Willow Park School, Milton Keynes

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school, where they feel accepted and comfortable to be themselves. Positive and supportive relationships with pupils and their families are at the heart of the school's vision. Pupils are welcomed by the staff team every morning, which helps get everybody's day off to a great start.

Many pupils did not attend their previous schools for long periods of time and arrive here with negative associations with education. Staff get to know pupils and help them to feel safe. This enables pupils to make the most of the education on offer.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff build trusting relationships with pupils right from the start and focus on building a deep and accurate understanding of what is causing pupils' barriers to education. Staff work together so that pupils' therapeutic support is intrinsically integrated into their learning. Specialist input from clinical, therapeutic and speech and language professionals plays a key role, providing staff with useful knowledge that enables them to carry out their work with confidence. Staff are highly skilled at giving pupils just the right balance of therapeutic support and academic challenge. They carefully foster a sense of success, which gradually builds the longer pupils attend. This helps pupils to develop the confidence and resilience to attend school much more often than they did at their previous settings.

Pupils quickly get hooked on books because teachers carefully choose texts which ignite their interest. Pupils enjoy reading quietly by themselves or listening to adults read to them. Where pupils need support to learn to read, their barriers to learning are identified precisely and expert support is put in place. Teachers skilfully weave phonics throughout the curriculum, so pupils recognise, and practise, sounds frequently in different contexts.

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