Luton’s primary schools are organised into five primary improvement partnerships. They are grouped geographically – North, East, South, West and Central. St Matthew’s Primary School is part of the Central Area Partnership.
The Central Area Partnership (C.A.P.) comprises nine schools.
The Central Area Partnership, like all of Luton’s primary improvement partnerships, is focused on school improvement in order to improve outcomes and life chances for the children and young people in our area.
Next Steps is a behaviour support provision based on St Matthew’s Primary School site. It was formed in 2014 and is funded collaboratively by the Central Area Partnership schools.
Next Steps provides pupils with a one, two or three-term behaviour intervention programme for those experiencing significant social, emotional, mental health difficulties causing a barrier to learning and putting them at risk of exclusion from their mainstream school.
When a primary school within the C.A.P. has exhausted all internal support and interventions to enable a pupil to access the learning environment safely, they will request support from the Next Steps team. This is accessed through a referral system which is reviewed by a panel of five professionals who allocate the placement of appropriate referrals based on a pupil’s level of need and the information provided by the school, parent/carer and the professional network around the child. All placements within the provision are part-time, with pupils attending their mainstream school as well as Next Steps where appropriate.
Our aim is to enable pupils to develop the ability to self-regulate their emotions, increase their resilience and improve their emotional literacy and communication skills. This, in turn, provides them with the necessary positive attitude and skills that they need to face the challenges of school life safely, and with confidence which will allow them to enjoy the environment and their experiences.