One of our On Track Study classes recently participated in activities related to Black History Month in their lesson. On Track Study is an education programme for young people wishing to improve their English skills and understanding of life and learning in the UK.​ The programme runs from September to July every year, with opportunities to start throughout the year.  The students were given worksheets to look up the various named people on the Black History Month poster and

In recent years, the importance of listening to the voices of children and young people has gained significant recognition. The UK Children’s Commissioner has launched an initiative known as "The Big Conversation" aimed at engaging with children and young people across the country. This initiative seeks to understand their views, experiences, and aspirations, ensuring that their voices are heard in discussions that affect their lives. The Big Conversation is not just a one-o

Our Independent Visiting service had a busy summer and autumn of visits and activities! asphaleia delivers the Independent Visiting Service for East Sussex County Council and it's a service that provides a volunteer befriender to children and young people in care. The Independent Visitors are matched to their YP and they arrange monthly visits to take the young person out into the community to do something fun and spend time together. The service enables the child to have an

The State of the Nation 2025 report from the Centre for Young Lives has now been published. It provides a detailed and sobering overview of the challenges facing children and young people in England today, with millions growing up in poverty, homelessness, poor health, or struggling with mental health difficulties.   Key findings include:   4.5 million children living in relative poverty – nearly a third of all children 165,000 children in temporary accommodation, a 33% inc

Last week, asphaleia held its annual Learning and Development Week (L&D) for staff across the organisation. It is an opportunity for staff to examine a particular theme related to our work as an organisation and gain new knowledge, skills, and insight to apply to current practices. This year’s theme was -   Policy with Purpose: Driving Culture, Compliance & Capability   learning & development week; allowing policies to shape practices Policies aren’t just rules, they’re refle

A Parent and Child placement is a specific type of placement in foster care. This blog post will explain more about these specialist placements. If you have any further questions after reading, please feel free to get in touch.   what do parent & child placements involve? Each parent and child (P&C) placement is an individual placement. It requires both an assessment and training role of the carer/s. A P&C placement would have been agreed with the parent/s. It might involve

Neurodiversity is the notion that differences in the makeup of the brain are a natural part of the human condition. Many people may be of the understanding that ADHD or autism should or could be ‘fixed’. However, this cannot be the case since these variations of the brain are a natural part of diversity and it's important to embrace neurodiversity. Some people’s brains may process bits of information very differently to others and therefore they may socialise and communicate

National Hate Crime Awareness Week is an important initiative aimed at raising awareness about hate crimes, promoting understanding and solidarity among diverse communities, and remembering those we have los t. It also aims to encourage the authorities, key partners and communities affected by hate crime to work together to tackle local hate crime across the UK. This week serves as a platform to educate the public about the impact of hate crimes, which are motivated by preju

Functional Skills are accredited qualifications that young people aged 16-18 can do if they haven't managed to achieve a 4 or above in...

At asphaleia this month, we'll be exploring the importance of Black history and celebrating the achievements of Black individuals who...

Th 19th of September is Youth Mental Health Day. T his year's theme, Share Support , encourages young people and those around them to...

Whether you have had experience looking after children or not, it can feel like an intimidating prospect to become a foster carer.   Perhaps you’re keen to give back to your community and believe you can offer a child a place of safety. But you’re concerned you don’t have the skills needed to give a child in a care the support they need to thrive.   In this blog post, we want to highlight some transferable skills that we are confident you will have gained in work and life, an

We are excited to share that earlier this year our supported accommodation services officially received registration from OFSTED. This...

In our further education and training college we said farewell to some of our students who finished their summer study programme last...

In July 2025, the UK government amended its legislation to grant voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds. This groundbreaking decision...

As part of our further education training programmes at asphaleia training, students can access careers advice with a qualified Careers Advisor. Over the past year, our students and teaching staff have had access to careers advice from a specialist careers advisor employed by the Education Development Trust. Joanna is embedded in our team and on a weekly basis is located in the centre and is accessible for staff and students to drop in and chat to her. She also goes into cla

Earlier this year, asphaleia's HR Director delivered supervision training to our service coordinators, who lead our supported...

Showbiz glamour and skilled tap-dancing entertained asphaleia training’s summer study programme students on an August visit to the...

We are thrilled to share some fantastic news! Following our recent OFSTED inspection in May, we are proud to announce that we have received an outstanding rating. This achievement reflects the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our entire fostering team, as well as the support of our wider team of staff across the organisation. what being rated outstanding by ofsted means for our fostering agency An outstanding rating is the highest accolade that OFSTED can award, and i

Every year on the 12th of August, the United Nations dedicates a day to spotlight the aspirations, challenges, and achievements of youth...