“This is a good school which is well led and ambitious to improve further. The students are learning well as the school quickly identifies their needs and swiftly puts in place an appropriate learning programme”
September 2021 school review – Jeff Hart Senior Local Authority Education Consultant
Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. It reports directly to Parliament and is both independent and impartial. By law it must inspect schools with the aim of providing information to parents, to promote improvement and to hold schools to account.
In November 2017 Ofsted graded us as a good school.
As London Borough of Waltham Forest Alternative Provision we are quality assured annually by a team appointed by the Head of AP, which typically involves a Headteacher, the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Lead for out of mainstream provision.
You can read our Ofsted reports and our School Evaluation Form (SEF) below. The Hawkswood Secondary SEF is updated termly. It will updated again next term.
Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils.
We use our pupil premium to fund a range of opportunities to help our pupils reach their potential.
Please see our pupil premium report below.
Regular and punctual school attendance is paramount at Hawkswood Therapeutic School. Pupils who attend school everyday take full advantage of the provision that we offer and the educational opportunities offered to them by law. Hawkswood Therapeutic School fully recognises its responsibilities to ensure pupils are in school and on time, therefore having access to learning for the maximum number of days and hours.
Our policy applies to all children registered at this school and this policy is made available to all parents/carers of pupils who are registered at our school on our school website under ‘policies’. This policy has been written to adhere to the relevant Children Acts, Education Acts, Regulations and Guidance from the Department for Education in addition to guidance from the Local Authority.
Although parents/carers have the legal responsibility for ensuring their child’s good attendance, the Headteacher and Governors at our school work together with other professionals and agencies to ensure that all pupils are encouraged and supported to develop good attendance habits. Procedures in this policy are followed to ensure this happens.
Children who are persistently late or absent soon fall behind with their learning. Children who are absent from school frequently develop large gaps in their learning which will impact on their progress and their ability to meet age related learning expectations. A child whose attendance drops to 90% each year will, over their time at secondary school, have missed two whole terms of learning.
We celebrate good or better attendance in a number of ways. This includes, celebrations in assembly, praise from senior management and displays around the school.
Addressing Attendance Concerns
The Hawkswood Group has a clear attendance policy in place, which outlines the Hawkswood Attendance Stages (HAS). Attendance is closely tracked and scrutinised, and any concerns are reported to the Behaviour, Attendance and Children Missing Education Service (BACME).
The school aspires to support pupils to work towards attendance of at least 95%. However, we understand the complex starting points our pupils begin from in terms of attendance. We work closely with families to take a therapeutic approach to supporting pupils who are referred having been out of education from long periods of time.
It is the responsibility of the Headteacher and the governors to support good attendance and to identify and address attendance concerns promptly. In primary school we rely upon parents to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually and therefore where there are concerns regarding attendance parents are always informed of our concerns. Initially concerns about attendance are raised with parents via letters which are sent home. There will be opportunities for the parent/carer to discuss reasons for absence and support to be given by the school with the aim to improve attendance. Where a child’s attendance record does not improve over a period of time then the school has a responsibility to make a referral to the Educational Welfare Service.
The Behaviour, Attendance and Children Missing Education Service will issue penalty notices to parents where there has been a referral to BACME from the school as part of the school’s processes to address poor attendance patterns.
Please see our attendance policy on the federation landing page policy section.
Hawkswood Secondary is:
- A school with a strong Inclusive ethos
- A place that values individuality and recognises that each person has an important contribution to make to our society
- A provider of equal access and opportunity for all
- Continuously, actively seeking to remove the barriers to learning and supports interactive participation of all its children ensuring best outcomes for all
What is the purpose of Hawkswood Secondary’s Local offer?
The School’s Local Offer has two key purposes:
- To make provision more responsive to local needs a part of the new Children and Families Act, schools have been directed to produce a Local Offer. The Local Offer will change as services, policies and guidance changes. The school will regularly evaluate the breadth and impact of interventions and support it offers and accesses. Reasonable adjustments will be made to promote equality and inclusion.
- To provide clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the support as well as criteria for support and opportunities which are available.
Hawkswood Secondary School has a Provision Map Record which is a register of all students who receive additional support in the following categories:
Children who require SEN Support: Your child is receiving extra intervention to support them to achieve their expected level e.g. Literacy intervention both in and outside the classroom OR that your child has an outside agency working with them e.g. educational psychologist, CAMHS worker, Speech and Language Therapist etc. .
Children who have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP): Your child has been identified as having needs that require extra support to access the curriculum. They will be entitled to additional support with learning and a high level of differentiation from class teachers.
How does Hawkswood Secondary School know that children need help?
Children may be identified as having additional SEN (Special Educational Needs) through a variety of ways including the following:
- Liaison with the pupils Mainstream school
- Child performing below age expected levels
- Concerns raised by parent
- Through termly pupil progress updates
- Concerns raised around behaviour or self-esteem and how it could be affecting performance
- Liaison with external agencies
- Health diagnosis through paediatrician/doctor
As a school we measure children’s progress in learning against national expectations and age-related expectations. The class teacher continually assesses each child and notes areas where they are improving and where further support is needed. As a school, we track children’s progress from entry to the school, with baseline assessments using a variety of different methods including National Curriculum levels and our holistic profile.
What should I do if I think that my child needs help?
Talk to us – firstly contact your child’s form tutor. If you require more information contact our Head Teacher (Ms Fitzgerald) or Deputy Head Teacher (Ms Smith/Mrs Roby-Cantwell). We pride ourselves on building positive relationships with parents. We are open and honest with parents and hope that you are able to do the same with us.
How will the curriculum support my child’s needs?
All work within class is pitched at an appropriate level so that all children are able to access the curriculum according to their specific needs. Typically, this might mean that in a lesson there would be different levels of work set for the class, this can be individually differentiated. The benefit of this type of differentiation is that all children can access each lesson and learn at their level.
Please click on the link below to view our local offer.
Waltham Forest’s Local Offer is available on the Waltham Forest Website and tells parents how to access services in their area and what to expect from these services