Welcome to Burnside Secondary
Our very warm and welcoming provision is based in South Chingford and offers a short term intervention, typically up to 20 weeks, to young people aged 11-16 from across Waltham Forest who are not in mainstream provision.
Students are referred to us for a variety of reasons. Students are often at risk of, or have been, permanently excluded from mainstream education. We support students at KS3 and KS4, academically, emotionally and behaviourally, focussing on supporting young people to become positive, aspirational and successful learners.
We believe it is never too late for any student and that every student has the potential to achieve and make positive contributions to their community.
Many of our young people have experienced previous difficulties in mainstream school with their learning and behaviour. We ensure that all young people are given a fresh start and are supported to achieve their goals and successfully transition either back to mainstream, an Alternative Provision college course, a special school or post 16 provision.
We pride ourselves on building positive relationships with all of our students as the foundation for building trust and developing successful learning opportunities for all.
We offer a varied curriculum that focuses on a combination of academic and vocational provision. We also have a strong emphasis on personal development and wellbeing and we are committed to providing a safe environment in which all students can learn and progress.
We encourage close partnership work with parents and carers and seek to listen to their views at regular opportunities. We also work closely with a range of external agencies who offer specific interventions to support our young people to grow and thrive.
We celebrate success at every opportunity, support students where needed and challenge all students to achieve their full potential.
We are very proud of our students and the transformation we regularly see. The vast majority of our students successfully return to mainstream or college. For those who join us in Year 11, students work exceptionally hard to achieve qualifications to take them onto their chosen post 16 provision.
Liz Rattue
Headteacher, Burnside Secondary
Aims, Values and Ethos
Our primary aim is to successfully support every student to return to mainstream or other specialist provision after a period of intervention.
Our staff team are highly skilled in helping students and their families to address the reasons why students are referred to us and help to provide a consistent but personalised learning approach to facilitate progress. We focus on building mutually respectful relationships, encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions and nurturing their potential. We are very proud of the work the team do in improving the life chances of our students.
Our values are the joint values of the Hawkswood Group of provisions. By the time students leave us for either reintegration to mainstream or the next exciting step in their educational journey, we want our young people to be happy, confident and educated with the desire and drive to succeed.
This means:
- Each student gets the individual care and attention they need to thrive and achieve their personal best with support from an experienced team of teachers, mentors and Learning coaches.
- Teachers bring learning alive and class sizes are kept small with 6-8 pupils in each group.
- Students receive a balanced curriculum of academic and non-academic subjects
- Students have access to a broad range of enrichment, lifeskills and wellbeing activities, including Swimming, Cooking, Boxing, Cricket, Music Therapy and Creative Arts.
- Everyone works together with the aim to sustain a happy, safe and orderly environment.
- We instil mutual respect between students and staff, and kindness and respect are interwoven with teaching and learning.
- Learning is highly structured in terms of the learning routines and we support students to respect, and engage in, every lesson fully.
- The addition of experienced Learning Coaches in each lesson supports every pupil to overcome barriers to learning.
- This high level of structure ensures a consistent approach to how our students learn, and allows the inclusion of all learners, through a personalised approach to teaching, whilst at the same time creating the best possible environment which allows learning to thrive.
- By focusing on the importance of independent as well as group learning, and developing both personal and thinking skills, students learn how to be resourceful, resilient, and reflective learners. This ensures that students are leaders of their own learning.
- We enable students and staff to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence as well as encourage them to respect each other and other’s opinions.
- We encourage an understanding of right and wrong, taking responsibility, how we contribute to society and being tolerant and highly respectful of each other and our cultural traditions.
- We celebrate all examples of success, no matter how small.
Contact Us
The school office is open between 8.15 am and 4.00 pm. You can leave a message on the answer phone at other times. If you would like a paper copy of any information published on our website please contact our Admin Officers, Naheed Razzaq or Shannonann O’Neill.
Burnside Secondary PRU
2 Burnside Ave
Chingford E4 8YJ
If parents or members of the public have any queries, please contact one of our admin officer, Naheed Razzaq, on the number below:
Naheed Razzaq (Admin Officer) – naheed.razzaq@hawkswoodgroup.org.uk
02082894740
School Contacts
Liz Rattue (Headteacher & DSL) – liz.rattue@hawkswoodgroup.org.uk
David Cook (Deputy Headteacher and Deputy DSL) – david.cook@hawkswoodgroup.org.uk
Wendy Kelly (DSL, Attendance Lead and Mentor) – wendy.kelly@hawkswoodgroup.org.uk