Ellern Mede School provides education for the young people admitted to the Ellern Mede Ridgeway Centre for young people with Eating Disorders. The school only admits young people who have been admitted to the Centre for clinical treatment. The school is on-site at each hospital and the teaching staff provides outstanding education to the children and young people with eating disorders who are admitted as inpatients. Education can also be provided for local children and young people who are unable to attend their mainstream school due to mental illness.
Ellern Mede School is a small community. For the school to be a safe and calm learning environment for us all we have clear rules, which all young people have to respect for the good of everyone. Good behavior and effective learning go together. Just as we teach and model effective learning in subjects of the curriculum, we must model and teach the excellent behavior for learning we expect our young people to display.
Ellern Mede School works to achieve its aims by providing a stimulating, caring, therapeutic, calm, and secure environment. The School aims to provide an education service that is relevant, complementary to, and consistent with the eating disorder treatment programs at Ellern Mede Ridgeway, Ellern Mede Barnet, or other service providers
The school works in partnership with the young people’s home school to provide consistency at a difficult time. Every pupil in the school has an education plan which meets their needs. The teaching staff provides a curriculum consisting of the core subjects which are taught to GCSE and A-Level. The breadth of the curriculum is enhanced through lessons in art, film studies, geography, and PHSE to help engage pupils in discovering and mastering new information about themselves and the world in which they live.
Ellern Mede School provides a curriculum of breadth and balance to meet the learning needs of the young people in our charge. The teaching team also provides many opportunities to explore extra-curricular subjects. This includes Drama through LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). Young people can engage in dramatic and musical performances on the school stages. On Friday afternoons young people can select their creative subjects and occasionally produce group projects which are displayed around the school and hospital.
At Ellern Mede School we wish to create an environment in which young people contribute to school and enjoy learning. Young people achieve their best and should value learning for life and become independent adults who are active citizens, willing to play their part in shaping the world around them for the better. Young people develop a positive self-image. They show good motivation. They develop confidence when interacting with their peers, offering and using peer support. Accept praise, tolerate mistakes, and experience pride in and derive satisfaction from their achievements. They understand our core values of commitment to learning, respect for themselves and others, fairness, and demonstrating a good team spirit.
