Baycroft School

I am delighted to welcome you to the Baycroft School website and to invite you, warmly, to step on further into the world of our very special community. In our school, students are at the centre of all we do. We have an elected student Head of School, as well as 17 other student leaders, including 4 House Captains and tutor group representatives, who work in partnership with adult leaders.

Therefore, the Head of School and I would like to welcome you together.

Welcome to our website and to our school. My name is Braydon and I am the elected (student) Head of School. I am in Year 11 and I have been at Baycroft since Year 7.

At Baycroft we are determined that all of our students will have great outcomes, having experienced the very best and most enjoyable opportunities possible during their time with us. Our vision is clear about our ambitions for them, and this starts with happy, confident and fulfilled people who enjoy purposeful, healthy and rewarding lives. Our greatest joy is when our students return to show us and tell us how much they have thrived since they have left us (and they often do!).

Without this school I would not be where I am. I would not be doing my GCSEs and looking forward to a successful career. Teachers and all the staff, as well as the school environment itself , have supported me to develop and grow.

Baycroft is a day, community special school for around 185 secondary-aged students who experience learning difficulties, autism, sensory and language challenges. Our imaginative, energetic and skilful team of staff work with parents, carers and others to ensure that all aspects of the education and opportunities we offer meet the individual needs of our students.

Governors and staff work together to ensure that students enjoy and achieve in their learning, within a broad, balanced and purposeful curriculum. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is reflected at the heart of the school’s work. We have built productive relationships with our parents, the local community, other education providers, charities and businesses to maximise opportunities for our students.

I have had many opportunities to experience leadership and to represent the views of others. The Baycroft Passport has guided my development all the way through. I have been on many off site trips and visits, including sporting events and work experience. All of this has helped me to be more confident and to gain good understanding of myself, including my strengths and skills.

Our curriculum is focused on four key qualities and attributes which the whole community has agreed are key to lifelong success and happiness; creativity, curiosity, independence, wellbeing and self-regulation. This is the basis of our faculties system. We tailor our curriculum offer to reflect our local context, destination industries and the unknown but exciting future world for which we are preparing our young people.

From a student point of view, the best thing about this school is how welcoming it is and how everyone is made to feel a really valued part of our community from their first day. At this school, everyone can have their say and their ideas and views are important.

We strive to ensure that our students make a positive contribution to society, and stay healthy and safe. This is alongside developing the skills and knowledge to embrace and enjoy the rich cultural and environmental heritage of our beautiful and diverse county. Our provision – for example our rich range of vocational courses – reflects our determination that students will be able to move on to opportunities beyond their time at school with transferable employability skills and which build seamlessly on their achievements here. This includes working closely with post-16 destinations for our students to ensure that they are very well prepared to thrive there.

As older students we hope that the younger students look up to us and that we set a good example as well as showing them what they can achieve. We enjoy having roles that contribute to the school community, like organising events which everyone can benefit from.

We are passionate about equality of opportunity and ensure that we respond to the needs and entitlements of a rapidly evolving population in an agile way, constantly reviewing our practice and provision. Our students learn to celebrate diversity, including the rich neurodiversity within our community and have themselves crafted the whole school code of conduct which guides the courteous, inclusive and, above all, kind behaviours we expect from each other.

We hope you find our website interesting and informative. If you would like any further information please contact our office by telephone (01329) 664151 or by email: [email protected] and we will be only too happy to assist you.

Marijke

I hope that you enjoy getting to know us and look forward to welcoming you to our school.

Braydon

Marijke Miles
Headteacher