Smallbrook School provides day school placements for girls and boys aged between 7 and 19 who have been identified to have SEMH or ASD as a primary need; and will consider students with complex needs.
All students at the school have an education, health and care plan or are identified as extremely likely to require one when assessed. Students are placed from local authorities all over the UK who have young people living within a reasonable distance from the school.
The majority of our students have, for many different reasons, had a negative experience of education due to their needs not being fully met or even understood. Our school has an extensive successful track record of reengaging students where others have failed. Each student has a high level of support with groups of up to four. All staff are regularly planning and reviewing how to meet the individual needs of our students, and this is coordinated through our curriculum leaders and pastoral team.
Our curriculum is broad, balanced and adaptable with the flexibility to meet the needs, interests and aspirations of every student, enabling them to achieve their full potential. It does this by developing flexible, innovative pathways that range from informal and semi-formal to formal academic pathways, dependent upon cohorts. These pathways build upon student strengths and interests, maximising participation and achievement while ensuring outcomes and provisions within a student’s EHCP are addressed. They include rich, creative experiences and opportunities that nurture talents and provide the cultural capital, skills and accreditation to support our students future productive and fulfilling lives.
Many of our students struggle to emotionally regulate themselves. Our staff build relationships with our students that put them at ease and more able to learn. We listen to our students, their parents and carers, and develop individual support plans that lead to them having successful days in school. Our teachers and pastoral team provide therapeutic support to our students who need extra help through co-regulation and by developing their understanding of how they can self-regulate. Every student is different and our approach therefore is tailored to their needs. Our aim is for them to feel safe to come to school and express how they are feeling; for them to feel heard and understood.
Our curriculum provides opportunities to develop socially through group activities and experiences such as outdoor education, Duke of Edinburgh and a variety of community-based projects. We have a large student council who are involved in organising events and developments for the school site, eco-school and charitable causes. Our careers program gives students access to employers and further education professionals to help students make informed choices for their next steps and many of our students have work experience placements in key stage four and five. We celebrate equality and diversity and recognise that people are free to make their own choices. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development runs throughout our curriculum and it is designed to enable our students to build self-belief, become successful and to be responsible citizens.