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Oak Tree School (independent specialist provision)
Services and organisations that have the Local Offer flash have filled out inclusion information, meaning that they meet the needs of people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Please note this is not a Cornwall Council authority school.

Oak Tree School Cornwall is a Special School positioned near the City of Truro in Cornwall. The school will provide full-time specialist co-education for children and young people aged 8 to 14 who experience social, emotional, communication difficulties and associated challenging behaviours. These children and young people often cannot cope, function or achieve within a mainstream environment. The aim is to provide a structured, nurturing approach, with pupils accessing a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum to meet their significant needs
Oak Tree School Cornwall is committed to raising achievement and enabling all pupils to recognise and fulfil their potential, and support them through a personalised, engaging and relevant curriculum. We will address a complex range of barriers to learning including conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiance disorder and a range of autistic spectrum disorders.

Our priorities are to develop and improve the core knowledge and skills required to make a manageable and successful transition to work, college and adult life. We will provide a structured and supportive environment where our C&YP feel safe enough to take responsibility for their actions. Pupils will be encouraged and taught to make positive choices and decisions and therefore present and display socially acceptable behaviours.
Aims

We aim to achieve high quality outcomes for Children and Young people by:

  • Reducing/Removing C&YP’s barriers to learning.
  • Developing the ability of C&YP to communicate and interact with others appropriately.
  • Develop C&YP’s ability to be flexible and adapt to change.
  • Encouraging C&YP to positively manage their behaviours and difficulties.
  • Developing C&YP’s self-esteem, independence and ability to have positive and constructive relationships with others.
  • Developing the skills needed in each YP so they can be as independent as possible and prepared for life after school.
  • Providing a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that meets each YP’s needs and ensures an appropriate balance between challenge and support.
  • Providing a range of therapies to help YP overcome their difficulties and to reach their full potential.
  • To keep YP safe and protect their welfare, and through the broader curriculum develop their ability to keep themselves safe.    Encouraging C&YP to explore how they think and how they behave through a variety of therapeutic interventions, psychological, mental Health, SALT, OT, CBT, person centred approaches and art and play therapy.
  • We are committed to the principle that all C&YP, regardless of their ability, race, gender, cultural and religious background or immigration status have the right and entitlement to the highest quality of education we can provide.
  • Working in partnership with parents/carers and other professionals as an effective multi-disciplinary team.

Who to contact

Contact name
Dan Stockton
Contact position
Headteacher
Telephone
01872 264221
E-mail
enquiries@oaktreeschoolcornwall.co.uk
Website
www.acorncare.co.uk

Where to go

Name
Oak Tree School
Address
Truro Business Park
Threemilestone
Truro
Postcode
TR4 9NH

Other details

Availability

Age ranges
From 8 years to 14 years
Referral required
Yes
Referral details

Oak Tree School will initially provide specialist day education for young people aged 8 to 16, including children in care, who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and whose local authority is unable to provide specifically for their statement of educational needs. Children who attend our school will receive individualised therapeutic support to try and help meet their significant needs.

Parents and Carers are advised to talk first with the SENCo at their child’s current place of education. The SENCo may then be able to advise if Oak Tree School is a suitable placement for the child or young person. The SENCo (along with the parent/carer) can then refer to the local authority admission placement process where decisions for referral will be made.

For admission to Oak Tree School children and young people will:

  • be aged between 8 – 16 years
  • most likely have a statement of special educational need or education and health care plan (or will be under assessment)
  • have social, emotional, mental health or behavioural difficulties
  • possibly have specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia
  • benefit from Oak Tree School’s therapeutic input
  • To find out more information please do not hesitate to contact Oak Tree School directly on 01872 264221 to arrange a visit.

 

Inclusion details

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How we make our service inclusive

Oak Tree School is a special school positioned near the city of Truro in Cornwall. The school opened in the summer of 2014 and provides full-time specialist co-education for children and young people aged 8 to 14 who experience social, emotional, communication difficulties and associated challenging behaviours. These children and young people often cannot cope, function or achieve within a mainstream environment. Oak Tree School provides a structured, nurturing approach, with pupils accessing a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum to meet their significant needs. Pupils attending Oak Tree School may have learning difficulties and/or low attainment that are associated with their emotional and behavioural difficulties. They may have experienced historical low levels of engagement or underlying anxiety within learning situations. On entry to the school our experienced admissions panel, which includes our Headteacher and Educational Psychologist will undertake a thorough baseline assessment. This assessment will identify where children are in terms of their learning (literacy skills, numeracy skills and science) and will also assess emotional development. This initial assessment will inform individual education plans and the results will be fed back to parents/carers within six weeks of joining the school. Ongoing assessment is used to inform how students are progressing against this baseline assessment. Oak Tree School’s senior staff will meet on a half termly basis to identify students who are not progressing as expected so that action plans can be developed to help implement and evaluate intervention strategies. Parents and carers will receive daily feedback on the progress of their child and detailed termly reports highlighting student’s progress across the broader curriculum. Children and young people who attend Oak Tree School with a Education, Health and Care Plan will have their primary and additional needs reviewed on an annual basis. All stakeholders input into the review including children, parents/ carers and relevant professionals.

Staff SEND experience

All of our staff have undertaken specialist training and development and are skilled in behaviour management and de-escalation techniques. In school we have dedicated time from the
following professionals:

• Educational Psychologist
• Counsellor
• Drama therapist

We also work closely with other agencies to meet students’ needs, including:

• CAMHS Nurse
• Occupational Therapists
• School Nurse
• School GP
• Social Workers
• Wider CAMHS professionals

All staff at Oak Tree School have received Team-Teach training which informs them of a broad spectrum of risk reduction strategies. The Therapy Team provides support and supervision for staff through whole school
INSET sessions and the use of solution circles to explore arising issues. Staff at Oak Tree School are committed to reflective practice and are supported by the therapy team in using video to develop this. Relevant staff receive regular and high quality training regarding safeguarding, and all school staff receive safeguarding refresher training every two years. Staff also have daily briefing meetings where they discuss best approaches and strategies for meeting the needs of the students. As part of Oak Tree Schools on-going continued professional development program staff will work with professionals on a wide range of issues including behaviour management, attachment disorders, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, relationships and sex education, drugs awareness and behaviour conditions such as ADHD, ODD and OCD.

How our service supports providers / schools / colleges

Oak Tree School works closely with the Local Authority to ensure that the child or young person is offered provision that can meet their needs. When the school has been identified as appropriate provision the Headteacher will organise a meeting on site. Parents/ carers, child or young person, social worker (if applicable) and our educational psychologist will be invited and admission procedures and documents will be explained and completed. At this meeting students will be given a ‘handbook’ which acts as a guide to help explain everything a young person may need to know about Oak Tree School. After 6 weeks of joining the school an initial assessment of need will have been completed. This will have been overseen by our educational psychologist and will inform parents, carers and young people how the school can best support them. We invite parents and carers to parents evening on a termly basis to discuss how their child is settling in and progressing at Oak Tree School. Careers education is an important part of our curriculum and students are presented with a broad and balanced outlook of career opportunities. Oak Tree school also works closely with ‘Careers Southwest’ to ensure all Year 9 students receive excellent advice on their transition to KS4. Transition planning is an important part of the Annual Review process and parents, carers and students meet with their Careers Southwest advisor regularly to discuss ideas about college, training or employment. In addition to this, all of our topic based learning in the Developmental Curriculum is explicitly linked to the world of work, to ensure that from the earliest opportunity children and young people’s aspirations are fostered and encouraged.

Support at key transition points

We are committed to multi agency working to ensure that the needs of every child and young person are met. Our work with other agencies is frequent, sustained and responsive to student and family needs. Professionals from other agencies such as Speech and Language Therapy; Occupational Therapy, CAMHS, Social Care and Health support the work of the school on a regular basis. These agencies work with us to support students, to devise strategies and offer training and advice whenever necessary. The staff at Oak Tree School meet on a twice daily basis to discuss pastoral issues across the school. Oak Tree School have a therapy team consisting of an educational psychologist, a drama therapist and a counsellor. This team works with staff advising of strategies and approaches, and also works 1:1 with identified students. We offer access to a number of therapeutic interventions including counselling, drama therapy, draw and talk therapy, video interactive guidance, loss and change groups, cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing, narrative therapy and psycho-social educational approaches. We encourage students to use their student voice to raise any concerns or issues that they have. The School Council meets weekly and brings any issues to the fore. Students are also involved in forming their targets through IEPs and Annual Reviews.

Other local or national support

www.acorncare.co.uk

We are committed to multi agency working to ensure that the needs of every child and young person are met. Our work with other agencies is frequent, sustained and responsive to student and family needs.

Resolving disagreements, mediation and making complaints

We encourage students to usetheir student voice to raise anyconcerns or issues that they have.The School Council meets weeklyand brings any issues to the fore.Students are also involved informing their targets through IEPsand Annual ReviewsAt Oak Tree School we believe in working in partnership with parents andcarers to achieve the very best outcomes for students. When parents attendthe initial admission meeting the school asks parents how regularly and inwhat form they would like to be contacted.All students will have a home/school book, which staff will complete on a dailybasis, recording what lessons the student has had and give an overall rating(green/amber/red) for the three main sessions of the day. These books willalso be used to record any homework given out and there is also a space forparents to complete each day. In addition to this, as a minimum parents willbe contacted on a weekly basis either by email, phone call or text regardingthe progress of their child. We also organise termly parent evenings, face toface meetings and annual reviews. We also communicate with parents andcarers via termly reports and newsletters.As a school we welcome contact from parents/ carers and would encourageparents to contact us if there are any questions or concerns.

Links
Oak Tree School Local Offer
Download more Local Offer details for
Oak Tree School (independent specialist provision) here...

Last updated: 01/10/2021

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