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Bensham Manor School is an oversubscribed secondary special school situated in Thornton Heath North West Croydon. We are very proud of the fact that we were are a “Communication Friendly” school. This underpins the whole life of the school and our curriculum focuses on language and functional skills development for all our students. Bensham Manor School is a large oversubscribed secondary special school for students with a wide range of special needs. We make provision for students who have statements of educational needs which include autism, complex needs, speech, language, and communication difficulties. We aim to recognize and respond to the individual needs of students and provide them with a relevant and challenging curriculum. We have a Post 16 provision on site. All students have a statement of special educational needs or Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which is reviewed annually. We work hard to ensure students are successful and we celebrate and recognize achievement and effort in all areas of the curriculum. Our close partnership with parents and carers is instrumental in supporting students to make their best progress. We work hard to make sure students are safe and happy and we are always willing to hear what you think we can do better. Our school is a calm and productive learning environment where the staff team seeks to maximize the potential of every student and to take advantage of every learning opportunity. The curriculum is broad balanced and fit to support our pupils into the 21st Century. We work collaboratively with professionals from other agencies to fully support our pupils both at school and at home. We work closely with parents and carers to plan for and effectively meet every pupil's needs. We are fully committed to the principles of Every Child Matters. We have established an exciting dynamic and proactive ASD support group to support parents, carers, and other professionals in supporting ASD pupils. We are planning a program of training and support aimed at our parents and carers in the main school. We have recently established the Friends of Bensham Manor, an organization made up of parents, carers, and staff who will be working to support fundraising and a program of social and Educational Activities. We offer support and training for mainstream schools in the Borough, including the opportunity for mainstream staff to complete an SEN Placement at Bensham Manor. We always try to build a close relationship between home and school to ensure information is shared and to solve any problems that might occur as quickly as possible. Parents are always encouraged to contact the school if they feel there is a problem they would like to discuss with the staff. The Form Tutors, Heads of Year, Senior Management Team are always happy to discuss any issues a parent might have. The Deputy Head is the designated officer for Child Protection and Looked After Children and should be contacted if there are any problems in these areas. There may be occasions when staff are concerned about a child's welfare and feel it necessary to make a referral to Social Services for help and support for that pupil. Referrals are always made by the Deputy Head, or in her absence, the Assistant Head. At all times the health, safety, and well-being of that child remain paramount. Bensham Manor School’s curriculum gives pupils access to creative learning opportunities tailored to their individual needs. Together with our partners, we work to continue to be at the forefront of successful, innovative curriculum design with overall breadth and balance, which provides the young people with their full entitlement. As a result, the young people benefit from excellent opportunities in all aspects of our curriculum to achieve and improve their skills (including social), knowledge, understanding, well-being, and physical development. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum at an appropriate and challenging level. This supports young people in developing a core foundation of knowledge and skills that will prepare them for further study, training, and employment. We support young people to attain the highest level of recognized qualifications appropriate to them. Our beliefs and philosophies of teaching and learning are underpinned by the values of collaborative practice. As a school, our therapists and teachers work together to ensure that students have the best possible experience at the school. Strategies and interventions are researched based and targeted to support the needs of the students. We believe that every child can succeed and we have tailored our curriculum to develop their literacy, employability, and independent living skills. Bensham Manor students are lively, thoughtful, and always ready to participate in a wide range of curriculum and extra-curricular activities. They are a remarkable group of young people and it is an enormous privilege to work alongside them as they make the journey following the transition from primary school to adulthood. View full school