One young person has come on leaps and bounds with the unwavering support of his staff members around him in one particular area of learning. 

Oliver, who joined Prior's Court in 2024, has shown incredible progress in the swimming pool, gaining confidence both in the water and around it. Thanks to the incredible support of Oliver's staff members and Bedrich, our swimming teacher, Oliver has gone from being wary around water, to spending almost his entire session recently in the deep end of the pool!

A number of techniques have been used to build Oliver's confidence around the water, including fetching and retrieval games which encourage him to dip his hands in the water, patience and encouragement over many sessions to build Oliver's confidence in deeper water; and time becoming familiar with different flotation devices. 

Then, in his most recent session, Oliver put his chest under the water for the first time and spent almost the whole swimming session in the deep end of the swimming pool, which is a huge achievement for him. 

Regular exercise is a key part of our approach at Prior's Court. Regular exercise can help improve sleep patterns, releases excess energy, and encourages social interaction. Most importantly, it helps the young people we support to regulate their emotions, and it is a key element in encouraging our young people to self-regulate. While swimming is an important part of our Healthiness area of learning, swimming itself is a vital life (and potentially life-saving) skill we try and teach every single one of our young people.