“Pupils’ well-being is at the heart of all that the school does” (Ofsted, 2023)
Robson House is a specialist therapeutic and educational placement for children who cannot attend mainstream school because of social, emotional and mental health needs, or who have been permanently excluded from school. The team at Robson House works to meet the social, emotional, mental health and academic needs of highly vulnerable children, to help them make progress in all areas and be ready for their next phase of learning. Children stay with us for varying lengths of time and our comprehensive transitions programme ensures that the move to their next educational setting is a positive one.
We recognise that each child arrives at Robson House at different times and stages in their educational career and with their own unique set of skills, experiences and needs. Many of the children do not identify as learners and have disengaged with their education in different ways. Our key aim is to make sure that, from their individual starting points, all children make good progress over the time they attend school here and in all areas of their learning. We understand the important role that families have to play in a child’s development and work closely with parents and carers to ensure consistency across home and school.
At Robson House we believe that the key to re-engaging children in their learning is the provision of a safe and stimulating learning environment in which the children feel confident to explore their knowledge and understanding, make mistakes within a Growth Mindset framework and work collaboratively with others. Through this process children develop their sense of belonging, build meaningful relationships with adults and peers, are more able and willing to recognise their achievements, increase their self-confidence and rediscover a love of learning. This, in turn, helps them to understand the positive impact that they can have on others and the contribution they can make to society in the future, inspiring them to influence their own lives in positive ways.
Due to the highly individual needs of the children in our care, we have designed a curriculum which is flexible enough to meet these needs but rigorous enough to reinforce the high expectations which we have for them. We place a great emphasis on creativity, with each class focusing on a specific topic each half term. Teachers have the freedom to respond to the interests and needs of their classes within a topic framework, which ensures that the curriculum is inspiring whilst remaining broad and ambitious. Children access a wide range of subject areas and links are continually made between them to ensure that children can make connections and develop a greater depth of understanding. Learning is further enriched through an extensive programme of trips, expert visitors, immersion days/weeks and the celebration of special events and traditions. Children are given equal opportunity to take part in all aspects of school life and are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and the school environment in many ways, including through our School Council.
As many of our children arrive at Robson House with needs relating to their social, emotional or mental wellbeing we have structured our curriculum in a way that allows sufficient emphasis to be placed on these areas. All children benefit from a comprehensive programme of activities which prioritise their physical and emotional wellbeing such as daily fitness, regular Zones of Regulation work and Mindfulness sessions. This is further enhanced through integrated therapy and an in depth PSHE and Citizenship curriculum. Children are also given regular opportunities to develop their communication and language skills, as we recognise these are fundamental to the child being able to access the curriculum and maximise their learning opportunities. The school has worked with ‘Voice 21’ to develop our Oracy curriculum which reinforces the individual and group work delivered by our Speech and Language Therapist. We believe that when children have a solid foundation in these core areas they are better able to develop their social and learning behaviours; removing previous limitations on their learning and empowering them to achieve their true potential.