Key Information

If you are a local authority or school hoping to refer a young person, please fill in this form, or contact us with any questions. We do not accept referrals directly from parents or carers, so if you are hoping to secure a place for your child, the best option would be to speak to your local education authority.

Young people join us when they need a new approach to their education. Not everyone fits naturally into mainstream school. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact there are countless examples of successful people who did not have an easy time at school. Students are referred to us when a school placement breaks down. This could be due to an exclusion, or the school being unable to meet the needs of the student or a number of other reasons. Our only criteria when it comes to accepting a student, is whether we feel we can help them. So, whatever the background of a student, or the experience they’ve had with education, we are open to working with them, if we feel it’s in their interest.

The TCW Teacher Training Programme is one of our proudest assets, refined over the years and quality assured by Goldsmiths University. Every teacher takes part in weekly in-depth professional development sessions, led by our in-house training team, or external experts. This continues throughout a teacher’s career with us. We believe that education never stops and that is why we work to continue challenging our teachers and growing their skillset. This is in addition to regular formal observations and mentoring, led by our Teaching and Learning Team - experienced, Qualified Teachers who oversee our teaching training programme.

We believe that in order to be successful in education and in life, everyone must look after their mental wellbeing. This is why we have two full time School Counsellors, who are available to provide therapeutic support to students, as well as wellbeing check-ins for teachers. Typically, a student would arrange to speak to a School Counsellor on a weekly basis, for as many weeks as they need. This process has boasted some wonderful results.

In addition, every student takes part in weekly Personal Development Sessions. These are designed to help each student reach their personal potential and can include setting goals, developing career plans and covering targeted programmes like anger management or behaviour plans. The sessions are delivered by one of our Student Support Team, who closely monitor their student’s progress both academically and in terms of their motivation and confidence. This allows any potential obstacles to be identified early and where necessary, a counselling or interventions programme put in place. The Student Support Team work in partnership with students’ families, acting as their advocates during educational meetings, ensuring that the right level of support is available at home, as well as at school.

We have also included an in-depth PSHE programme into every student’s curriculum, with a focus on developing their understanding of wellbeing, social skills, personal and online safety, sex and relationships, as well as many other issues relevant to young people’s emotional health. All teachers are trained to a high level on safeguarding issues and young people’s mental health, so we are able to work through any challenges as soon as they come up. This whole process is overseen by our Head of Safeguarding and Wellbeing, who is passionate about helping our young people grow into happy and well-adjusted adults.

The key advantage of our approach to education is the level of flexibility we can offer to adjust to a student’s needs, learning style and interests, providing a different education package to every individual. We have a very high staff to student ratio, students are taught on an individual basis for part of their timetable, while group lessons typically have no more than six students. Our Office Team works behind the scenes to curate the experience of each student, adjusting their curriculum, timetable, creative and social opportunities to produce a highly personalised experience, which cannot be reproduced in mainstream school.

Throughout a student’s time with us, we record their academic progress carefully, in order to make sure that we are working with them as effectively as possible. Because we provide education tailored to the needs of each student, this gives us the flexibility to spend more or less time on any given topic area, should the need arise. Accurate recording of progress is indispensable in order to ascertain what areas need improvement, and therefore how time in future lessons should be allocated.

For every student, progress is recorded on a daily basis by their teacher(s) into a confidential database. At the end of each half term, this data is summarized in a report, which is shared with parents, carers and professionals.

When a student starts at TCW, they will be invited to an initial meeting with their parent or carer, either virtually or at our Central Office. This meeting is a chance for them to get to know the school and teacher(s). We will introduce the history and methods of the school and talk through what opportunities will be available. We will also discuss the subjects or qualifications the student will be studying, their timetable and the assessment process we work to. This meeting is relaxed and friendly and should give students and parents / carers the chance to get to know what we are about, before lessons begin. It is also an important opportunity for us to gather all the information we need in order to begin our work.

The first lesson will be a chance for the teacher and student to get to know each other. They will meet at the agreed lesson location, do some icebreaker activities and begin to discuss the aims for their time working together. Our teachers are passionate about making education enjoyable and inspiring, and getting to know their student’s interests and personality will help them to plan the best possible lessons. Within the first two weeks, the teacher will set a baseline assessment to get a sense of current working levels. For students in KS1-3 (up to year 9), the baseline assessment is done as a two week interactive project. For KS4 (Year 10 and above) the baseline will be a written paper, though not done under exam conditions. Once they are settled in, the student will begin their agreed curriculum, with their teacher’s help they will learn creatively and achieve academically. Their progress will be tracked throughout their journey with us and at the end of every half term parents, carers and professionals will receive a report detailing their achievements and challenges. Most of our students do a combination of individual and group lessons, both offsite and at our Learning Hubs.

We have a dedicated Curriculum Team, whose job it is to choose the perfect programme of study for every student. Exactly what a student studies will depend partly on their age, interests and plans for the future. We put a strong focus on the core subjects (English, Maths, Science and PSHE), and offer a wide range of other options, both vocational and academic, including a number of BTECs, GCSEs, Functional Skills, Entry Levels, and more. We do everything we can to make education enjoyable and inspiring, ensuring that students leave us with the qualifications they deserve. In a child’s initial meeting, the child and their parent/carer will get the chance to meet a member of our Curriculum Team to discuss what subjects would be best suited to them. For a detailed look at the qualifications available, see Our Offer.

We are a fully registered exam centre, so students have the opportunity to work towards a range of qualifications including GCSEs, BTECs, Functional Skills, Entry Level Certificates and Arts Award. When it comes time to sit their exams, we will provide all the support and guidance that they need to do their best.

Hybrid Learning refers to the combination of individual and group lessons. We aim to offer both types of lesson to all students, adjusting the balance to suit the needs of each individual. Individual lessons have the advantage of being the most personalised form of education possible. They are an efficient and effective way to get through subject content, at the perfect speed and level of challenge. If a student joins TCW with gaps in their education, we can catch up on these through individual lessons. We can also incorporate the interests of the student into the lessons, making them engaging and relatable.

The perfect way to supplement individual learning, is with small group lessons, taught out of our Learning Hubs. With class sizes typically no bigger than 5 students, we offer an exciting array of vocational and academic courses, taught by Subject Specific Teachers. Through group lessons students have access to our specialist facilities, such as our music studio, kitchen, science lab, art room and construction workshop. We also take students to specialist external spaces, such as Stepney City Farm, for our Animal Care Course. On top of this, group lessons provide a valuable opportunity to socialise with other young people, build friendships and learn together.

Hybrid Learning is the complete package when it comes to education - with the personalisation of individual lessons and the dynamic variety of group classes. Our Central Office Team will create a balanced programme for each student, ensuring they reap the full benefits of this comprehensive system.

We work hard to maintain our creative roots and have a department dedicated to making sure students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of creative projects. In our Learning Hubs, creativity is celebrated in its many forms, whether it be in our Art room with its vibrantly coloured walls painted by students; the construction workshop where students recently built portable phone speakers; or the music studio where our young people produce tracks to be released on our TCW album. Every year we conduct a number of whole school creative projects including publishing a book of poetry; running t-shirt design competitions or a novel writing workshop; we have even produced a piece of school artwork that was hung in The Tate Modern Gallery, plus many more exciting projects. At the end of every year we host the TCW Showcase, which our whole school community is invited to. This is a huge day for TCW and a significant milestone in many students’ school careers. On this day we enjoy a plethora of talents from students of all ages and abilities. From singing, dance and comedy, to film production, poetry reading and instrument recitals - this nurturing show has it all!

Group lessons take place at our Learning Hubs in Shoreditch or Bermondsey. These are vibrant spaces offering a range of specialist facilities, such as a music studio, kitchen, science lab, art studio and construction room. Here students find a supportive environment, and an exciting array of courses to choose from. Our vocational courses are taught out of the Hubs, alongside our Onsite KS3 and GCSE days - immersive academic days taught by subject specific teachers. Some selected courses are run from other specialist locations, such as a city farm and allotment gardens, for our Animal Care and Land-Based Studies course.

Individual lessons take place at a student’s home, in a public library or another suitable public place, such as a quiet café or community centre. We also run Onsite Individual Days out of our Learning Hubs. All locations and activities are thoroughly risk assessed by our staff. In some circumstances we will also deliver lessons remotely.

Although we are a registered charity, we have no core funding and therefore rely on commissions from social and educational services and one-off, short-term grants. You can donate to us by cheque, please make this payable to:

The Complete Works Ltd
3rd Floor. 88-94 Wentworth Street
London E1 7SA

Don't forget to Gift Aid your donation. Gift Aid is tax relief on money donated to UK charities. Therefore, you can increase your gift (without it costing any more to you) by filling out a Gift Aid form. Please note that donors must pay enough UK income tax and/or capital gains tax themselves to cover the amount of tax we can reclaim.

Leaving a Legacy

You are able to leave a charitable legacy in your will, which would be exempt from inheritance tax. This can therefore often be the most tax-effective donation you can make. Your solicitor should be able to advise you on the exact wording you should include when making a gift to The Complete Works in your Will, however, the following details should always be included:

Registered address: The Complete Works Ltd. 3rd Floor, 88-94 Wentworth Street, London E1 7SA
Registered charity no: 1081200

Gifts in Kind

By donating gifts in kind you can directly help us in our creative and educational work. For more information or to receive a regular update of the work from the company, please send an email to enquiries@tcw.org.uk.

Contact our DPO using the details below, with any questions related to data protection within the school:

Data Protection Officer: Judicium Consulting Limited
Address: 72 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AE

Email: dataservices@judicium.com
Web: www.judiciumeducation.co.uk
Telephone: 0203 326 9174