may be thrown at them! Find out more on our Careers and Transitions page.