General Description
Victoria College offers places for students aged 19-25 with profound and multiple learning difficulties. With nursing provision on site we can also meet the needs of students who need daily medical interventions.
Catchment Area
Victoria College provides specialist education to students who live within either Birmingham, Sandwell, Dudley or Worcestershire local authorities. We are happy to offer places for students living in other local authorities as long as we can meet the students’ needs and the journey is safe and comfortable for them.
Curriculum
The curriculum is based on the Preparing for Adulthood curriculum, focusing on the four areas: Employment, Independent Living, Community Inclusion and Health. Communication and Cognition are also key focal areas of everything we do.
The curriculum is filled with sessions that engage and challenge the students. Independent living skills include sessions on friendships and relationships, morning routines and eating and drinking as well as the opportunity to take part in cookery sessions. The students have many opportunities to take part in community visits, have artists and musicians visit the college and take part in sports activities away from college too. Health is a major part of the curriculum, with the use of physio embedded into sessions, hydrotherapy, rebound therapy, Sherborne Dance and sports are focal points. Nursing clinics also take part throughout the college day. Mental Health is supported by a broad and balanced curriculum, with a beautiful sensory room to relax in and an outdoor space that is suitable for learning, social activities and relaxation. Employment is delivered through an Enterprise scheme that allows the students to take part in creative work projects.
Communication is paramount to empower students to make choices. The college has a rich communication environment, with a speech and language and music therapist visiting weekly. Students use a range of low and high tech devices to communicate and staff use on body signing, Makaton signs, symbols, speech and body language to communicate. Communication and cognition are challenged with personal targets that are assessed using seven areas of engagement.
All sessions are delivered and/or supported by a qualified and experienced team of teachers, teaching assistants and therapists.
Specialist Facilities
The College building was updated and designed in 2013, specifically for young people with Profound and Multiple Learning difficulties. The building is light and spacious with wide doorways and corridors.
The teaching rooms include an art room with lots of daylight overlooking a recently installed pergola in the garden, an independent living skills room with height adjustable working surfaces, a hub with overhead hoists installed, which is used for rebound therapy, physio sessions, coffee mornings, sports, Sherborne dance and larger group events. The sensory room has a wonderful array of fixed and interactive lights, suitable for a small group of students with an overhead hoist installed too. This room is also used for music therapy delivered weekly by the music therapist and communication lessons, delivered by college staff and/or the speech and language therapist. The health team have their own medical room and a small therapy room has recently been developed too.
The health team encourage clinics to be carried out on site so that the students can attend college as much as possible, regular clinics include weight clinics, dietetic clinics, and lateral flow covid testing for students, epilepsy clinic, SaLT and dysphagia meetings and nutrition clinics. The physiotherapist ensures equipment is serviced, checked and adjusted as needed, physio programmes are written and liaise with wheelchair services and Ross care. The physiotherapist also leads the hydrotherapy sessions.
The college owns two wheelchair accessible minibuses that are used to access the community.
