School Profile
Coppice School Profile
Published September 2008
Coppice School
Headteacher - Ms Lynne Jarred
Ash Hill
Hatfield
Doncaster
DN7 6JH
01302 844883
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Children’s service Authority: Doncaster
Age Range: 3-19
Number of pupils: 102
Head Teacher: Ms Lynne Jarred
Chair of Governors: Ms C Poppy
What have been our successes this year?
The school has had a very successful year. The school is well supported by its local community which has enabled good links to be made. The school shares its site with a local secondary school, this year strong links have been made for KS 3,4 and 5 to have weekly visits to the school to participate in a wide range of activties. Also links have been made with Goole College a group of KS 4 and 5 students have been attending on a weekly basis to participate in cooking and art activities. This has been a such a success that we have arranged for two groups to go next year.
We believe swimming to be an essential part to the PE curriculum so although we have a school pool KS 3,4 and 5 students attend Thorne Leisure centre on a weekly basis for structured swimming lessons. Links have been made with a local gym for pupils to use the cardio vascular equipment and to learn the importance of staying healthy. A group af students went to Bendgrigg Outdoor Adventures Activity Centre in the Lake District. The students were involved in lots of outdoor pursuits and had a fantastic time. Another group had a 3 night stay at Hatfield Water Park where they were involved in a wide range of activities. Sports Day was a massive success this year and fun was had by all. A fantastic new open soft play area has been opened for the foundation pupils. The pupils spends lots of time learning new skills through various play activities.We are committed to PE and staying healthy and this has been recognised through gaining the Healthy Schools Award in May of this year.
We have opened a new library with lush surroundings, new books and a new reading scheme.
Drama has been very successful this year with a fantastic performance at Christmas and a great talent show in the summer.
Overall the school appearance and facilities have been improved by new carpets and curtains in all the classrooms. The tennis courts and surrounding areas have been resurfaced and re-fenced.
We have also launched a fantastic new website this year to enable parents and other outside agencies to be kept informed with the activities and events that are taking place within the school.
Extra curricular clubs have been established and are wanting to develop this area much further next year.
What are we trying to improve?
We are trying to improve our outside space especially the playgrounds. We also want more structured break times and lunch times by giving the pupils a choice of activities to participate in. This will be established through staff training and ordering of new equipment.
We are also improving our 6th form with a whole new structure, organisation and curriculum. A common room and kitchen facilities are been built over the summer.
One of our major aims this year is to develop our extended schools timetable. To hopefully introduced lots of after school clubs, lunch time clubs and a breakfast club.
How much progress do pupils make?
A new assessment method has been introduced this year. Non core records are assessed and recorded termly. Core records are also assessed termly through the use of PIVOTS. A sample of pupils work is assessed and saved in a portfolio on a termly basis.
Key stage 4 and 5 pupils have gained accreditation in ASDAN Life Skills Entry Level 1,2 and 3. Transition Challenge and EDI Numeracy and Literacy Entry Level 1 and 2 this year.
How have our results changed over time?
Coppice School is a new school which opened on the 1st September 2008 details will be added next year.
How are we making sure that every child gets teaching to meet their individual needs?
Teaching in key stage 3,4 and 5 is almost entirely from subject specific specialists. All accredited work is set at the correct entry or pre entry level for the individual pupil – not class. Throughout the school lessons are planned at different levels to meet the wide range of abilities. Children are supported in all lessons by Special Needs Assistants who are aware of the children’s needs and differentiate work to suit the indivulas ability. All staff use a wide range of information on pupils to plan appropriate work and this is linked to IEP’s and SEN statements.
The school is keen to involve outside agencies in the development of our children. We have close links with Connexions, EWO, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Physiotherapists, Autistic Services amongst others. In addition we value the views and opinions of parents.
We have also employed an Autism Specialist who is enabling us with development of various activities and strategies.
We have links with the local secondary school, primary schools and Goole college.
The school also have several staff that hold specific SEN qualifications.
What have pupils told us about the school, and what have we done as a result?
We take account of pupils views and have established good procedures for hearing their comments and what they have to say about the school. In addition we have a school council that meets weekly and makes numerous suggestions and involves its self in various aspects of school life. As a result we have:
➢ College placements
➢ A playground buddy system
➢ Prefects
➢ A paper recycling system
➢ A questionnaire to parents and children that are acted upon by the schools management team
See Jo Collins for more!!!
How do we make sure our pupils are safe and well supported?
The health, safety and individual needs of our learners are carefully catered for by:
➢ Supervised at all times
➢ Encouraging Healthy Eating both at lunch times and break times
➢ Putting individual care plans in place where they are regularly updated.
➢ Putting Behaviour Support Plans in place where they are required and regularly updated
➢ School nurse on site at all times
➢ Providing all staff with a 2 day course (Team Teach) to train in de-escalation and restrain techniques.
➢ Providing water bottles and a water fountain for all pupils
➢ Providing outdoor play areas and a range of stimulating toys and equipment
➢ Ensuring that all staff have basic First Aid training
➢ Issuing guidelines for child protection that are followed by all staff and overseen by a known officer
➢ Designating a member of staff as responsible for all Health and Safety issues
➢ Maintaining an anti bullying and anti-racist policies
➢ Supporting vulnerable individuals e.g attendance at Looked After Children reviews
What activities and options are available to pupils?
The school provides a wide and varied range of activities for learners including:
➢ Residential activity holidays
➢ Various games and sporting events
➢ Visits to local sports facilities: Gym, swimming etc..
➢ Visits to places of interest to support learning
➢ Links with other schools and colleges to take part in various actvties.
➢ Parties at relevant times
➢ Concerts and talent shows
How are we working with parents and the community?
We give the highest importance to involving parents in the education of their children to ensure that the learners are happy and make good progress. To ensure this we have:
➢ Induction sessions for parents and pupils
➢ Termly meetings to discuss IEPs and progress
➢ Welcome packs and prospectuses
➢ Home visits where necessary for looked after children reviews
➢ Involvement in community activities
➢ Home/school books to maintain communication with parents
➢ News letters
➢ School web site
➢ Progress and achievement reports
➢ Frequent calls home to detail progress being made, to reinforce praise or to explain sanctions if needed
➢ Parent governors
➢ Annual reviews
The school is committed to developing positive links with parents and maintains an Open Door policy.
What do our pupils do after leaving this school?
When our pupils leave us at the age of 19 they join a range of colleges and Social Education Centres including:
Goole College, Doncaster College, Sheffield College, Doncaster College for the Deaf and Linkage College.
Thorne SEC, Hayfield SEC, Balby SEC and Conisbrough SEC.
Transition to colleges and SEC is aided by:
➢ Discussion with teachers
➢ Discussion at annual review meetings
➢ Visits to colleges and SEC
➢ Transfer Information
Transition plans are formulated with the help of Paula Dixon from Connexions at annual review meetings.
Ofsted view of this school?
Our Ofsted report can be found here..
If you would like any more information about school policies, admissions, finance, school food and our complaints procedure, please contact us:
By telephone: 01302 844883
Our Website: http://www.coppicespecialschool.com
School policies
Anti_Bullying_Policy.doc
Assessment_Policy.doc
Attendance_Policy.doc
Behaviour_Policy.doc
Child_Protection_Policy_sept_09.doc
Inclusion_Policy.doc
Intimate_Care_Policy.doc
School Prospectus
Belief and direction
Our School is a community day school for 102 pupils aged 3-19 years with severe learning difficulties and Autism/challenging behaviour.
Our school subscribes to the beliefs set out in ‘Every Child Matters’ that children and young people have a right to:
* Be safe and be healthy;
* Experience enjoyment and achievement as they grow;
* Have the opportunity and encouragement to contribute to the society in which they live;
* And the prospect of economic stability, an income and decent place to live.
Our plans and actions seek to contribute to securing these things.
Aims for our work are:
* To prepare pupils well for each successive stage of their development and to benefit from those experiences, opportunities and responsibilities that help build maximum independence in adult life.
* To provide a curriculum that is broad and balanced and also appropriate to the physical, emotional, developmental, social and spiritual needs of the individual.
* To provide an environment that is safe yet stimulating, supportive yet promotes independence and has strong community values whilst recognising the individuals need for autonomy.
* To provide an education which discourages prejudice, discrimination and unequal opportunity based on such things as race, religion, class, sexuality or disability.
* To enable pupils to participate in mainstream experiences and to build a relationship with mainstream schools to that at every suitable opportunity, wherever appropriate, awareness of the wider world is encouraged.
* To work holistically with other children’s services, both within and outside the school, to benefit the whole child and its family.
Location
Our school shares a site with a local secondary school, Hatfield Visual Arts College (1250 pupils aged 11-19 years), in the centre of a popular village community, approximately 7 miles to the north east of Doncaster town centre and benefits from a nearly links to the M18, junctions 4 and 5.
Our school has growing links with local secondary schoosl and enjoys wider links with the local pyramid (local family of feeder primary and secondary schools) and our school, Governing Body and Local Authority wish these relationships to continue and be enhanced with other schools in the area.
Building
Our school occupies two adjacent buildings approximately 200 yards apart. The two buildings have undergone some internal remodelling to meet new curricular needs, disability access and care needs, mainly around specialist facilities for independent living and toilets. There are secure hard and grassed play areas and a landscaped pedestrian route between the two buildings.
Our school manages its own transport fleet and the school grounds contain parking for approximately 15 minibuses.
Our Pupils
Our school is for pupils aged between 3+ years and 18+ years; that is from the start of the term after their third birthday and leaving at the end of the academic year in which they reach 19 years of age. The gender balance runs at around 30% girls and 70% boys.
Pupils usually join the school following a multi-professional assessment and determination of needs and appropriate provision. Most will be recognised as needing extensive support before they reach school age although trauma, infection or changes because of maturity may be the cause of later referral.
Pupils may join the school from anywhere within the Doncaster borough. The majority will attend on a full time basis, though some pupils in the early years may only attend the school for shortened weeks or part days.
Older pupils may begin attendance on a part-time basis at the local college or with a specialist training provider. Some pupils may be dual registered with a mainstream school and every pupil will have an Inclusion Plan showing how they access learning and social experiences alongside their wider peer group outside the school.
Distribution in year groups and across the Key Stages varies year on year. However, the low numbers in each year group, with a range between 0-11 pupils per year group, means that flexible grouping arrangements are used to ensure that appropriate programmes, taking account of age and maturity, are provided.
The range of special educational needs at Coppice is wide. Most pupils will demonstrate performance below Level One of the National Curriculum. Some pupils will, at the completion of their education be able to live independently and work in well-supported places of work. Most will require services, throughout their life, to access and participate effectively in the community.
Some pupils will have medically diagnosed conditions that have an effect on their learning, including Autism or related communication difficulties. There are also pupils who, because of a complexity of needs, require support that is additional to and different from that which can be provided in other settings so that they can make good progress with learning. They are placed here because of the particular skills and strategies used and the adapted environment available in the school.
Admissions
Pupils will have one or a combination of:
* Age 3+ to 18+;
* A Statement of Special Educational Needs naming the school
* Significant learning difficulties across at least two areas of development;
* Development such that parents are not confident that a mainstream school can respond effectively to meet needs;
* May require additional and different work to meet needs associated with Autism;
* Require high levels of support to structure their learning and social life.
Curriculum
The backbone of the school curriculum is the National Curriculum, this is considered an entitlement and basis for planning. It is extended by building therapeutic work and locally available experiences into the provision available. Individual routes through the services available in the school are developed for each pupil, progress monitored and access promoted to those learning experiences provided in school and in partnership with others.
Our school shares skills in providing programmes for those with communication and Autistic Spectrum difficulties with the new special schools in Pennine View, Conisbrough and Stonehill School, Scawsby and acts as a focus for training and development in this area alongside the service provided for mainstream pupils by Children and Young People’s Services. It is also available as a source of support for mainstream schools in responding to pupils with severe learning difficulties and/or challenging behaviour.
In order that different levels and learning needs can be accommodated, our school works in partnership with a range of other professionals and promotes a strong internal continuing Professional Learning Programme for its own staff based on a well formed Performance Management process.
The development of expertise makes our school a suitable resource for the whole Borough. Staff from other schools and services can draw on knowledge and understanding of practical techniques to improve communication and social skills teaching, develop skills in behaviour management, and ways to respond to learning difficulties.
For older students, our school works extensively with parents and carers, Connexions (career consultants), colleges and workplace providers to develop and deliver courses appropriate to the needs of an individual. Our school also supports the transition into a work related or further education environment and ultimately independent or supported living. Wherever possible, achievement is accredited, both to celebrate the progress of the pupils and to provide concrete evidence of that progress at transition and for the student’s future.
Communication and Language Development
Our aim at Coppice is to promote spontaneous and independent means of communication throughout. Many of our students benefit from multi-sensory approaches to learning and communication. We therefore make full use of sign and symbols to support speech so that pupils can draw on a wide range of cues to support their understanding.
ICT
Our school is well equipped with computers. Teachers are expected to use information technology to prepare and deliver teaching programmes in all areas of the curriculum as well as a distinct ICT curriculum structure that promotes skills in using information technology. For many of our students, ICT is also a tool that can extend their ability to find a means of self-expression and communication.
Health
Our school is developing and establishing a clear policy for the delivery of health and sex education that has been agreed with parents and is taught at levels to match the age and understanding of the pupils throughout the school.
Drugs Education
The Governing Body places a very high value on a full programme of Personal Social Health and Citizenship Education that includes both awareness and measures to combat any attraction a drug culture might hold for pupils.
Religious Education
The Governors require the school to work in line with the curriculum agreed and revised in the Local Guidance form SACRE.
Work Related Learning
Our school uses a wide range of contacts and services so that pupils have access to knowledge and understanding of work as they progress. Enterprise and related activities leading to work experience appropriate to students’ level of ability and understanding will be made available towards the end of their full time education.
Extended Resource
Our school holds a range of resources, both conventional and digital, available for loan to support parents and families as they contribute to the learning of their children. Resources are available for other schools to borrow and evaluate in their own settings.
Journeys and Residential Experience, Educational Visits
The Headteacher and staff provide a range of visits and experiences outside school that enhance the curriculum. We also expect to make a residential visit available to each child where possible and appropriate so that that they can gain in learning and social skills through the experience.
Behaviour and Discipline
Our behaviour policy will be linked to our Home School Agreement and emphasise our positive approach to managing behaviour.
Equalities Policy
The governors and staff have a zero tolerance approach to overt or covert behaviour that discriminates in any way and, if it appears in school, expect quick intervention through raising awareness, applying sanctions and, in serious or persistent cases, involving outside agencies including the police. We will also examine out own practices in an attempt to ensure that we do not inadvertently use or perpetuate discriminatory behaviour but promote inclusion and harmony.
Accessibility Scheme
The Governors and School Management Team will work with external advice and through consultation with its community of children, parents, carers and staff to develop an accessibility scheme so that all who use our school can access premises, curriculum and information according to their needs and to benefit the pupils.
Records and Reporting
Our school reports, as all other schools, through the provision of Annual Reports for students and, where appropriate, results from national assessment Processes. In addition, there will be determination to make effective contact with parents both on an individual basis and through parents’ interest groups and parents’ evenings. Teachers and mentors will develop personalised plans for pupils and these will be frequently discussed with parents when targets are changed significantly. The programme of Annual Review will be rigorously pursued and pupils, parents and carers are to be involved fully with staff in carrying out those reviews.
Relationships with other Agencies
Our school continually promotes networks and links with other agencies so that the resources that are available can be targeted effectively and a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding brought to the support of pupils.
Partnerships with Other Schools and Outreach
Our school acts as a resource for other schools. The nature of support will normally be through outreach work and consultation. For example, where our school has a staff skilled in the development of communication or behaviour management, this will be offered as a resource for training and the generation of solutions to teaching and learning needs in neighbouring mainstream schools.
The outreach function of our school will be operated on a Partnership Agreement between the Local Authority and the school on behalf of other Doncaster schools. The Agreement will establish clear referral routes, detail delivery expectations and establish robust success criteria. The Agreement will be negotiated between the new Headteacher, Governing Body and the Local Authority.
Organisational Information
SEN
Our school has a Special Educational Needs Policy which is available on
request. Mrs. Jarred is the S.E.N. Co-ordinator.
Provision for Sport
Our school’s swimming programme ensures that all children have excellent opportunities to become competent swimmers. We also take advantage of visiting coaches to develop particular skills for the older pupils, badminton and football have been offered in recent terms.
Disabled Access
Our school is accessible for wheelchairs and physically disabled adults and children.
Security
Our school is a secure site with access codes on main doors.
Charging for School Activities
Our school believes in using the environment to make the children’s learning more meaningful. When making visits or trips, we try to keep any expense as low as possible. When some costs are unavoidable, such as hiring a coach or using public transport, the parents are invited to pay for the cost of the trip. Parents have the right to decline to pay, but if many were to do so, it would make the funding of trips impossible. In practice, nearly all parents are happy to pay to cover such costs.
With prior approval of parents a charge may be made for ingredients or materials that are to be taken home.
School Dress
Parents may pruchase from school sweatshirts and polo shirts which bear the school logo if they so wish.
Parents are requested to mark all items of clothing that are brought into school in order to prevent mistakes being made with identification.
Pupils should be supplied with clothing appropriate to the season. Further, for pupils who are likely to have “accidents” a change of clothing should be sent to school.
Pupils will need a towel and swimming costume or trunks for their sessions in the pool. For physical education pupils will require a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and plimsolls. Parents will receive notification of physical education sessions.
Medication
Medication is monitored in school by the school nurse for students who are on regular prescribed medication within school hours. Medication such as antibiotics can not be administrered by the nurse or school staff.
All medication sent into school must be clearly labelled (pharmacist) and cleared for administering by the school office. All drugs are stored in a locked drug cabinet which is accessed by the school nurse and specifically authorised staff.
Making a Complaint
At our school we want our children to do well and be happy.
We recognise that you as a parent/guardian play an important part in making this happen. Therefore, school aim is to provide as many opportunities to keep you informed and involved in your child’s progress as we possibly can.
Regular reports, open days and visits all helping the process. Questions and concerns are usually dealt with quickly and helpfully.
Initially any complaints should be made to the Headteacher and Chair of Governors. However, should they be unable to resolve the issue, you may contact Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council at the following:
eMail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Telephone: 01302 737111 or 737193 or 737192
Fax: 01302 737270
Address: The Council House, College Road, Doncaster, DN1 3AD
Head Teacher’s Message
I hope that you find the information on our website comprehensive and useful. We would welcome your feedback.
Please tell us what you found informative and more importantly, what else you would like us to include.
On a personal note I would be happy to provide any pertinent additional information about the school to interested parties. Please contact us by telephone if that is easier.
Kind regards
Lynne Jarred.
