Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you and your child as you come to join us at our school. For some of you the journey to Willow Bank School may have been a tricky road, but we can assure you that now you are here we will do the very best we can to make you and your child’s experience of education and school life the best it can be.
We want to make every pupil’s experience at Willow Bank a rich learning time, with a huge variety of Individual Learning Pathways open to all. For our pupils and staff, we are not just a school, but a real caring community. We help and encourage our pupils to be confident in their education as many of them may have had a negative experience before.
We work very closely with parents to make sure that your child is safe and happy with us, as well as successful. We aim to keep all lines of communication open, especially with our dedicated Key Workers who are your first port of call to the school. Parents are always encouraged to contact the school if they have concerns and are always welcome to visit!
We firmly believe in listening to our pupils. Many of them are involved in the School Council or have extra privileges in Reward Time. Pupils represent the school at Alternative Education providers, in Forest School, and in Outdoor education, in fact there are many varied activities for pupils to be involved in.
Once again, welcome to our school.
Warmest regards
Anne Kyle
Head Teacher M.A (hons) PGCE NPQH
Our School:
Our school is a day maintained special school for children with social, emotional and mental health issues in the borough of St Helens, Merseyside. We cater for 55 young people from Year 4 to Year 11. We are a highly inclusive and innovative establishment. We believe Willow Bank is a centre of best practice for behaviour management, pastoral care and teaching and learning.
All school and St Helens Borough Council updates and letters can be found in our News Section found on the Home page.
Should you require a paper copy of our website or any of the information, please email willowbank@sthelens.org.uk and we will provide a copy free of charge.
Our Strategic Vision:
I want us to be the champions of all the young people in our care and with that comes the great responsibility and desire that we share with our students, parents/carers, community and partnership schools to create a culture of respecting, believing, achieving and becoming for our resilient learners.
Our beliefs and values are:
- A RESPECTFUL environment.
- A hunger for improvement, everyone can ACHIEVE.
- To BELIEVE in all.
- Holding hope for every young person to BECOME the best they can.
- Every gain is a victory, no matter how small, for everyone.
Our Aims:
Students Can:
- Focus on goals and challenges for all to become a new learner
- Have a sense of pride in their improvements and achievements
- Find their Individual Learning Pathway to reach their full potential
- Share and believean ethos of ‘Every day is a Fresh Start’ with SEMH difficulties
To realise these aims staff at Willow Bank School are committed to:
- A sense of pride and positivity in their dealings with all at the school community
- Mutual RESPECT for all learners no matter what the barriers are to learning
- Supporting and developing the Individual Learning Pathways
- Bespoke Curriculum to ensure positive ACHIEVEMENT for all
But above all:
- Provide Young People with a Second Chance in education; preparing them for their Future.
Our Golden Threads:
The term ‘golden thread’ is used in so many contexts. In poetry, fiction and business. Try as I have, I cannot find the true origin of this phrase. However, what I do know is that I like using it to think about how a school works. I tend to think that a school with a clear golden thread has a sense of integrity about why it exists, what it does, and most importantly, how it behaves.
- Literacy, Reading and Key Words - Every opportunity must be taken within a learning environment to encourage pupils to read.
- Careers - Careers Information and Guidance (CIAG) must be a golden thread through all subjects - links to jobs and careers.
- Cultural Capital - raising aspirations. We want our pupils to have experiences at our school they may not have otherwise and equip pupils with the cultural capital and knowledge they need to suceed in life. It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.
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