Extra treats for Wilf the therapy dog
HE’S HELPED SCHOOL GET A GOOD OFSTED RATING
A DERBY special school’s muchloved therapy dog has played his part in making sure that staff and pupils are celebrating retaining their “good” rating by Ofsted inspectors.
Wilf was singled out for praise by Government inspectors, who described him as “an important member of staff” at Kingsmead School in Alvaston.
Wilf was referred to by name in the report for his work supporting vulnerable teenagers, sitting with reluctant readers to encourage them to pick up a book and motivating children who are poor attenders to turn up.
A team from the Office for Standards in Education visited the Brighton Road school over two days at the end of September.
They praised the school’s vision of “good today, better tomorrow”, which means pupils know they will always have a second chance to get things right.
Parents told inspectors the school understands and provides for the different needs of children, while pupils revealed they feel safe and enjoy coming to school. Staff told inspectors that the school was well led and managed, and safeguarding training was seen as ‘high quality.’
The school was described as a positive and safe environment in which pupils can learn, where they “know staff will not give up on them”.
Kingsmead School is an expanding special school that forms part of a larger integrated provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
There are 93 pupils on the roll, compared to 62 at the last inspection in 2016. Almost all pupils have an education, health and care plan. An increasing proportion have learning needs in addition to social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
These include moderate learning difficulties, a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders.
The vast majority are boys. Some have been permanently excluded from mainstream schools. Most have had a disrupted education and missed much schooling. Pupils can arrive at any point during their secondary education.
Executive head Mike Pride said: “The last few years have been a turbulent time in education. However, in addition to the global pandemic we have undergone a restructuring programme and the decoupling of our sites which has been hugely successful. This has allowed children with special educational needs to be taught together on their own site.
“We can be nothing but proud of every single member of staff, and of all our pupils, for working incredibly hard to ensure every child attending our school receives the best education and the utmost support to reach their potential.
“Of course, Wilf has always been considering a member of staff here at Kingsmead, so it is especially pleasing that he received a mention from the inspection team. Children who have emotional difficulties benefit greatly from spending time with Wilf and there are plenty of benefits for our staff, who work in a sometimes charged and stressful environment.
“I think Wilf will definitely be getting a few extra treats once news of the report gets out.”
The school is one of part of a collection of sites that make up Kingsmead School, which also has a key stage two and three pupil referral unit (PRU) at Bridge Street, Key Stage 3 and 4 PRU and a hospital medical provision.
We can be nothing but proud of every single member of staff, and of all our pupils, for working so hard Mike Pride