Ian Mikardo School

Special Education Needs

Ian Mikardo high school is a day special school for secondary age boys with severe and complex social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). All the boys have statements of special educational need and all had significant difficulties settling to learn in their previous schools. Many were excluded. A high proportion experience extremely challenging circumstances outside school and remain vulnerable. Many boys are of average ability overall but have achieved poorly in their previous schools and a relatively high proportion experience literacy difficulties. Also, when they start at the school, many have fallen behind in their basic skills because of poor attendance and concentration. There is high mobility in the pupil population and many join the school after Year 7. The school has seven boys who previously attended residential special schools. The school is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which is rated 4th highest nationally in the index of deprivation e.g. pupils eligible for free school meals are double the national average and poor health is significant in the Borough with life expectancy below the national average. Attainment: 100% of our students have Statements for SEN SEBD 100% of our students were identified in their Statements as having difficulty remaining on task with poor levels of concentration and high levels of anxiety 92% of our students were identified in their Statements as operating at a level below their age and ability in literacy 42% of current student population had reading ages below 7 on entry to the school. Social and Economic Background 91% families of benefits 77% single parent families 45% attached to YOT 42% current Social Services involvement 42% attending CAMHS 42% students receive home to school transport arranged by LB Tower Hamlets 42% mobility between January 2004 and January 2005 40% attendance highlighted as a significant problem in previous educational setting 31% students have significant bereavement issues 25% students are picked up from home by Ian Mikardo mini-bus daily 22% student families living in overcrowded conditions 14% LAC 14% previously attending residential SEBD school 11% on medication for diagnosed psychiatric conditions 2% at some time CP 2% excluded from SEBD Residential schools The ethnic make up of our students January 2006 is 3.5% Bangladeshi, 10.5% Caribbean, 73.5% White UK, 17 % other black, 3.5% Somali, 7% Turkish, 3.5%irish and 3.5 % other Asian. Although the ethnic mix as a whole does not accurately reflect the ethnic mix of the borough, the ethnic mix as a whole has altered in the school since 2002. The school motto is, ‘Come with a past, leave with a future’. It is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which is rated as having the fourth highest level of deprivation in the country. The school works very effectively to address the negative experiences many pupils have had in their previous schools and sets them on the road to much brighter futures. It improves the life chances of many vulnerable pupils by restoring their self-esteem and helping them to see themselves as learners with potential for achievement both in school and beyond. At IMHS we see our task as providing an entitlement to excellent educational opportunities to every student. We want the school to be a place in which the young people take pride and feel ownership. We want every young person to leave Ian Mikardo with qualifications and skills which will enable them to enter the job market and/or continue with their education. A further, but related aim is to prevent the slide into offending behaviour and the juvenile criminal justice system of vulnerable young people whose chronic non-attendance and disaffection with school as well as home circumstances put them in a high category of risk. We have a range of professionals working in the school. The Deputy Head for inclusion is a qualified Senior Social Worker. There is a professional hairdresser, an artist, a drama therapist, two local professional DJs, a qualified carpenter and a psychologist. The teaching assistants are most drawn from the local community many of whom began working in the school as volunteers. These teaching assistants are fantastic role models for the students of life-long learning. The current head teacher, Claire Lillis, was appointed in Summer term 2002. The school had been in special measures since October 2001 and was in serious weakness for two years prior to this. In March 2004, the school was removed from special measures, a term ahead of the predicted date, by the HMI Team responsible for monitoring. In June 2006 an HMI ofsted inspection rated the school as outstanding.

Interpreting catchment maps

The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.

Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.

For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained