Avocet House
Turnstone House
Copyright © 2026 Specialist Education Services - all rights reserved. Developed by Accent
Part of the PATH plan for both Avocet and Turnstone House this year was to organise at least one residential trip for each of the children to enjoy. This is often easier said than done, but the staff rose to the challenge and every child has a break planned for 2026; destinations include Bucharest, Madrid, Paris, Latitude, Prague, Cornwall, Greece!
Ambitiously, the goal is for all children to travel abroad to widen their cultural experiences, but sometimes trips have to start off by being a bit closer to home. In March, one young person was taken to Butlin’s to experience a family-style holiday with two of the adults from SES. He was very excited and couldn’t wait to get into the apartment when they first arrived! After settling in, the three of them spent the week swimming, braving the high ropes, playing mini golf, racing go karts, shooting air rifles and enjoying fair ground rides.
Our young person managed to fully embrace the fun, despite how busy it was. It was such a fun-filled week that another holiday to recover would have been ideal!
On the morning of 4 March, five of our young people who had been nominated for an Engage award had their smart clothing packed and were ready to go on the long trip to Manchester.
It was a long journey with a lot of traffic but all of the young people (and the seven adults with them!) coped brilliantly. Following a quick trip to the hotel to freshen up and leave bags, everyone headed to the Trafford Centre for shopping and food. There was lots of temptation ,but all the children made sensible choices with the money they had and used fantastic manners throughout.
On the morning of the event another of our children left Avocet House at 5.30 am with an adult to make the journey to Manchester. Meanwhile, those that were already there got ready in their smart clothes and walked to the venue hosting the awards ceremony. There was a lot to deal with as it was extremely busy, but four of the six children were happy enough to attend the ceremony.
SES children won Gold for being a Creative Force, Gold for Local Hero, Silver for Healthy Body, Healthy Mind and Bronze for Local Hero. They were well behaved throughout, cheering at appropriate times and encouraging each other, showing real pride in their achievements.
The two children who chose not to attend the ceremony also won awards, one received Bronze for Bright Futures and the other won Silver for the Biggest Journey.
A very successful and enjoyable trip!
It has been a dream of one of our young people to visit a Pokémon Championship event, and with lots of planning he finally visited one in Stuttgart, Germany at the end of November.
After experiencing a flight for the first time since he was very small, the group of four landed in Stuttgart and established themselves in their accommodation. On Friday they headed to Stuttgart Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt). This festive experience was followed by a visit to the Museum of Illusions, much fun was had here as the photos show!
Saturday was the day of the Stuttgart Regional Pokémon Championships Trading Card Game (TCG). When entering the venue our young person exclaimed “I can’t believe I’m really actually here!” He competed alongside 2600 others, who were split into three age brackets, some were there to compete in Pokémon Go or the video game events.
It was a huge opportunity to compete against seven players from France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic, all communicating with recognised game gestures for attacking and completing a turn.
On Sunday they returned to the event with less pressure! They spent an enjoyable few hours entering a colouring competition, meeting Pikachu and entering a Nintendo Switch Pokémon game competition. The day was finished by a return to the Christmas market to see it at night-time and experience some German food and drink. What a fabulous experience that is sure to be a long-lasting memory!
In June 2024 SES held a bi-annual PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) day, a fun day giving the whole community a platform to explore transformational change. One of the ideas mentioned during the session was to hold an event similar to a prom, as our children don’t get the chance to experience this in the same way they might at a mainstream school.
This October, SES came alive with sparkle, laughter and celebration as every child from Avocet and Turnstone House, and a young adult from SES Kite, came together at Dunston Hall for a much-anticipated Fall Ball. The group from Avocet House made a grand entrance on their party bus, stepping out in true style. Dressed in sharp suits, ties, polished shoes and stunning dresses, they looked amazing – the smiles said it all! Children from Turnstone House were chauffeured individually, each one cheered and applauded as they made their way along the red carpet.
Inside, music, dancing, and laughter filled the room as everyone joined together to celebrate. The photo booth proved a massive hit — with plenty of silly poses, wild props and crazy pictures to capture the joy of the evening. The delicious Italian-themed feast brought everyone together around the tables, sharing stories and smiles in true community spirit.
What stood out most, though, was the impeccable behaviour, warmth and unity shown by every young person. The event was a perfect reflection of our ethos to Be Curious, Show Love, Build Connections. No Limits lived out in every laugh, dance move and high-five. The event was another example of how SES staff come together to make sure our children enjoy a huge variety of experiences. It wasn’t just a party, it was a night of life-changing memories, where our community came together as one family. The SES Fall Ball 2025 – unforgettable, inspiring, and truly The SES Way.
A charity coffee and cake sale was held at Turnstone House at the end of September, with all staff and young people invited. Young people were encouraged to bake a donation to sell on the day and lots of adults made their own creations at home. Everything made for an impressive display of baked treats!
The proceeds raised were to go to the James Paget Hospital Cardiac Unit for them to use as they pleased. The mother of a young person at Turnstone House had spent a long while in this hospital earlier on in 2025, and he wanted to show his appreciation to the staff that looked after her.
He proudly presented the cheque for £251.41 to staff at the hospital in October. He did exceptionally well, explaining how the money had been raised by selling the baked treats, and how the dining room in the house had been decorated especially for the sale. He explained how young people and adults joined together to raise the money. The Cardiac Unit were delighted and said they would spend the money wisely, they were very grateful to Turnstone House and the team that helped to make this possible.
The annual SES Charity Football match took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025. This is a much anticipated event which welcomes back those that have previously lived at Avocet or Turnstone House, including their families. All our current young people get involved along with adults who are brave enough to pull on their football shorts and boots!
There were enough willing people to make two teams of 23 players, each team had a generous mix of age and ability with a young person as captain for each side. The final score was 9-5, so it was action-packed and very tense on occasion.
Following 90 minutes of hard-fought playing, everyone headed back to Avocet House for lunch and a chance to catch up with those that had moved on from SES. Over 100 people attended the event in total, £310 was raised through match fees and a raffle, with the proceeds being donated to Norwich Guide Dogs.
Some of the Avocet House children and adults spent another fantastic week away in the Lake District in August. We are really proud of the young people and adults, several of whom clearly developed in confidence as the week went on. One of the children had never experienced a trip away with Avocet House before and, quite literally, jumped in with both feet!
All the young people thoroughly embraced the activities and had a great week of adventure surrounded by some stunning scenery.
It takes a huge amount of organisation and planning to put these trips together, made worthwhile when the children have such a fantastic time, trying activities they never thought possible!
In August a group of SES children and adults attended the Gone Wild Festival in north Norfolk. There was so much going on they struggled to fit everything in. One of the highlights was taking part in a colour run, enjoyed by the children as they could throw paint over themselves and the adults with no consequences! One of the children had to step out of his comfort zone to join in, but ended up having an absolute blast. The adults had just as much fun and one of them stated the event was probably one of his top highlights since being at SES, and he’s had a few!
After a quick lunch break and wash, everyone headed to the main arena for a four-wheeled adventure. They met up with another two children and an adult to enjoy a fun quad biking experience. One of the children said, “that has got to be the highlight of my year” and was over the moon he had been able to try it.
Once evening arrived it was time to dance! All met up at the main stage to watch the Lightning Seeds, and managed to get the signature of the lead singer. Later the band Blue performed and, despite the children being WAY too young to remember them the first time round, they all thoroughly enjoyed it and had a brilliant time dancing and cheering. All four of the young people had a fantastic evening and didn’t want it to end, so they topped it off with a final 30 minute silent disco before heading home.
The day was incredible, made more special as it was shared by children and adults from Turnstone House and Avocet House, creating lasting memories with people they don’t mix with every day.
Turnstone House was visited by Ofsted for a full two-day social care inspection in July 2025.
Leadership and management and overall experiences of the young people were both judged as outstanding, and help and protect was judged as good.
The feedback at the end of the inspection was amazing with lots of positives. This was achieved through continual hard work, commitment and dedication from the whole team, along with ongoing commitment to the young people, supporting them to achieve amazing outcomes and experiences.
The strength of feedback from the two inspectors on the progress and experiences of our children was incredible and every person at SES will take pride in this well-deserved judgement.
Children achieve an unmistakeable sense of belonging at the home. One child has lived at the home for seven years and several other children have been living there for over three years.
