New Horizons School

New Horizons school provides alternative education in Warrington and continues to go from strength to strength. Last summer, we recorded our best ever exam results which were 4 times higher than the national average for Alternative Providers. We are expecting these results to improve further this year. We also received our first OFSTED inspection (2012) since re opening and were proud to receive praise for the “Fantastic environment”, success in“closing learning gaps for the most vulnerable” and “high quality leadership”.

Our progress can be attributed to the hard work of the staff at our school and partners in Warrington which has led to the development of a high quality service designed to meet the needs of all of our students.  

Our school opens at 8:45am with a breakfast for pupils served during tutor/re group time. At breakfast pupils are able to catch up with work, discuss topical issues or just eat a healthy meal and relax. There are six lessons during the day with break and lunchtime activities. We also offer after school enrichment activities which we hope to develop further. There are also an increasing number of college and vocational courses available to our KS4 pupils.

Taken from school website.

 

Who to contact

Contact Name
Mrs Samantha Rigby-White
Contact Position
Head of PRU
Telephone
01925 452010
0203 108 0345
E-mail
newhorizonsadmin@tbap.org.uk
Website
https://www.tbap.org.uk/.../index.php

Where to go

Name
New Horizons School
Address
Fallowfield Grove
Padgate
Warrington
Postcode
WA2 0QQ

Local Offer

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?

The young people are taught in small groups with a high ratio of young people to adults, this allows us to know each young person as an individual and where they are having difficulties.

We do regular assessments of both academic and emotional development which is another indicator that pupils may be having difficulties.

Each young person has a keyworker and time to meet them daily.

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

The first port of call for any concerns would be either the keyworker or the Pastoral team who will be able to discuss any concerns and will pass these on to the Director of the Keystage and school SENCo. 

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

The SENCo will assess your child in terms of their educational needs and will put together a programme of intervention to best support your child. These interventions are regularly reviewed and evaluated to ensure that the support is effective and having an impact. 

The Pastoral team will help with the induction process and dealing with external agancies who might be involved with the child. They are also a resource which parents can use for information about issues not necessarily linked with education about their child, for example money worries.

The education programme will be tailored to your child and may involve time in work based provision, or on courses run by Warrington Youth Service and other external bodies.

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?

A range of information about each child is collected from a variety of sources on induction. This information helps to plan an appropriate setting and provision to meet each child's needs. We have three provisions which are targetted to meet different needs. Each provision is taught by qualified staff and a programme is planned for each child to best fit their needs. 

All classes are small (no more that 8 in KS4 and 6 in KS3) and there are two staff in each class. This enables the teacher to give individual help and support to each child and to plan appropriate work for them on an individual basis.

Following the induction process, information is gathered regularly about the child's needs and development and reported to parents. Staff use this information to set targets for students and to plan interventions. The school SENCo plans a range of interventions to close the gap and these sessions are taught by teachers and teaching assistants. 

All teachers are expected to differentiate their lessons according to the needs of the students in their class and this is monitored by senior staff. The small class sizes allow each child to receive a higher level of support both with their academic and behavioural development. 

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

Assessments of progress are made each half term and these are reported to parents/carers each term. There are two opportunities each year for parents/carers to visit and talk to teachers about thier child.

Regular phonecalls are made to parents to give positive feedback or to highlight an issue. 

The Pastoral team offers advice for parents and run Parent groups. They address issues which are being raised as concerns by parents/carers.

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

There are currently two members of the Pastoral team who are both trained counsellors who work with the young people regulalry, depending on the support needed. 

A specialist counsellor is present in school for two days per week and has both alloted appointments and a drop in session. Young people can self refer, or can be referred by staff or family.

We also refer young people to other agencies such as the Relationship Centre. 

The school follows the Administration of Medcines policy which can be found on the school website.

We hold regular behaviour reviews for young people who are demonstating difficulty in controlling their behaviour. This is to reflect on thier behaviour and to help them develop strategies to control behaviour outbursts. 

A minibus operates to pick some identified young people up who are at risk of becoming persistant abesntees.

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

Both members of our pastoral team are qualified counsellors and we employ a person centred/CBT therapist two days per week. 

We access support from The Relationship Centre, Connexions, YOT, U-XPand, Cornerstones, Warrington Collegiate and Warrington Sports Partnership. 

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

Two members of staff have the National Award for Special Educational Needs (SEN) Leadership and deliver updates on current SEN practice at staff meetings. A number of out Teaching Assistance have had training on delivering phonics, reading and numeracy interventions. 

How accessible is the setting/school/college environment?

A range of trips are planned in all of the school settings. These are both reward trips to Alton Towers etc and more educational trips for example to the Imperial War Museum. A range of residentials are also offered, for example Paris, Lake District.

Access to these trips will depend on different criteria. Daily Behaviour grades will have an input on the invitations, the young people are aware of the criteria for each of the visits.

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 Longbarn site is all on one level. The other sites have lifts to the upper floors. All sites have disabled facilties.

Where necessary we hire the services of a translator to speak to parents whose first language is not English.

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

The school has a specialst careers advisor who makes regualar contact with the young people in year 11. A range of events is held throughout the year to enable parents and young peole to make good choices at the end of year 11. 

We adopt an individualised approach to students joining our setting as we are aware that students come to us with a variety of needs and some will need a longer period of transition than others. We are extremely flexible with our approach to induction as a result. 

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

Decisions on the type of support received by each student is based around assessments, both formative and summative. The SENCo will use these assessments to map student needs and produce a map of provision across the school. This provision will be reviewed by school staff and parents along with the student themselves. We will also use further assessments to check for progress.