Communication with Parents
We acknowledge how important it is that parents/carers of our young people are involved at all stages of their child's education. For any therapeutic package to be successful and sustainable, it is essential that we not only support our students, but also their families. Any induction package will involve us meeting with you and your child on a number of occasions to discuss both yours and their requirements, and create their bespoke therapeutic and learning package in accordance.
As soon as any therapeutic or academic assessment is completed, parents/carers will be contacted and the results explained. Copies of the results will be sent to parents, alongside a copy of your child's IEP (Independent Education Plan). The following assessment will be carried out as soon as your child joins us:
- GL Assessments in English and Maths - these assessments gauge your child's academic level and compares their result with national benchmarks. These tests also identify any gaps in your child's learning.
- Dyslexia Screening Assessment
- Speech and Language Assessment/TOPS Test of Problem Solving - standardised assessments carried out by our in-house Speech and Language Therapist.
All our students have a dedicated Learning Manager. They will contact parents/carers to give updates on the progress of their child and discuss any additional support they may require, while our tutors are available to chat with parents/carers on pick-up and drop-off.
All our policies are available on this website, where you can find the Safeguarding and Complaints Policies amongst many others.
With regards to your child's progress, you will receive termly progress data for English and Maths, and an annual progress report; this will support any EHCP Reviews, PEP meetings etc, that we will hold with parents and all appropriate external agencies.
Relationships, Sex & Health Education
We are in the process of updating our RSHE curriculum in line with the 2026 updates to the Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) guidance. It will include an increased focus on online safety, including topics like deepfakes and AI, and a greater emphasis on misogyny and Incel culture. We have until September 2026 to fully adapt our curriculum to the new guidance, which also emphasises the need for us to teach foundational skills like consent, boundaries, emotional literacy, and how to identify and report harmful situations.
Key updates
- Online safety: The new guidance provides more content on staying safe online, recognizing fake accounts generated by AI, and understanding extremist language. It also covers topics like indecent images being a crime, AI chatbots, deepfakes, and online scams.
- Online harms: There is a new emphasis on teaching about misogyny and Incel culture online, including how to spot these issues and their impact on sexual ethics.
- Foundational skills: The guidance reiterates the importance of teaching skills related to healthy relationships, such as setting boundaries, negotiating, managing conflict, recognising unhealthy behaviour, and seeking help.
- Emotional literacy: The importance of teaching social and emotional literacy is highlighted, as it can help reduce violence and improve wellbeing.
- Pupil voice and SEND: The guidance emphasises the importance of pupil voice to ensure our curriculum is engaging and includes specific guidance for teaching our learners, all of whom have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
- Parental access: From September 2026, parents will have the right to view all RSHE curriculum materials used by the school upon request., however, we are always happy to share this information with parents.
Staff Training
As an SEMH school, we understand that our young people have faced significant and multiple traumas in their past and can, therefore, be extremely vulnerable. They are often unable to regulate their emotions, and can very quickly become overwhelmed. Young people with SEMH can also find it very difficult to identify safe and unsafe relationships and behaviours, therefore, anyone who works with them requires a very high level of training and expertise in order to keep these young people safe, and help them to learn. Our staff follow an extensive programme of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) in order to equip them with the vital skills and knowledge required.
