Abingdon House School is a SEND school in London that has a clear guiding principle: every learner deserves a meaningful outcome. At the heart of their approach is a strong belief in personal development, therapeutic support and academic rigor – supported seamlessly by ASDAN’s flexible qualifications.
“We’re a small independent SEND school serving students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, who come to us from 28 different boroughs across London." says James Gilbert-Farrell, Head of Senior School. “The majority of our students have Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) which set out their individual needs.”
Abingdon’s learners present a range of needs, including those associated with autism, ADHD and social communication challenges. The school offers a broad, balanced curriculum that mirrors mainstream schools, but is taught by specialist subject teachers in small class sizes and with a deeply integrated therapeutic approach.
Why ASDAN? Because it fits
While ASDAN was already embedded in the school when James arrived, it quickly became clear why it had been chosen.
“We try to make everything we teach as real-world and useful as possible,” James explains. “It’s about supporting independence. Some of our students will leave with a suite of qualifications. Others might not. What matters is that they’re as independent as they can be.”
ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) and Award of Personal Effectiveness (AoPE) have become vital tools in achieving that goal. “There are modules on independent living, health and fitness, employability, and enterprise – it all feeds into the broader life skills we’re developing with our learners. And the skills units are brilliant for building resilience, problem-solving and self-directed learning.”
Flexibility that works both ways
James highlights one of the key advantages of ASDAN courses:
“The flexibility is invaluable. We’re already doing a lot of these activities – work experience, outdoor education trips and various enrichment programmes. ASDAN allows us to accredit what we’re doing already.”
“Sometimes it works the other way around too,” he continues. “We’ll see an ASDAN challenge and think that’s a great activity – we’ll build that into our curriculum. That two-way flexibility is a real strength.” This adaptability is especially important in SEND settings, where a one-size-fits-all model won't work. “Some of our learners struggle with written work or formal assessments. The modular, portfolio-based structure of CoPE and AoPE means we can work at their pace and ensure every student achieves something meaningful, on their terms.”
New pathways for emerging learners
James is particularly excited about the upcoming refresh of ASDAN’s Personal Effectiveness Qualifications, especially the introduction of an Entry level 3 version.
“We’ve had students who have attempted Level 1 and they’ve just found it too challenging. Entry level 3 is going to be absolutely brilliant for them, it’ll be a better fit and open up the whole course to learners who weren’t quite ready before. We’re really excited to get started with it next year.”
Preparing for the future
Abingdon House School runs two academic streams, each designed to meet specific learning styles and qualification goals. In both pathways, ASDAN provides crucial preparation.
“For the more independent learners, CoPE and AoPE give them a Level 2 qualification they can take on to college. It’s recognised, it’s practical, and it shows real achievement. For our other students, it’s still about recognition, structure, and building confidence.”
The qualifications also help with transitions. “Whether our students are heading to college or supported living, they can leave here with something tangible that says, ‘I did this, I’m capable.’ That’s powerful.”
Empowering learning through technology
The school has also been shortlisted for the prestigious Tes Schools Awards in the best use of technology in education category – a testament to their innovative use of tools that support inclusion. As a Google-accredited school, every student has a Chromebook equipped with accessibility features.
“We’ve got screen readers, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, tools that convert images to text. These features empower students to work independently, even those with significant needs,” says James. “We’ve had students complete GCSEs using this tech, something that just wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.”
That technology has naturally extended into ASDAN work, enabling students to complete challenges and maintain portfolios in ways that suit their individual abilities.
Advice to other settings
For SEND providers considering ASDAN, James offers clear encouragement:
“If you’re looking for a flexible, person-centred way of delivering real-world learning, ASDAN is the right choice. The support we get from them is fantastic. The students genuinely achieve, and in ways that other qualifications might not allow.”
And that, he believes, is the heart of the matter. “It’s about giving students a sense of progress, of ownership, of success – and ASDAN helps us do that every day.”
Get involved ASDAN’s new Personal Effectiveness Qualifications are launching later this year – get in touch with the ASDAN team and explore how they can work in your setting.