Woolston Brook

Woolston Brook School is a Special School working with children who have difficulty in school because of behavioural, social or emotional issues.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Mrs Maureen Brettell
Contact Position
Head Teacher
Telephone
01925 818549
Fax: 01925 851112
E-mail
schooloffice@woolstonbrook.sch.uk
Website
https://woolstonbrookschool.co.uk/

Where to go

Name
Woolston Brook School
Address
Green Lane
Padgate
Warrington
Cheshire
Postcode
WA1 4JL

Local Offer

Description

Woolston Brook School is a Special School working with children who have difficulty in school because of behavioural, social or emotional issues.

Contact Name
M Frost (Head Teacher)
Contact Telephone
01925 263895
Contact Email
schooloffice@woolstonbrook.sch.uk
Local Offer Age Bands
Preparation for adulthood

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

We are a special school catering for children/young people with special behavioural, emotional and social difficulties that prevent them from thriving in the mainstream school setting.

We have small class sizes and have a high staff to child/young person ratio, which means should your child need additional help we would address this from within our staffing.

If your child/young person has difficulties which are beyond this there would be a meeting and a plan would be put in place to get additional support. We have a Parent Pupil Support Manager who would help you with this.

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

If you have any queries all you need to do is tell the school and we will look into this. Being a special school, most of our children/young people usually already have clearly defined special educational needs.

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's/young person's needs?

As a special school, we do not have a conventional SENCo; all our teachers are very experienced in working with and supporting children/young people with special needs. Our Parent Pupil Support manager will manage case review and interim meetings. Liaison with parents/carers is essential and form tutors will keep parents/carers up to date with progress via a number of methods ranging from phone calls to letters and text messages, depending on what works best for the parent/carer.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

All the work that the children/young people at Grappenhall Hall School do is differentiated for their specific needs using information from previous schools, testing and teacher observation and assessment. All children/young people have individual learning plans and these are updated on a regular basis. Our curriculum is a blend of nurture and academic challenge. We believe that our children/young people need to develop their basic skills so that they can access their lessons more easily. This also prepares them for the world of work.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

Obviously we have the normal yearly reports to give you feedback about your child’s progress. However we also have 6 week reviews, annual review meetings on a formal basis. We also have form tutor phone calls, attendance calls, there is a Parent/Pupil Support Manager who you can contact for help or who can contact you. We also do home visits, strong links with parent/carers is the key to our children/ young people making progress.

What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

The overall well-being of your child/young person is paramount in our setting. We start and end each day with a nurture session with their tutors this allows issues to be resolved before they become problems. We have a strong pastoral approach within the school. The staff are very accessible and where necessary specific behaviour management plans are put into place to help the children/young people on an individual basis.

Where medication needs to be administered this is done by a trained member of staff, all medication is kept in the medical room and is signed out when administered.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

All the teachers are fully qualified and there is a team of fully trained teaching assistants. Many have additional qualifications in areas such as Spld, ADHD etc.

We work in a very multi agency manner and have close liaison with a number of agencies including, social care, speech and language, attendance officers, school nurse, police, drug and alcohol abuse team etc.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

The staff are fully qualified, they have had additional training in, Behind the Behaviour, Team Teach, Speech and Language support, Spld (dyslexia) awareness and many other Behaviour related courses.

The staff here has delivered training to other school in these areas also.

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

Only health and safety risk assessments will prevent a child/young person from accessing any activity in or out of school. If a child/young person is excluded from school this would also prevent them from attending.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

The building, although old, is a working environment and access to all areas is allowed under supervision. We only have one upstairs specialist teaching area and an alternative can be found to prevent a child/young person from missing out. The nature of our children/young people tends to be that they are fully able; however there are ramps if wheel chair access is needed.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

We have an agreed admissions protocol which involves meeting, home visits and phased introduction to the school. When leaving, all our children/young people receive independent advice and guidance about the next steps. Introductory visits are facilitated and the destination is made aware of any potential difficulties that might occur.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?

The budget is spent so that all the children/young people can access the most supportive educational package possible. We are a special school so all monies are special educational needs related. Pupil Premium is spent raising numeracy and literacy levels to help children/young people access better qualifications when they leave.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

As a special school, the children/young people that come to us have very well know and documented needs which would be addressed prior to starting. These will be reviewed regularly and amendments made when needed.