The practice system
The WILD Framework®
The Framework is how we run the provision day to day. It shapes how a young person is assessed, how a plan is written and how a session is recorded. It also shapes how progress is evidenced and how practitioners are trained and supervised.
Part one
The order of practice
Safety, Connection and Change happen in that order. Working out of order is the most common reason placements break down elsewhere. It is also the first thing we check when a young person is struggling here.
Safety
Nothing begins until a young person is regulated and feels physically and emotionally safe in the environment and with the adults in it.
Connection
Trusted, consistent relationships come next. Behaviour is communication. Knowing a young person well helps adults read it and respond well.
Change
Learning, accreditation and preparation for adulthood follow once safety and connection hold. We do not expect progress before a young person starts.
Part two, the delivery cycle
The four-step practice sequence
Every placement runs on the same repeating cycle. Practitioners, commissioners and young people all know what comes next, whichever adult or site is involved.
Understand
The whole young person: strengths, needs, history and context, before any plan is written.
Support
Personalised support with clear aims, review points and the barriers to engagement named honestly.
Engage
We count learning wherever it happens, including outside lessons.
Develop
Evidence meaningful progress, then reflect and adapt practice on what is and is not working.
Part three, the session model
WILDERHow a session is planned
The practice sequence describes a placement. WILDER describes a single session, with the same six moves every time. A young person knows what is coming even when the subject, room or adult changes, and that makes it easier to have a go.
- W01
Welcome
Everyone is greeted by name and the purpose of the session is made clear before anything is asked of them.
- I02
Introduce
New learning is short, explicit and linked to what the young person already knows or can already do.
- L03
Learn
Guided practice with an adult alongside. Thinking is made visible and questions are expected.
- D04
Do
The young person tries it themselves, usually practically, in the classroom, workshop, kitchen or paddock.
- E05
Evaluate
Progress is measured against the aim set for that person, not against a group average.
- R06
Review
The next step is written down and carried into the plan, so the following session starts from here.
Practitioners are trained to plan in this order, assessors listen for it in observations, and session records in The WILD Portal follow the same six headings.
Part four
The five strands
Every aim, activity and piece of evidence maps to one of five strands. This lets us report progress that does not show up as a grade.
Wild Minds
Emotional wellbeing, self-regulation, therapeutic education and personal development.
Wild Bodies
Physical development, outdoor education, health and adventure learning.
Wild Vocations
Animal care, construction, horticulture, hospitality, enterprise and employability.
Wild Living
Independent living, cooking, money management, travel training and home skills.
Wild Futures
Preparation for adulthood, careers, supported internships and employability skills.
Guiding principles
Non-negotiables
- 01Every young person is capable of growth
- 02Relationships come before outcomes
- 03Behaviour is communication
- 04Learning happens everywhere
- 05Progress is measured against each person's own aims
- 06Practice is backed by written records
Part five
How the Framework is evidenced
Baseline
A whole-person baseline across the five strands at the point of entry: strengths, needs, history, context and the barriers that are actually in the way.
Individual support plan
Aims written in framework language with named review points, so every practitioner is planning against the same sequence.
Daily practice records
Session notes, observations and welfare records captured in The WILD Portal and tagged to strand and aim.
Review and reporting
Progress reports for schools, local authorities and EHCP annual reviews written from daily records rather than memory at the end of term.
The Framework, the Portal and the Academy work together. The Framework sets the practice, the Portal holds the records and the Academy trains the staff.
See how the system fits together