Southlands School offers residential students an array of residential homes within 4 acres of the beautiful, natural school grounds and woodlands. The grounds offer lovely scenic views and the backdrop of the New Forest countryside, creating a tranquil, calming atmosphere for our students.
The homes have an ethos of working towards and allowing independence to grow and be supported, with mutual respect and kindness amongst students and staff, and the onsite Estates team collectively work to ensure all residential homes meet high standards and are well maintained.
Decisions are made regarding which home accommodates young people depending on their age, social interactions, presenting difficulties and potentially their changing needs. Residential students are consulted and involved in decision making processes.
The residential homes have large, comfortably furnished living rooms, modern, fully equipped, open plan kitchens with up-to-date appliances, cosy bedrooms, and access to lovely gardens and outdoor spaces.
The residential homes are designed to offer more space for independent cooking and living skills, supported by the independence package. The independence package offers our young people space and opportunities for more choices, for example, they can watch a TV programme in one room, play board games in another room, and have different games consoles in different rooms, offering a variety of activities they can do in different environments.
Residential students are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms with colours and decorations of their choice, and some of our students have embraced this by creating their own themed bedroom doors, and decorating walls and corridors with their favourite ornaments and wall hangings.
All Students can enjoy an array of activities such as football, basketball, flip out, bowling, swimming, cinema trips, rock climbing, and yoga with the homes planning offsite activities twice a week, and complete independent shopping once a week, supported through meal planning and preparing individualised meals to cater to specific needs where required, for example for Vegan or gluten free diets.
