The Place Programme | Support for Home Based Learning

Support for home based learners from early years up to GCSE

PLACE is a Bedford Local Authority support service for home educating families managed by Biddenham International School and Sports College. To be eligible to register with the scheme, children should be Bedford Borough residents on the elective home education (EHE) register of the Bedford Borough local authority.

The PLACE Progamme provides significant support for PLACE-registered GCSE learners, including part-time specialist support for a number of GCSE subjects and entrance for public examinations.

PLACE also runs a busy enrichment programme for enrolled youngsters from ages four to sixteen and, in addition, provides guidance and signposting for special educational needs issues.

Corona Virus Update

Chris PulestonMarch 11, 2020One of the things we are trying to do with PLACE music is to give our youngsters as diverse and accessible a musical experience as possible and to encourage them to feel that they can all find something in music to enjoy and with which to get involved. To this end, our music tutor Debbie Milton invited multi-instrumentalist Chris Puleston along to one of our sessions. Chris is nothing if not diverse – when did you last see a sitar, didgeridoo and Tibetan singing bowl all on the same bill? This was such an exciting session for our youngsters, with Chris demonstrating instruments and music from across many cultures. Chris is a wonderful entertainer who demonstrated a great rapport with his young audience and got everyone fired up and actively engaged! Have a look at the little videos below to see Chris and the PLACE kids (and some mums!) in action. And as a bonus, a few photos of our session …...
Read more...
Audley End HouseFebruary 28, 2020This term’s theme is “The 19th Century”. To help us to explore this period, we visited Audley End, one of the nation’s grand country houses. Our visit focussed on the role of the servant on these great estates. Working as a servant in a stately home was considered to be a ‘good job’ – mainly because the food was of high quality and clothes were provided in the form of house uniforms – but the hours were long, the pay for most was poor (especially for women) and there was no job security. Servants could be sacked for a trivial misdemeanour or on the whim of the master. It was a time when a long and happy life was for the few, not the many, and those who worked hard to create wealth saw few of the benefits. It wasn’t until the political changes of the next century that we started to see a fairer society, and Audley End was then taken into public ownership … but that’s another story and another visit, e.g., Manchester in July… Here are a few “below stairs” photos of our visit: ...
Read more...
Silly Sock DayFebruary 16, 2020Autism Beds has operated for 25 years and works hard to improve the lives of Beds folk with autism. The charity provides social activities, helps to improve skills, runs a helpline, training courses for parents and autism awareness training for professionals. PLEASE SUPPORT THEM AND THEIR WORK and wear your most silly socks to PLACE activities on and around 2nd April – and please donate a little money to assist their sterling efforts!...
Read more...
PLACE Kids Make Big MoneyFebruary 2, 2020To celebrate the launch of the new £20 note featuring JMW Turner (possibly Britain’s most famous painter), PLACE decided to commemorate the event with a larger-than-life mural. The event was led by our long-time arts tutor, Paul Nicholson, who took PLACE youngsters through a little history of Turner and his links with Bedford, and then coordinated the creation of the mural. Below are a few snaps of the event … Paul giving his introductory talk Works starts on the mural with each youngster taking responsibility for a section of the final work And here is Paul displaying the team’s work – well done all – JMW would have been proud! Thanks, Paul, for giving us this exercise in: history, art, teamwork – and counterfeiting (no, not the last one – that would be wrong)....
Read more...
Not just bricks …December 12, 2019As part of our autumn “Engineering” theme, we were visited by “Creative Builders”. Creative Builders offer hands-on workshops with a HUGE amount of bricks and equipment enabling youngsters to design and build using LEGO® bricks. Workshops like this give our youngsters a chance to develop a whole range of skills: teamworking, creative thinking, following a plan, and communication skills. Lego – it’s not just bricks! And, of course, on top of all this skill development, everyone had a great time – thanks in no small part to our workshop leader, Stephen Pilling. Many thanks, Stephen! Have a look at our gallery below to see Lego work in progress – and the finished articles. ...
Read more...
AerozoneNovember 7, 2019This week, our older PLACE learners visited Aerozone to get an idea of the job opportunities in the world of aviation and to grapple with some problems faced by those working in the field. Aerozone is part of Stansted Airport’s Community Network which allows youngsters to talk directly to professionals working in aviation. This was a really enjoyable and informative day and set some of us thinking about possible careers in aviation: for example, as a pilot or as a member of the cabin staff, as ground crew – or as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, fire crew, etc. – it’s a long list! Here are a few photos of our day at the Aerozone. Senior Pilot Emma Gauntlet discusses careers in aviation. Simulating vortices – dangerous air currents that can lead to air crashes Grappling with aviation codes – all that “charlie”, “alpha”, “foxtrot” stuff ??? One of our PLACE mums considering a career change… And here are a few more moments from our day … ...
Read more...

Looking for earlier news – click here