Chilton Bridge School, Chilton Cantelo

What it's like to be a pupil at Chilton Bridge School

All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Many arrive at the school with often significant histories of educational difficulty, trauma and disengagement. For many, Chilton Bridge represents a genuine turning point. Typically, pupils achieve well from their starting points and are fully included in all aspects of school life. The school's ethos is based on a relational approach. This helps all pupils to behave consistently well. Staff build trusting relationships with pupils based on mutual respect and understanding. Pupils share their feelings, which, in turn, helps them modify their behaviour. They learn about fundamental British values and embrace difference. The environment is one in which pupils feel safe, fostering respect. As a result, pupils feel comfortable expressing themselves in a variety of ways. Bullying is rare. Pupils have trusted adults that they can talk to if they have any worries. Pupils' behaviour and resilience improve the longer they attend the school. Staff successfully use a variety of strategies to help pupils overcome any barriers to learning that they may have. Improving pupils' self-esteem and sense of self-worth is very much a central part of the school's curriculum offer. Pupils learn to embrace their uniqueness and build their self-esteem. Most pupils value their time at school and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. Pupils gain a sense of achievement and pride in their work. Preparation for adulthood is well aligned to individual pupils' needs. Pupils have access to a rich, coherently planned set of experiences that develop their character and promote managed risk-taking, many for the first time. They take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and benefit from enrichment activities such as cooking in restaurants, graffiti workshops, jewellery-making and talks from industry role models.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should ensure that all staff consistently use assessment to identify important gaps in pupils' knowledge, so that these can be addressed swiftly.
• Leaders should enhance their checks on the impact of improvement strategies and use those findings to secure sustained improvement.

Chilton Bridge excels at building trusting relationships with pupils who have experienced trauma and educational difficulty, helping them develop resilience and see themselves as capable learners. The school provides highly individualised support matched to each pupil's needs, including specialist therapeutic help for emotional and mental health. Pupils benefit from a rich programme of visits, sports, and enrichment activities that broaden their horizons and develop their aspirations for the future.

Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture where all legal requirements are fulfilled, leaders actively identify and manage concerns, and pupils feel safe.

Cricket, parkour, swimming, football, first aid training, outdoor adventure visits, cultural and heritage site visits, creative arts activities, food and hospitality experiences, animal care activities, weekly predictable trip slot

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