Stepping Out aims to enable young people with very diverse needs to develop the skills necessary to cope with everyday life as their statutory educational provision draws to a close. The pupils from year 10 and 11 all attend the special school due to their autism, however this is where their similarities end as each has their own unique mix of strengths and weaknesses, skills and needs.
Drama worker Sarah Osborne worked with staff and pupils at Rossington Hall Special School to improve the young people's mastery of social skills. The work was vital to the young people in order to ensure they had the best chance of engaging with society in general and their own communities.
By playing out situations in a safe environment, practising skills in real-life settings, and evaluating achievements through watching themselves on video, seven young people grew in confidence and acquired skills necessary for them to launch into adult life. Many of the skills were in areas taken for granted by mainstream pupils, such as listening positions, maintaining conversations, tone of voice and personal space. However for the young people of Stepping Out an inability to manage these aspects of everyday life can create barriers between them and others.
The project ended with the pupils visiting Doncaster town centre and independently purchasing everyday objects. This trip, along with the journeys that the participants made, were recorded in a film that each participant was able to take away with them as a record of their achievements and a reminder of the key concepts that they had learnt.
Due to the initial successes of the first year the project was able to secure funding for a further year. Reflections of the first year contributed to the creation of a new work plan with a new group of pupils, in addition to the continuation of provision for the 6 year 10 pupils in order to enhance their journey through year 11 and beyond.