Blossom House School Euston

Since 2015, Joanna 'Joey' Burgess DipCST MRCSLT Dip RSA PGCE. Ever smiling, she is both a speech and language therapist and a teacher. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm are never-ending, say parents.

Co-leads of Blossom House, Euston are teacher

From 3+ into nursery or 4+ into reception. If spaces are available pupils can apply to join the school at any age. To start the process, parents will need to share all psychological and health care professional reports and EHCP if available. As the

The majority of children will move smoothly from primary school into the new secondary department at 11+ and continue up to 16. After taking GCSEs, functional Skills qualifications and/or entry level certificates pupils will move to a variety of

Pupils follow a bespoke mainstream curriculum adapted for children with speech, language and communication difficulties. Class sizes are small, up to eight pupils, with high staff-pupil ratios. Each class has a team of three staff comprising the

Individual and personal support is intertwined with the various therapies, wellbeing and pastoral care. Visits from Dudley (the therapy dog) are greatly appreciated; pupils take turns chatting to him and stroking his soft furry coat.

An art therapist visits three days a week and links in with the whole therapy team. Some pupils have one-to-one art therapy as they benefit from non-verbal ways of expressing themselves. Music and drama classes are important throughout the school,

Good choice of low-impact sports. Soft tennis, gym, badminton and yoga are all able to run on-site and swimming classes take place at the local leisure centre. For team games, the school uses a local sports community facility called Plot 10, equipped

Staff are predominantly young and say they gain really valuable experience working with Blossom House children, particularly those who are considering training as SLT therapists.

Everyone is very liberal with praise and positive feedback, especially around building pupil self-esteem and staff willingness to learn new skills. Certificates and star of the week awards for academic, social and communication progress are awarded

Some privately funded, the majority funded by LA through EHCP.

Highly specialised support in a warm and compassionate environment continues to enrich pupils’ lives. It can be quite a battle getting a local authority to agree to fund a child’s place here, but parents are unanimous in agreeing it is worth every